Fiat Grande Punto's

Tilt

Giggs_11 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

The lack of power thing kind of worries me as I've my 1.2 8v Clio is useless when building up speed on dual c/ways.

I think you will find the Punto 1.2 16v will be a lot different to your Clio. Personally I would go for the 1.4 but like I said before, there is always the Abarth version!

jackthenipper

Where the windscreen meets the dash, there is the windscreen due mister vent, that runs the width of the car.

When blowing warm/ hot air through the plastic pops up & out of the dash, it doesn't cause an obstruction, but is bloody annoying.

After discussing with Fiat, they advised it was a design flaw, where they would rectify with a new part, but guess what the exact same again happened.
Glad to say I no longer have that car!.....

Giggs_11

Tilt wrote: »

I think you will find the Punto 1.2 16v will be a lot different to your Clio. Personally I would go for the 1.4 but like I said before, there is always the Abarth version!

The car I've seen advertised is a 1.4 8v at £2500. I would hazard a guess and say 8v -> 16v is more noticeable than 1.2 -> 1.4?

@Jackthenipper if that was the only/worst fault then you've not done too badly haha

Giggs_11

Bump.

I went and test driven an 06' Grande Punto. The battery was almost flat and the dealer said he would put a brand new one in, but I noticed when reversing the steering felt really heavy? He said this was because of the battery but just wanted to check here.

Tilt

Giggs_11 wrote: »

Bump.

I went and test driven an 06' Grande Punto. The battery was almost flat and the dealer said he would put a brand new one in, but I noticed when reversing the steering felt really heavy? He said this was because of the battery but just wanted to check here.

Could be true as the steering is electrically assisted. Also a duff battery will affect the ECU as well so it will potentially cause all sorts of problems.

I strongly recommend that you give a decent test drive with lots of turns to make sure. Also, check for the steering wheel warning light on the dash... make sure it comes on with all the others when first starting it up. Then it should go out after a few seconds along with all the others (apart from the hand brake warning light of course).

Also check the 'city mode' function. If working correctly, it makes the steering even lighter at slow speeds (when parking etc). TIP; City Mode should only be used when necessary. it is not designed or meant to be used for normal driving.

Horizon81

Buy yourself a better car than a Grande Punto. Can't you stretch to a Yaris/Swift/Jazz/Mazda3?

How much money are you spending and what's your priority (power, MPG, space?)

ballyblack

All of which are European Car of the year winners.

I wouldn't put much credence on that

In 1977 the Chrysler Alpine won car of the year award and it was a complete DOG!

Tilt

Horizon81 wrote: »

Buy yourself a better car than a Grande Punto. Can't you stretch to a Yaris/Swift/Jazz/Mazda3?

How much money are you spending and what's your priority (power, MPG, space?)

And how would you know that these are better cars? I hired a brand new Yaris (the current one) for a weekend once. I certainly wouldn't buy one after driving it on a 350 mile round trip. My Punto is definitely at better car, especially on motorways.

Tilt

ballyblack wrote: »

I wouldn't put much credence on that

In 1977 the Chrysler Alpine won car of the year award and it was a complete DOG!

I was merely pointing out that the Punto is not the only car that was "all right" from Fiat.

Horizon81

Tilt, I have nothing but respect for your devotion to the Fiat brand but when you read about user experiences with the Grande Punto, they're just not the sorts of problems you get on Jap cars.