Having owned the original-shape Punto 1.1S for four years and a new-shape Punto Sporting since April, I can say the Punto is still a great car to own and drive. Fiat has retained the terrific driving position and spacious cabin - it’s roomier than most cars of a larger size - and there are now lots of useful places to put things like wallets and mobile phones. The gear change is much improved, as is the variable power steering. I do have a few points of concern, though: the boot-latch takes a really hard slam to shut and the indicator stalk doesn’t seem to cancel after left turns. Also, the clicking sound is so quiet you can drive for miles indicating left without knowing it. The footrest next to the clutch pedal that was on the old punto seems to have disappeared. Another annoying point is the use of ordinary flat mirrors on the wings, with no wide-angle section to help you when changing lanes or pulling out of a parking spot. Also, the rear head restraints restrict your view out of the back by quite a degree, although they are removable. I also have some doubts about the quality of the paint finish on this model. Bird mess never had any effect on the paint of my last Punto, but the new model looks rather more susceptible to our flying friends. As usual, Fiat has managed to squeeze an enormous amount of power out of a small engine (80 bhp from a 1.2-litre). However, the car is extremely weight-sensitive and although it is quick with just the driver in place, when fully loaded with four passengers it strains to pull away, just as its 1.1S brother did. One wonders how much better the car might have been had Fiat given it a slightly larger engine - 1.3 or 1.4. It takes a bit of time to get used to a six-speed gearbox, too - and, believe me, you don’t have to be on the motorway to use it. Although gear 1 to 6 are easy enough to use, finding reverse is a nightmare and often the gears can be heard crunching as the car doesn’t quite manage to find the reverse position. There are plenty of useful touches on the Punto Sporting, like the interior lights that turn on when you take the key out of the ignition and the follow-me-home lights which you can set to light up your way as you walk towards your front door. The air-conditioning system is fairly basic, but it does the job (sadly, it also adds heavily to fuel consumption) and the layout of switches and instruments is neat and well thought out. The seats are supportive, although they can get in the way, rubbing against your left arm as you go to change gear.
The Punto Sporting is probably the roomiest and most stylish supermini around, and very strongly recommended if you spend most of your time in the car alone or with one other person beside you. But if you want to carry three or four hefty adults on a regular basis, you should look for something with more grunt.
Review Update
After writing this review I was unfortunate enough to suffer a complete failure in the power steering system, I just got into my car one day and the steering wheel light was lit and the steering was very, very heavy. At this point the car was approx 15 months old BUT had done less then 2, 500 miles. Needless to say this cost a hell of a lot of money to have fixed of which FIAT paid half due to the very low mileage. BUT this isn’t the kind of problem anyone should expect to find witha car that hasn’t had much wear and tear.