General Should I consider a Punto?

[luxor]

After years of being told to stay away from Fiat due to reliability issues I actually visited a showroom today and although I didn't get a chance to drive a Punto I may try in future. To be fair to Fiat the only people I know who have older models here say that they have been reliable so I figured that is a good start, however as yet I know of no one with a 2012 Punto, so I'd appreciate your views?

- What are the common problems which occur?
- Which engine do you recommend for mainly city but also 2-3hr motorway drives? I amnot after the most expensive ones!
- How reliable have you found the car?
- The reviews are not great but how do you find driving it?
- Do you recommend taking out an extra warranty?
- If you have experience of other superminis how does the Punto compare?

Any other comments welcome.

Cheers,

rod
ps. Iive in Euroland so models/pricing may vary slightly.

 

[Mkala]

Hello,

Yes you should consider the Punto :yum:

Reliability is quite the same as other "general" car manufacturer, except perhaps Toyota or Honda which could be a bit better.
But don't worry, its the same or better as Renault Ford and others ( my last Fiesta was a nightmare... sold after 5 years).

For the driving, it is a great car to drive. Which review say it is not great to drive ??

You should test petrol 1.4 8V 77BHP and 1.4 16V 105BHP. The last had a 6 speed gearbox, which can be a plus.
Drive the two and choose which one fit the best
Or are you considering diesel engine ?

Hope you enjoy test run, otherwise you should consider other cars


cya

 

[luxor]

Thanks the one I can find is the current What Car review.

The price seemed nice when compared to other brands with the 1.4 77cv 3dr Easy being around 13.5k Euro. Also I liked the style more than most other cars I saw when out shopping...

 

[mventre]

i would only consider the cars with 6 gears as i have a 1.4 77 easy and it revs far too loudly on the motorway.

 

[scoop987]

The multiair variant, be it the NA or turbo, will probably be the best petrol engine's fitted (Albeit the multiair has its faults by the looks of it). The twinair is available in the car over here, don't know about other markets unfortunately. Although the twinair shares the same technology as the multiair system and will fail (Its electric, what do you expect )

 

[james44422]

i would only consider the cars with 6 gears as i have a 1.4 77 easy and it revs far too loudly on the motorway.

I would also consider a six speed. I have the same engine and made a mistake by not getting the six speed gear box

 

[varesecrazy]

I would also consider a six speed. I have the same engine and made a mistake by not getting the six speed gear box

I've got the 6 speed in the TA,
keeps the Rev's down.. BUT it's NOT a nice box to use, sequential would be nicer:devil:
also keep looking for 6th in our other cars

charlie

 

[olliesgrandad]

Just do it.
Sold my 2012 gbt diesel yesterday having covered 21000 miles in 7 months.
The only issues were a jammed airvent on the dashboard (dealer trimmed a piece of poorly moulded plastic to free it) and the footrest grill on the transmisison tunnel stood out proud catching my trouser leg. When I sold it I was averaging a genuine 70mpg. During my owership I kept a full record of fuel used and averaged 64mpg overall. 1 big service and an oil change cost £207. The car was still on original tyres with 4.5mm left on the fronts and 6mm rears.
I have replaced it with the mechanically similar Alfa Romeo Mito.
The Punto was one of the most relaible cars I have owned ( including 'premium ' German brands and Japanese).

 

[jamesdt]

i personally think theres always a couple of bad eggs with every manufacturer although fiat seem to have more than other makes imoa....if i had a choice (and the mrs hadnt put a deposit on it) i probably wouldnt have gone for the punto im used to buying cars that start to die after a decade with regular servicing not within the warranty period

 

[GrandeGuy]

My only advice is steer clear of August.
1 month shutdown, i'd imagine beforehand they are on mental switch off ready for holiday, and after they come back your car might of been halfway down the line before they come back to finish it, i can't remember what i did yesterday let alone 4 weeks ago