Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Wow - what a great car! I love it!

I am an Italian car fanatic - always driven Alfas, but due to a new house, I down sized to my wonderful Punto "Fabrizzio the wonder Fiat". Don't get me wrong, Alfa is king, but I'm very happy with the Punto's performance - great around the city and on country driving (here in Australia). The 1.4 engine handles 130km/h with no problems!! 1.4 is considered small here in Oz.

The stereo is fantastic

The air conditioning copes well in the harsh West Australian heat.

The heater is like an oven, and the rear wiper is activated by reverse gear when the front wipers are on for perfect visuals - so clever!

As for that sexy Giugiaro Italian designed body? Need I say more :-)

Interior is fresh and funky, and all controls/dials easy to use and read.

I cannot fault this car; I have covered just over 10 000 kms and have had no trouble or issues! The build quality is great; no squeaks/rattles or ill fitting parts.

This is a top selling model, and I can see why - well done Fiat!!!

Faults:

After 2 weeks of ownership, a faulty brake sensor caused the car to shut down at set of traffic lights - this was a good thing, as I guess all the computers etc were doing their job.

I have now hit 28000km, and the water pump needs replacing - thought one of them would last a bit longer.

However in 4 years, it hasn't missed a beat, so I'm certainly not complaining. Fiat has only been back in Australia for around 5 years, and I hope it is here to stay.

General Comments:

For a 1.4, it's quite gutsy.

I love the interior, and that Giugaro design always makes me smile. I love driving it, and am very happy.

Faults:

Power steering failed at 25000km. The fault is well known by Fiat, and the local agent admitted that they had replaced the pump and column units on most of the cars that had been sold, and had a box of faulty ones.

Because my car was imported from Japan, Fiat wouldn't help out with parts costs. The cost of a replacement unit was an insane NZ$2500 plus fitting.

I ended up sending the original part (Fiat NZ wouldn't even give me one of the faulty ones to send over, so my car could at least remain on the road while I waited) to a company in England who repaired it at a much more reasonable price.

Boot catch wore out prematurely, which meant the boot light wouldn't go out. My local mechanic bodged it up for me. He couldn't believe how flimsy the failed part was.

General Comments:

It's a good looking car, but not all that glitters is gold. It is underpowered, has a crashy ride quality, and the plasticy interior rattles something shocking.

The power steering is way too light, and the city mode function makes it even lighter. This must have been developed for people with a muscle wasting disease.

The biggest issue I have with this car is reliability. The power steering failure and the subsequent "not our problem" reaction from Fiat soured the whole experience. Add to that the fact that, had I bought a new part from them to replace the part that failed prematurely, they would have been profiting from their own poor quality product. I can't help but feel that the myriad of complex electronic devices on this car would contribute to a world of long term financial hurt and emotional heartache. I sold the car.

I have to say, I'd never buy or recommend a Fiat again... and I've owned many before.