Faults:

Blowing exhaust, but was replaced for me free of charge when I bought it. Now fine.:)

Power steering failure light, making the steering a bit heavier. It's come on about 3 times for a day or 2 since I've had it. Now it doesn't come on anymore:)

A yellow light has come up telling me there is a problem somewhere in the car, and recommending me to go to Fiat garage to put it on a computer to get it checked out, but I have left it because it's only come on 3 times, and now it doesn't light up anymore:)

That's it. Nothing major :) Drives beautifully.

General Comments:

It is the Active Sport, so it looks very sexy with the alloys, spoilers, sports bumpers.

Very comfortable seats, very roomy for a hatch back (much roomier than a Clio or 206), big boot, quiet, excellent standard 6 speaker audio and economical, and very cheap to insure on my dad's name. Only 310 pounds fully comp.

I was hoping to buy a 16v version, because I heard it's much better than the 8v. But I couldn't find one, so I opted for the 8v because the condition was excellent and mileage was low (only 20.000 miles) and it's a very sexy broom bright yellow, so it stands out from the crowd.

The 8v is surprisingly nippy though for round town. So far it's been reliable. Don't underrate Fiat because they are excellent cars if you find a well taken care one.

Faults:

I've been looking for a bright yellow Punto (face lift version) for ages, and I finally found one.

I've only had it for 2 weeks off a private sale, and the exhaust was making a slight rattle, but it got sorted out at no expense. The mechanic just put a small rubber next to it to keep it still, and it's done the job.

The other night the power steering light came on whilst I was driving, which made the steering a little bit heavier, because I had lost the power steering. I pulled up and switched it off and turned it back on, and it hasn't done it again.

I've read on the Internet that it's a common fault, but so far it only happened once to me. Besides that, nothing wrong so far. Fingers crossed it will keep on going like my old Fiat Uno.

General Comments:

It looks the part in bright yellow, with sporty front and back bumpers, 15 inch really nice alloys, a subtle spoiler, and very comfortable bucket seats.

Has a lot of head room, and a lot of leg room.

Very quiet.

Nippy.

A real sexy italian hatch back that gets looks.

Easy to drive.

Excellent 6 speaker sound system.

Decent boot.

Solid body.

Faults:

Nothing has ever gone wrong, just some annoying things:

Creaking noise from dash where CD player sits.

Gear knob came loose, but nothing a blob of super glue couldn't fix.

General Comments:

This is a very well specced car with decent day to day performance, with good fuel economy. This car is fitted with the 100bhp JTD multijet diesel engine, and being as light as the car is, it's pretty nippy. Rapid would be a definite over statement, but I would probably summarise it's performance with the word 'decent'. It can be rough when started in the cold, but it smooths down once up to temp. Being a turbo diesel, it offers a very smooth and relaxing drive, especially on the motorway. At higher motorway speeds, it can really take off when you put your foot down in 5th gear. I get about 50mpg out of it on average.

Ride quality is a, but rubbish, but certaintly not unbearable. I had a Punto Sporting before this, and the ride was very jiggly. I think with the extra weight of the engine, this car is smoother over bumps, but not as good as, say, a Ford Fiesta. Handling is OK, it will under steer quite soon if you turn in fast, but it never catches you out, the under steer comes on gradually. Having disc brakes all round, it stops very quickly. However, when I asked for a quote from Fiat for new discs and pads all round, they quoted me £500 with fitting!!

The interior is a nice place to be, perhaps a bit cheaply put together in places, but it still looks nice, and I doubt it's going to collapse in on itself anytime soon, so I'm not worried! It has dual zone climate control, 6 CD changer, a little sub in the back, and a trip computer. Practicality is very good for a car of its size.

All in all it's a very good car: very reliable, gets you from a-b with no hassle, looks quite nice, has a high level of kit, is cheap to run and has decent performance. The only thing I would say against it is that it's rather BORING! Not that I don't like it, it just doesn't excite me when I drive it, which is why I intend on changing it for something small with a revvy petrol engine. I also want something that handles better. I said this car handles OK, but it runs out of grip much sooner than I'd like for what's supposed to be a 'sporty' car.