Faults:

Had problems two days after first owning the car when it lost drive. After replacing the clutch and rebuilding the gearbox, they found out it was actually the crown and pinion.

After repairs, the clutch was very juddery and the car did not feel quite right, last week the car once again lost drive so it went back to the garage where it was repaired, but before I was given it back, it apparently dumped its oil everywhere.

Either I recieved a bad example or it was thrashed, this is the new shape Punto with what I would say were average miles.

General Comments:

Great car, really comfortable, and practical, it was the three door, yet very easy to get in and out of the back. It felt quite sporty and had high attention to detail in terms of design, it's a real shame I was let down by the mechanical failure.

Faults:

Interior trim below glove box fell off and took 5 trips to the dealer to be fixed.

Both windscreen wipers have failed on separate occasions.

Drivers seat height adjustment failed 1 month after warranty ran out, needed to replace entire seat sub frame.

Offside rear light fails regularly, but is an intermittent problem and the dealer has been unable to rectify this problem.

Clutch has failed, was told it was the slave cylinder which was replaced, but problem has returned and it is getting increasingly difficult to change gear.

Paint blisters have developed on the roof, this appears to be a corrosion problem and will be fixed under the 8 year warranty (I hope).

Air con failed after 13 months, which included a British winter so didn't get used much, told it would cost over £600 to repair, so now I open the windows.

Power steering fails if full lock is used for more than a couple of turns (for example trying to do a several point turn in a narrow road), rectifies itself after the engine is restarted.

General Comments:

The car looks good and the 16v engine is incredibly nippy on country lanes and is a good motorway cruiser.

The interior is comfortable and considerably larger than some of its competitors, driving position is good apart from the lack of space for your clutch foot.

Build quality could be better, the trim looks good, but tends to creak and, in some places has come off altogether.

I don't have much faith in the dealers ability to identify and rectify faults, the lights and trim problems (mentioned above) were greeted with a general attitude of "why are you bothering us with this, its trivial" and in the case of the intermittent light problem I was consistently told the bulb was faulty, but I've never known a blown bulb to repair itself!

I would like to think that I have a Friday afternoon car, unfortunately I only had a 1 year warranty, 3 years would have made a big difference. I am very aware that things started to go wrong after 13 months! coincidence?

Faults:

Nationally recalled for steering problems, applies to all early Punto's. Apart from that none.

General Comments:

The Fiat has exceptionally low fuel costs along with maintainence costs.

The car handles excellently for it's small size, but lacks good brakes to match the overall good performance of the car.

Very spacious inside with very stylish fabric to match.

City control button is very impractical for everyday use, but is a very useful feature when parking in city conditions.

Overall, one of the best supermini's on the market in my opinion.