Category: Superminis 
Price Range: £9,995 to £15,345
Neat, plain styling and fashionable Italian image; the Multijet diesel engine; five-star NCAP crash test score; fun to drive; choice of bright, colourful interior trims
Quality unconvincing; lower-powered engines uninspiring; awkward five-speed gearbox; not particularly well-packaged; in no way innovative
It's a thoroughly pleasant little car with an appealing image, but it has a number of irritating flaws and it's not a class-leader by any stretch of the imagination
The Mk1 and Mk2 Puntos have consistently scored poorly in customer surveys for reliability, with a variety of engine problems as well as electrical and ancilliary-system faults, and Fiat dealers dont have the greatest reputation when it comes to sorting out problems.
On the positive side however, the Grande Punto does appear to be basically solidly-built, most of the cabin materials feel strong and pleasant to touch, and there were no obvious glaring faults on the cars tested, though attention to detail isn't quite perfect: most cars had some poorly-finished plastic edges on their dashboards, unevenly fitted and loose threads around the fabric-covered interior panels, as well as very cheap-feeling headlining material. The tailgate also feels very lightweight and tinny; this doesn't shut with a reassuringly solid clunk, and nor do the doors. However, the Punto's overall quality is probably no worse than most other mainstream mass-market superminis of the same price (and to be fair, in some reliability surveys, it has previously beaten the more expensive Volkswagen Polo).
Latest Readers' Drives About the Fiat Grande Punto
wrote on 29 01 2008
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wrote on 13 09 2007