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Reliability…
When Fiat came to build their new supermini, they followed the unlikely approach of choosing to build it in the deep south of rural Italy in the town of Foggia near Bari. This was quite an audacious plan for the simple reason that it was five hundred miles away from the Fiat ... Read review
Advantages: Cheap, Fun to drive, Classic design, Build Quality, reliable Disadvantages: Safety, lack of mod-cons (no power steering etc)
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Reliability…
When Fiat came to build their new supermini, they followed the unlikely approach of choosing to build it in the deep south of rural Italy in the town of Foggia near Bari. This was quite an audacious plan for the simple reason that it was five hundred miles away from the Fiat home of Turin and the fact that the local population were more used to growing olives than CNC technology. Fiat made this work by first getting huge ... ...build production centres near the Fiat plant and then would have to supply whole sub-assemblies rather than individual components. Coupled with the latest in robotic assembly technology this resulted in an extremely reliable little car from the start of production meaning that you can buy a cheap L- or M-reg car with nearly as much confidence as later models.
Build Quality…
Due to the highly accurate assembly processes, the ... more
The first car I ever drove was my Mum’s N-Reg Punto 55S. It was metallic Nero black, had smooth Italian styling and I, as a slightly pretentious 17 year old, LOVED IT! I always felt a bit smug driving past people from college in their banged up Ford Fiestas and Escort XR3is. Yes it wasn’t mine and yes it may be classified in some quarters as a slightly girly car but to my adolescent mind it was the muts nuts.
The interior was fairly standard, plain and “plasticy”. The view from the back was restricted and made parallel parking tricky but the overall driving experience and look of the car was and is fantastic.
Reliability… When Fiat came to build their new supermini, they followed the unlikely approach of choosing to build it in the deep south of rural Italy in the town of Foggia near Bari. This was quite an audacious plan for the simple reason that it was five hundred miles away from the Fiat home of Turin and the fact that the local population were more used to growing olives than CNC technology. Fiat made this work by first getting huge amounts of money from the Italian government on the basis of bringing much needed employment to the area. Secondly they insisted that if a company was to be a component supplying partner with them in this new enterprise, then they also would have to build production centres near the Fiat plant and then would have to supply whole sub-assemblies rather than individual components. Coupled with the latest in robotic assembly technology this resulted in an extremely reliable little car from the start of production meaning that you can buy a cheap L- or M-reg car with nearly as much confidence as later models.
Build Quality… Due to the highly accurate assembly processes, the Punto was put together extremely well. Build quality suddenly became something you could rely on (not something that could be said of any previous Fiat!). This also means that one simple check to perform when buying a Punto is how well the doors close – if it takes a bit of effort or they are not completely inline with the rest of the body, then suspect that this car has been in a collision and move on. Also worth checking is if there are any suspect variations in body shape by sighting along the side of the car.
Driveability… The Punto is a nippy little beast with excellent road grip and good feel to the steering. It doesn’t come with power steering as standard, so tight manoeuvres can be a bit laborious but it all adds to the fun out on the open road. The only suspect area I can really think of is handling in the wet. The Punto has quite thin tyres and as a result doesn’t have a great deal of traction on slippery surfaces. This is slightly made up for with the very low centre of gravity but care still needs to be taken when cornering. The manual gear change can be a bit patchy as well I seem to remember.
Comfort… There are good amounts of head and legroom for a car of this size, both front and rear. The amount of road noise audible at high speed can be quite loud but this has been improved on in later models. Overall the ride is smooth and really only becomes hard going at the higher reaches of the fifth gear (but then you shouldn’t be going that quickly anyway:-).
Security and Safety… This is an area that does let the Punto down unfortunately. The basic models do not come with an immobiliser or an alarm (although models built after February 1995 should have an immobiliser – get the red and blue keys before buying!) and the locks won’t provide much resistance to a professional car thief. The Punto only got 2 Euro NCAP stars and has no airbags as standard so there are definitely better cars out there to crash in.
Running Costs… A full tank of petrol will probably set you back £25 and you usually get about 300 miles from that given sensible driving. Insurance is low as well, Group 2 I believe, so cheap for younger drivers/those on a budget.
Other problems… On early models of the Punto (since rectified) the ignition coils that give the spark that ignites the petrol can be problematic. If you have one out on a test drive and it seems slow to pull away at low revs or at any point misfires then the coils are probably the problem. You will need to replace both as where one goes, the other is sure to follow.
After ignition coils, the most common problem appears to be worn gearbox bearings, which can show up from around the 30,000 mile mark. On most Puntos however, the gearbox just keeps on going without serious wear and probably won’t be a problem.
NB – On the Punto there is a red engine management light. If this stays on whilst driving it means that the lambda sensor has gone. This should immediately send alarm bells ringing as if it goes unrectified it can cause the catalytic converter to fail.
Reading back through this review it may seem a little picky for a car I remember so fondly. I just think that it is important to recognise areas in the car that could be improved upon. Overall the Punto is a fantastic small family car with good amounts of boot space and room inside. The looks are a classic design shape, unique to the Punto and the drive is fun and involving. The number on the road also mean that a second hand one needn’t cost the Earth – just flipping through a copy of Autotrader reveals that a basic N Reg 55S in good condition in South East London can be yours for around £1200. Not bad, not bad at all.
Overall a quality little import. A definite thumbs up!
Advantages: Does everything well Disadvantages: Not a lot really
...and Puntos usually escape the Fiat electrical reliability problems of old. There`s plenty of space, something that the Punto has always been complemented for and the seats are comfortable. All controls are simple and work well too.
In fact, there`s quite simply not a lot wrong with the Punto in 3 or 5 door form - it will do its job well which is probably why prices held up so well after its release - even the oldest ones will probably not be worth ... ...one - get the red key which all other keys are cut from. Thankfully, Fiat has dumped this system now but the red key is vital to the car - and new ones are about £600 so pick up the history when you buy - and don`t lose the key. ...
SimonDolan 03.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat Punto 55
Advantages: cheap to buy, low tax threshold, fun little car Disadvantages: electrics can be dodgy, lights sometimes have trouble
I bought a Fiat Punto from my mother roughly 4 years ago. It is a 1.1 55S and is a lovely turquise colour (a typical girl car really!). Considering the size of the engine it has quite a lot of power. You will never be able to take on a Ferrari but hey! it does the job.
It is an attractive little car and is great if you have kids because the seatbelts are made that bit longer apparently to help with the car seats. This maybe helpful to the mums out ... ...great advantage to me. The boot seems to fit in the weekend baggage and the weekly shop down to Sainsburys! and the seats fold down in case you have a love for Ikea and want to fit in loads of their trendy stuff :)
I have to say that for the first 1 1/2 years I was very chuffed with my new little car. It is good and comfortable on long journeys and very nippy for trips around town.
But then.....
I started having trouble with the lights at the ...
Orbi 04.02.2002 (11.02.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat Punto 55
Advantages: Responsive handling, good grip, pleasant to drive. Disadvantages: A little short on power.
...owner of a '94 L-Reg Fiat Punto you one year, I have been consistently delighted with the quality of ride, handling and reliability it has given me. Having heard dubious things about the durability of Fiats in general, I had initial misgivings about owning a Punto. But having run the car for twelve months I am now satisfied that these rumours are largely untrue. The handling is generally very good and not particularly tough on the tyres, though there ... ...with a satisfying click though the gear lever is a little long, perhaps a result of the slightly higher driving position relative to other cars in its' range (such as a Renault Clio). The Fiat Punto is a reassuringly responsive car to drive, and pleasingly cheap to maintain. ...
SkyscraperFanClub 15.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Punto 55
Advantages: Low Insurace. Low usage of Petrol. Relaiable Disadvantages: Small. soft body
...small and should not be Fiat Punto, since I had heard alot of bad stories about it. Anyway as cars kept on passing through, I saw this black Punto. The looks of it was great for the price, in fact I thought it was a bargain. So I raised my hand and bought the car for the price of 575.00 Pouns. After paying the administration fees it totaled to 675.00 Pounds(my pound sign does not work).
My Fiat Punto at the time of the buy was on 48000.00 miles, ... ...A
Driving after a long time, especially alone in the car was a bit scary, but I managed. I took the car to a mechanic near my house, he did the M.O.T test and said that it was a fine car. But it needed few repairs and replacement of cetain things. As you can see I am not a car expert.
Anyway all the expenses including the price of the car came to a total of 1000.00 pounds, which was still well below my budget.
After few weeks I got the Log book, ...
secret_shopper 01.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Punto 55
Advantages: They look nice Disadvantages: Lots of common faults
I am going to get straight to the point, do not buy a punto 55s, I owned one for only 1 month and that was plenty enough.
Upon buying the car it looked the sort of car that has good street cred for a young lad but, don’t get me wrong these cars do look very nice and as long as you get a good one could last you well.
The one I bought only had 53,000 miles on the clock so I thought it would be alright, I found out later that it wasn’t 53,000 miles ... ...clock and the rev counter had both stopped working.
It drove well for a good 50 miles and then I started to experience the problems, the car stated to judder a lot and sounded awful.
I had this checked by the garage and found out that the Lambda sensor was on its way out, the garage also told me this is a common fault with all puntos and that another common fault was that the head always goes after so many miles due to it being a alloy head and ...
abacus1983 11.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Punto 55
Road Handling
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Advantages: Parts are cheap, fuel efficent, drives well (when running) Disadvantages: Car suffers mid life crisis after 40,000 miles.
I bought this car for £500. It was a 1997 (R) reg Punto 1.1sx.
It had 50,000 miles on the clock with full service history. I thought the car would be OK as the milage was quite low and there was only two previous owners.
After a month of owning the car the heater matrix went. These cost £60 from fiat and about £300 to fit as the whole dashboard has to come out. When the matrix goes you know about it as steam starts coming through the heater vents inside the car. I fitted the matrix myself, the job wasnt hard but it was time consuming.
The car lasted another 2 months when the engine started overheating, this was a blown head gasket. apparently punto's are known for this problem, they fail around 30 to 60 thousand miles.
A month and half later the clutch went.
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masterm1nd 29.10.2008
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Advantages: Fun! Cheap! Disadvantages: Expensive to repair / unreliable
Punto's! I have had and used three fiatpunto's in the past. I am currently using a 2001 FiatPunto 1.2 16v Sporting.
I'll start with the 1997 FiatPunto 1.1i 55 SX 45000 miles. The car was mediocre from the inside, electric windows for the SX version with a manual sunroof. No power steering, but it's cut my trips to the gym!
The problems I've had with this car have been the clutch. The clutch needed replacing costing quite a bit. There was a few cases of misfiring which needed to be sorted by buying new leads and spark plugs.
The second punto was a 1996 FiatPunto 1.1i 55 S 50000 miles. No electric windows, nothing fancy here. Drive quality was not very nice, quite a bumpy ride. The problems with this were the clutch again but the main problem was when the integrated Fiat immobiliser failed. Fiat garages are not very helpful ...
Advantages: Cheap to buy and look distinctive Disadvantages: Not the best made car ever
Well the FIATPunto55. This car has split the opinions of my friends in two. Some like the way it looks some hate it, but it always gets a reaction.
I have the 95 model and i bought it september 2002. I have done 10,000 miles since then and so far had to replace the sump cover (i have speed bumps down my road), rear suspension bushes and a new clutch. Speaking to various dealers the suspension and clutch are common problems with this model but the cost of repair was not too extensive but it may be worth checking whether the work has already been done.
The engine is a peach and for a 1.1 is very nice to drive with pull from as low as 2000 rpm.
The gearbox does not like to be rushed so for all the boy racers out there beware as it is very easy to grind the box if you use too much force.
The car has very predictable handling, but it ...
Weakboy_uk 08.06.2003
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