Faults:

I have had my Punto 1.2 ELX for over a year and already I'm thinking... what have I done!!!

After 2 months, the clutch went.

The oil is going somewhere it shouldn't be (haven't quite figured out where it's going yet???)

Just waiting for the head gasket to go!!!

Brakes also wear quickly and fluid goes with it!!

General Comments:

Although a comfortable drive, I am constantly thinking I hope my gasket doesn't go ETC.

The pedals are very close together... although not a problem for me, it seems to be a major for others...

The car does stick to the road very well and gets a lot of tire screech... bonus for the loons on the road.

...so...

If you're looking to buy one of these... you best have some spare cash or you're in trouble LOL!!!

Faults:

The drivers seat has collapsed on the right hand side from people getting in and out.

Head gasket blew at 92k.

Air con need re-gassing.

General Comments:

I'm 17, this is my second car and I love it. I think it looks stylish (though this is down to personal opinion)

It has a built in subwoofer, which for what it is can actually sound quite good =).

The car handles great, There is a slight hint of understeer when cornering at high speed, but this could probably be put down to my budget tyres. It has firm suspension, with little body roll.

The cars power band is very defined, until 3500 rpm the car has little performance, but from 3500 till 5500 the car has a good pick up. The car pulls well through all 6 gears, to get the best acceleration from it you have to really work the gears, ensuring that you stay in the power band in each gear.

I find the electric power-steering makes the steering feel a bit too light, I prefer mechanical as you can feel what the car is doing more. There is a 'city' mode, which makes steering lighter for parking or city driving and makes the throttle response more smooth for start-stop driving.

I find that the sports seats have a comfortable position, and grip you into your seat.

This car is not the fastest car, but for a 17 year old most things that I can insure aren't, but I think the car has a great balance of economy and performance. Even when driving hard, you can still return about 33mpg from a tank, but when driven sensibly you can easily get 40+ mpg, even around town.

The trip computer is a good feature, I didn't expect a smaller car of this age to have one, it displays average mpg, how many miles you can get from the rest of your tank, average speed etc.

The car is spacious, with an excellent boot size. The cabin feels like that of a bigger car, however if you are over 6ft (like me), then passengers in the rear will have limited leg room.

Faults:

This car was bought from a used car dealership specialising in Fiat Puntos. It came with a 3 months warranty, 12 months MoT test certificate, fully valeted and serviced.

Nothing has gone wrong with the car apart from the known fault of this model at this year of Power Steering Failure.

It is imperative that I warn people here that so-called serviceable power steering units units sold through Ebay should never be purchased. This is not a hydraulic or electro hydraulic unit, it is a fully electrical unit. The motor is situated actually on the steering rack.

First point of check is to ascertain all the fuses and larger relays both on the fuse panel and under the bonnet are working OK. I did this for my son (it's his car). I also checked the electrical connectors for dampness and security.

Still the intermittent problem persisted, and the Punto feels like a truck without power steering, especially after being used to the lightweight 'City' button steering feature being so handy.

We resigned ourselves to the fact that this problem was unsolvable, and I made sure the front tyres were correctly inflated for my son at all times, so as not to make the steering heavier still.

On July 25, 2007 I tried one 'last' solution to the problem. I changed ignition keys and used the spare supplied with the car (both keys being the unique Fiat 'blue' type). Almost like a miracle the problem was solved. The fault lay in the KEY being used (apparently these Fiat keys host a whole load of electrical data that interacts with the ECU).

Now I'm not saying that this will be YOUR solution to this annoying Fiat trait, but give it a try and good luck!

General Comments:

Highly user friendly, and loaded with extras for such a budget buy; adjustable steering column, electric sunroof, windows, height adjusting seat etc.

Handles well, and the 8-valve 1.2 unit is lively at all times. Grip is liable to break on wet roundabouts, so take care.