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The French admit: GPunto better than Clio III!!!

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The French admit: GPunto better than Clio III!!!

Although I can't read French I'd say looking at the numerical stats at the end...the Punto is indeed a serious rival in the class and will probably be a leader in some respects.

IMO anyone who choses another car in this class other than the Punto based on looks alone, will need their head examined. It justs looks better and better in every photo shoot I see.

It's interesting to compare this article to the two UK reviews I've seen so far; Auto Car rated it quite highly which is good as imo they are very tough cookies to please. Test Drive gave it *** as opposed to **** for the new Clio; but again I feel they're the biggest bunch of lates hate Fiat for the sake of it idiots out there.

I think it's a cracking car aesthetically and mechanically. (there's a Quote for you!!!)
 
Just look at the pictures side by side, the Punto looks like a grown up car, inside and out, very well designed and stylish. The Clio looks a real mess, possibly worse the one it is replacing! What was Renault thinking.
 
i am going to stick up for the clio here.
i think the new punto looks good but i havnt driven it yet,
but i test drove about 16 of the clios last week at work and its great. it might look like a squashed scenic, but it drives fantastic the 106 bhp 1.5 dci is the best. the inside is a step above the current clio and loads of room inside for 5 adults. they drive like a dream aswell i am no renault lover but its a fantastic car.
i was still laughing last week when one got wrote off getting test driven and crashed into a espace haha.
the 200 bhp clio 3 is coming out next summer cant wait for that.
but i still want the 130bhp diesel punto
 
I thought the original Punto was miles better than the original Clio, which was OK looks wise but a badly made pile of pooh that rusts badly and has mickey mouse electrics, however the current Clio isnt a bad car at all, it looks funky and is pretty reliable for a French car too. But the new Clio is disgusting, and its built on the current Micra platform which is pants (Ive owned one), just hope Renault improve the cars suspension as the micras is way underdamped.
The Grande Punto just looks so much classier and better all round. But then we knew that, reckon the French should stick to just cooking as that is what they do well! Hey, they even make snails taste good!
 
10% of sales world wide can't be frowned upon. You are a fiat nut, that's ok, calling people who buy other marques names isn't really.
 
Bravo Fiat!! to pull one over on the French in a French Mag is some going! Personally i love the new Punto, its got all the cheeky charm of the Mk1. And one million Italians think so too, that was the number of Italians who went to dealerships to view/test it when Fiat had their "Open week" last week! So, heres to its success! (y)
 
Are you sure? That's the same number who did our huge anti-war protest going to car dealerships, 1/60 people going to look at a new car model in a week? Sounds a bit crazy to me.

I am happy to be proven wrong.
 
well now i only have italiaspeed.com's word for it, but apparently from the 17-25 Sept over one million people went to the dealerships, and 100,000 people took the new Puntos for test drives!
 
That new Clio looks like an Astra from behind :confused: I must admit that the interior of the Clio is more appealing to me than that of the Punto....
 
all i can say is.. the handling/driving of the punto is a lot better than the clio's

the punto looks better and hey... i think it's built better too. i went to see both "in real life" and IMHO the punto is a lot better (inside and out)
 
nuovapanda said:
OK, one in every ten people on the planet is a plonker then! If you HAVE to buy French then buy a Citroen cos they are at least cheap, if you want Jap then Toyota is the way to go, Nissan have lost the plot these days Paul.
Click to expand...
So no love for the Clio 182 (inc. Cup and Trophy), Clio V6, or Nissan 350Z then?
H
 
I love european car tests. They measure EVERYTHING and then give it a score, the one with the bigger score wins. Statistically it makes sense, but in the reall world it is total tosh. Just because a car has a larger cup-holder/ courtesy light/ key fob is not a reason to reccomend it.

I'm sure the Grande Punto is nice (and I suspect it will be better than the Clio in my eyes when I have had a look at them both) but you can't base ANYTHING on a European car magazine's test.

And as for the ...you can't buy French tat... etc. mentality, that's the sort of thinking that got Fiat in the financial sh!t because of complacancy about 'guarenteed' sales to domestic and certain other markets

Edit: I also see the boot on the 5dr has got smaller, from 297 litres to 275 litres. Great (n)

And, as they note in the test, no boot handle. I had a new-shape Alfa 147 a while back that also had no boot handle (unlike the pre facelift model) and it was a total waste of time. My fingers got filthy and it was a pain to lift the boot (n)
 
Last edited:
JTD Monkey said:
Edit: I also see the boot on the 5dr has got smaller, from 297 litres to 275 litres. Great (n)
Click to expand...

Punto 2 was pretty much class leading when it came to space. This one is bigger (a fair bit) and has LESS boot space! I was thinking about considering one when the time came (probably 18 months when they're available with mre engines/transmissions and de-bugged). But I need the 300+ litres more than rear legroom. Can the rear seats be moved forward? Or is this a case of high boot floor?
 
Sorry but the punto does not handle as well as the clio. Especially when we get into the sportier range of clios. Plus it looks cooler going round corners on 3 wheels in a clio. :p

The everyday version of the new clio looks a bit naff i admit i think the grande punto looks nicer although the clio interior is nicer. But the sporty version of the new clio is lovely.

http://www.rs-team.org/images/home/divers/rs3_1.jpg
http://www.rs-team.org/images/home/divers/rs3_2.jpg
http://www.rs-team.org/images/home/divers/rs3_3.jpg

Those are about the best shots i could find of it. but i think that looks nice myself.
 
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