Faults:

Cylinder head gasket blew at 38000miles, cost about £600 to get replaced, under warranty so it was painless.

Exhaust lasts till about 46000 miles.

Rear suspension starts to squeak over more severe bumps, but it was nothing serious.

Idling on engine was bit unstable.

General Comments:

Sprightly performance from 1.2 engine.

Goes fine on Motorway.

Can be under steer a bit in the wet.

Quiet car to drive. Steering was not power assisted, but very light.

Cheap to insure, good fuel consumption on motorway and about town.

Faults:

RPM sensor, cost £15 but paid £115 with labour.

Head gasket!!! A nightmare. £300!!

Indicator switch is too sensitive.

Rear brakes. Complete system.

Rear windscreen wiper.

General Comments:

Everything seems to go wrong with this car. I will never buy a fiat again. Anything you touch has the potential to drop off, break or malfunction.

Very disappointed..

Faults:

New clutch needed.

Ticking noise in engine.

Erratic revving when idling.

Revs set too high when idling (1500 or higher)

"Driving itself" in 2nd gear - let off accelerator and it keeps the revs on.

Boot lock doesn't work.

Stereo controls on steering wheel don't work.

General Comments:

I have only owned the car 2 weeks and all these faults have appeared in that time.

Hence I'm taking the car back to the dealer.

It's a nice car, quick, easy to drive, but the faults are too much.

I'm sure other Punto's are a lot better, I just picked a bad one.

I have found it quite uncomfortable on my right leg when driving for more than 20 minutes.

Faults:

Rear shock-absorber has started to make a clonking noise.

General Comments:

This car is awesome.

I had the choice of several small cars, such as Fiestas, Saxos etc. but chose the Punto, primarily on looks.

If you have the choice, get a 3 door. They look better!

When I got the car, it was notably superior to my previous car, and I don't think that I would ever buy a Ford again. Especially not while Fiat are around!

The performance from the little 1.2 is very good, and it feels free to rev right round to the red line. The performance gets better when the engine comes on-cam above 3,200 rpm.

The car is nippy and good on the motorway, while still being economical.

The mechanicals are good, the heater has never let me down, nor the electrics, although the gearbox does whine when the car is cold, but the noise goes when the heat gets round. The brakes are just awesome!

The Build quality feels excellent and rattle free.

The interior is good, being generally comfortable, although my right leg does start to ache on long trips. The cabin can be a bit loud in some cars, but is nonetheless well put together.

The handling could do with some improvement, as the nose does dip under hard cornering, leading to understeer, but the steering feels direct and just the right weight (my car does not have power steering).

All in all, I just love the way it goes, the way it looks, and above all, the way it drives. It's just sublime!