1998 Fiat Punto Sporting 1.2 16v

Summary:

A great little runabout which keeps on surprising

Faults:

Nothing yet. Just had it's first real service since new, which cost me £380!

Needed new front tyres (Avon ZV1's at £120 to replace Pirelli's) and was badly out of tune.

Reliability is excellent though, I can always be sure of getting from A to B. Watch the brake wear on Fiats though.

General Comments:

This was a steal at £7000 for an S-plate with 4500 miles on the clock!

I have had no problems, and the recent tune up sorted out the engine a treat. Economy is excellent - I can get about 350-400 miles out of a full tank with motorway and urban driving, which works out at about 44-50mpg (watch out for 80+ speeds though which REALLY increase consumption). It really is a baby GT, the 0-60 is quoted at 10.9 seconds, but I bet it is nearer 10 if there is just the driver in and you work the gears.

Excellent load space for its size and seats a lot comfier than the old S spec. It packs a lot of features for its price, and I can't fault it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th September, 2000

24th May 2001, 09:37

I have driven both this and the new 2000 shape Sporting on test drives. The old one is so much better, and faster. The new one looks good, but has poor roadholding and nonexistent acceleration.

I thought the old one was quick and handled extremely well.

15th Mar 2004, 16:35

£380 service bill? Count yourself lucky, my Punto 60SX cost £700 for the last service! It is very reliable, and the brakes also wear down at an alarming rate too. The fuel economy is the same, yet the sporting accelerates from 0-60 in about 4 second faster, so I'll be buying mine very soon. I was looking at a new sporting, but having read the comments here, I think the old one seems better, let alone being more powerful.

1998 Fiat Punto 60S 1.2

Summary:

Cheap and cheerful

Faults:

Nothing, apart from an intermittent sticking seatbelt, which I have had to get the AA out to release on occasion. I haven't bothered getting the dealer to look at it as it only seems to happen on extremely cold mornings and the car is no longer under warranty.

General Comments:

Performance is adequate, but when cornering the car tends to roll a bit.

Long journeys can be uncomfortable since the seats do not provide much in the way of lumbar and thigh support.

The non-power assisted steering is fairly light, and the quality of the switchgear is excellent for a car of this price, although not quite up to VW standards.

The exterior design still looks young - much more aesthetically pleasing than most equivalently priced cars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th July, 2000

1998 Fiat Punto 60SX

Summary:

Buy this car, it's a cracker!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car, it is an excellent car. Especially as it had not been serviced in the first 28,000 miles of its life!

General Comments:

This little car is a cracker! Great head and leg room. Driving position is brilliant thanks to its adjustable steering column (reach and rake), seat(height and adjustable lumbar support). The 60SX spec is just the right balance for this size of car.

Its engine is also brilliant, good acceleration, I once timed it at 9.1 seconds 0-60. It's a little noisy at high speeds but I find it just goes nicely at 90mph. It can carry 5 adults and a full boot at 107mph.

FIAT - no longer the little rust buckets they used to be!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th July, 2000

26th Jun 2003, 15:29

This is not uncommon. Many factors such as temperature of car at start and how full the tank is can easily influence the speed. This is true especially on warmer days.

11th Mar 2005, 12:03

I can also manage this in my '98 60s punto. The top speed is also correct, even though Fiats details say that it should be 96MPh and a 0-60 of 13 seconds! but the time is definitely true!