Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: No data available
Great-looking hot hatch properly designed for a good time, grippy, rapid and involving. Great heritage too. Esseesse kit makes it riotously entertaining.
The jury is out on the ride comfort until we try them in the UK, and Grande Punto cabin feels cheap.
Fiat shows again that it understands its past and knows how to make it work in the present. This is a proper hot hatch, especially in wonderfully non-PC Esseesse form, and great value.
The question mark is over the ride comfort, because our tests were made mainly on a smooth track with few bad surface disturbances on the surrounding roads. As far as we can tell the suspension feels quite compliant over bumps for a hot hatch's, but we must reserve judgment here.
The front seats are superb, whether standard or racing, rear space is adequate, the air con works and road nose appears to be mild. The standard Abarth's engine sounds quote muted inside the car, too, although there's enough induction noise to remind you you're in something sporty. And the Esseesse's interior sounds are just great, without being too intrusive.
The optional equipment list contains enough to let you go rallying, or at least make others think that's your plan. There's a range of graphics, too, including the chequered roof that's standard on the Esseesse. Base colours are red, white and black, all of them solid rather than metallic. The Abarth Grande Punto isn't really a metallic-paint sort of car.
