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 Punto has matched the new Clio (and oddball Peugeot 1007) is achieving a five-star score for occupant protection in the Euro NCAP crash tests - and without becoming ridiculously over-reinforced and heavy, too. It also scored a good three stars for pedestrian protection - a rare result - and three for child protection (in comparison, the Clio and closely-related Modus, both five-star cars overall, scored four for child protection but just one for pedestrian safety; the 1007 scored two for pedestrian protection and three for child protection).
Most versions have six airbags, including side curtain bags, with a seventh driver's knee-protecting bag optional. Most have five three-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners up front and five head restraints (three-door models are designed around two rear-seat occupants, so do not have a centre three-point belt or head restraint as standard) plus standard ISOFIX child seat mounting points. ABS anti-lock brakes are standard (as now demanded by EU law) with EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) and, on some versions, ESP (electronic stability control), ASR (anti-skid regulation, or traction control) and Hill Holder (as it sounds). Remote central locking is standard, but deadlocks and alarm only optional.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Fiat Grande Punto
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