1998 Fiat Punto 60S 1.2 from UK and Ireland

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 from UK and Ireland

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!

1998 Fiat Punto Sporting 1.2 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Sunroof runner snapped after 2nd week and entire roof + lining was refitted - still rattles like hell though.

General Comments:

Don't expect too much mileage from the standard Pirellis (9-10k).

Buy a GT if you can stretch to it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st September, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto 75 SX from UK and Ireland

Faults:

After about two months the car broke down, not completely, but ran at about 10 miles an hour maximum. Turned out to be a dodgy computer. Replaced, but took a while to replace it, had a free rental car though, so can't compain too much.

General Comments:

Nice car, suspension a little hard, but good performance and handling.

Looks good, drives well, I'd recommend them to other people.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st May, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto 60S 1.2 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Nothing so far!

General Comments:

I like this very much. The only thing that is not so good is the gear change - it can be a pain to select reverse gear.

Otherwise a good solid car, with lots of luggage space and headroom - especially in the back. Seats 5 adults without problems. A great supermini!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st March, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto ELX 1.2 16v 86 BHP petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Delivery wax on the car when I picked it up, inner sill cover loose and handbrake went all the way to the top. Took several phone calls & a personal visit to get the dealer to fix these. Now it is 8 months old, with 6000 miles on it and the gear lever gaiter has holes worn in it & the passenger electric window switch has worked itself loose.

General Comments:

Other than the less than delightful buying experience, and the dealers reluctance to honour the manufacturers warranty, I will certainly look at another FIAT in the future. The cars themselves are beautiful to look at and perform & handle way in excess of the usual Ford/Vauxhall equivalent.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th March, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto GT 1.4 turbo petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Mark on dashboard on delivery - dealer said that whole dashboard would have to be replaced - didn't bother as it wasn't worth the trouble.

Fan belt slipping - had to be replaced.

Passenger seatbelt jammed and was replaced.

Turbo not boosting properly - turned out to be accelerator adjustment.

General Comments:

This is my second GT and I have found them to be generally reliable given the type of car. The performance is excellent and I find them overall great value for money when you look at bhp/£. Build quality could be better and not very comfortable for long journeys.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th February, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto 60S 1.2 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

The problems I've had are from the road conditions I have to drive on.

My front right wheel got buckled on a nasty pothole.

The thing was the car was only 2 weeks old....needless to say I wasn't happy.

I was even less happy when I pulled out the tiny spare wheel that comes with it.

It has a maximum speed of 50mph.

What's the problem in giving a proper wheel and tyre?

General Comments:

The dealer was Millennium Motors in Galway. I found them very good.

When I came to collect my car, it was not quite ready, so they lent me the Punto Sporting for a couple of hours until it was. I've only had the car since the first week of December so lets see.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 24th January, 1999

1998 Fiat Punto S 1.2 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Very small but niggly faults, mainly manufacturing build problems ranging from interior trims to brakes, clutch and petrol leak after taking delivery of the car for 15 minutes.

General Comments:

At present the car is in the garage again!!! Trying to get these things sorted out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th October, 1998