Motor Madness Part One
 Oct 14th, 2002
Advantages:
Quite well equipped, Economical, nippy, spacious
Disadvantages:
Horrible seats and interior trim
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Safety
Comfort
Road Handling
Looks
Features
more
  stevie-boy
About me:
Computer Category Assistant. If anyone requires advice, please leave a message. Above all, DON'T be ...
Member since:05.08.2002
Reviews:34
Members who trust:55
Review rated by 37 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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This review is the first part of a review series called “Motor Madness”. This series is about four cars in particular that I have had a good long experience with, and am able to give them a fairly through review, appraising both their strengths and weaknesses. Two of these cars are small hatchback cars aimed at the “city run-around” market, one is an award winning family car which is very popular with both families and companies as a fleet car choice. The last car will be our experience with an executive car that was not so good on reliability terms. The first car in my series will be the small hatchback called the…Fiat Punto
Background to car
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I have been learning to drive since February this year, as mentioned in my member account. The tuition car I have been using is a Y-registered Fiat Punto, which has a 1.2 engine and is furnished in the “Active” style trim. The car is finished in metallic silver paint and I think it looks very pleasing on the eye! The Active trim is one of the lower specification basic models but it still comes with quite a few snazzy extras. There are only two differences between this Punto and the other Punto’s on the road, the first being dual control
pedals and the seconds being a roof-box on the top of the car displaying a big red “L” and the Driving Instructor’s Name and Number. These two additions are obviously only included on a driving school car and have to be specially fitted by a third party company. Exterior
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The Fiat Punto is manufactured as a small run-around car designed for short distances by undemanding users. It is obviously not suited for long distance business travellers travelling hundreds of miles each week. This is why many driving schools select Punto’s as tuition vehicles, because they are small and easy to manage.
The Punto’s dimensions are quite small being 3835 mm long, 1660 mm wide and 1480 mm deep. This makes it ideal for nipping into that small parking space or weaving in and out of busy traffic. However, despite the small dimensions, it does contain quite a large boot for its size, possessing a capacity of 1080 Dm3, which is plenty for containing all that weekly shopping or holding your suitcases for a long weekend away!
The Punto Active has grey door handles, bumpers and door mirrors, not the more expensive colour coded plastic that the upper models possess. However, I don’t think that this spoils the lines of the car, as it seems to bend in quite well with the colour scheme. The wheel trims look quite expensive as well, almost like alloys, and this is pleasing on a basic model.
I think that the exterior of the car looks pleasant and well shaped, which is a much bigger improvement than the old Punto! It has a squared off shape, with cleaner, fresher lines and well crafted headlights at the front of the car. However, I do not like the rear lights of the car, as they are high sided, I think this makes the car look a bit like a van at the back!
Interior
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The interior features quite a few gadgets which normally feature on more expensive models, and this shows that Fiat have took time out to think what the user of this car would actually like and require, and has added useful extra equipment as their conclusion. The “Active” trim features a great 7 speaker Radio Cassette player that sports features such as RDS and Auto Reverse. The sound quality of this radio is far better than my Mum’s Vauxhall Corsa, which at best can be described as “feeble”. It also features equipment such as electric front windows, central door locking, Immobiliser, seatbelt adjust and an optional sunroof. All this equipment comes together to make a very well rounded package for your money. The only piece of equipment I would like to see included is a Rev-counter, as I want to see how hard I’m revving the engine when pulling away, but this is not essential.
Some of the dashboard looks quite stylish and well crafted, but I think some of it is tacky and horrible, particularly the upper part where the stereo sits. It looks like its just been moulded from cheap plastic and tacked together, like its been designed as an afterthought. Then there are the seats, which I think are the worst seats I have ever seen in a car to this day! They are badly moulded, uncomfortable, and are in a horrible tacky blue colour, which is also spread on the doors as well. I think that the colour overpowers the whole interior, making it look basically horrible!
My overall opinion of the interior is not very good. Although it’s well equipped, some of it is badly moulded and the seats are truly horrible! Add this to a disgusting blue, and you get a truly dire interior that contrasts badly to the well made exterior! Engine and drive-ability
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The Punto Active has a 1.2 (1242) cc engine under its bonnet, delivering a maximum of 60 bhp at 5000 revs. This may seem a small value, but in a car of this size, it does seem to go very far! The engine is very responsive and lively when driving, particularly when overtaking in 3rd gear. It is a very easy car to control, since all the pedals are very responsive. Although the brakes are not ABS powered, they are still very effective and can bring you to stop in seconds! The clutch is also lively, making it very easy to find the biting point when pulling away! Unfortunately I cannot comment on the top speed, but since the maximum speed limit is 70 mph, you won’t need to know it unless you fancy a few points on your licence!
The Punto has a feature called Dual drive Power Steering, which means that the power steering is spilt onto two levels. The first level is for normal driving around the town and general roads, and it does this very well. The second is called the “city” level, which electronically enhances the power steering to make it very light for pulling into parking spaces and reversing. I use this when practising my reversing moves and I think it makes a lot easier than using normal power steering!
As well as being quite a nippy town car, the Punto will make your money go further at the petrol station as well! It features a very impressive economy of 49.6 mpg combined, meaning it is very economical to run for a petrol car, as this figure beats some diesel cars about hands down!
Overall the Punto is a very nice car to drive, with a nippy and economical engine, very effective power steering and good controls. My only gripe is sometimes the gearbox can be a bit notchy to change gear with, but as I’m still learning, I’m still learning how to change gear smoothly!
Overall opinion
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I think that the Fiat Punto Active is a very good little town car, perfect for small distances and journeys around the city. It’s light and nimble characteristics are ideal for pulling into a small space, and for weaving in and out of busy traffic. The only thing that lets it down is the badly fitted and designed dashboard, and the tacky blue seat colours, which do not match the pleasant exterior design. I would recommend this car to anyone looking out for a safe, nippy, small and spacious town car.
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Related tags for Fiat Punto 1.2
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28.04.2004 16:57
Yours was the best review (of the 46 available) I read on the Punto as I too learnt to drive in one (my wife's) and it has been trouble free and very cheap to run. Cheers Steve
25.01.2003 19:40
Good op. Well written and very informative. Rob :)
24.12.2002 20:52
An incredibly help opinion mate, full of information and personal experiences of the car. I have recently been looking at the Punto model. As I'm covering a lot of miles in my small Fiat Cinquecento I wanted something with a bit more boot space, but good fuel economy too. It seems a good general purpose car. Pete.