I have a Fabia Vrs and had this car for over 2 1/2 years. Very happy with it that was until I saw the new Fiat Grande Punto. I think it looks great and I would be very interested in the Sporting (1.9gtd 130bhp) engine.

I have had many Fiat's before including a Punto and to be honest they were aweful. I know it would probably fall to bits but it really looks so good.

Has anyone had any experience with the JTD engine and how good are they to a bit of tinkering (remap).

My heart says that I should think about it, my head think that this is the a really bad idea. Depreciaiton, quality and together with my Vrs only covered 16k miles it would be very foolish to even consider this.....

Well.. My bro had a Fiat Punto 1.4.. nice car to drive but thats only when it works.. its done around 50K kms and all the problems u can think of happened..

The new fiat is really awesome.. its one of my very favorite hatchbacks.. the interior is nice.. engines r amazing.. quality is way much better than older models.. but for someone in ur stage with a fabia thats done only 16K miles its really a bad idea.. I'd say kep the fabia for one more year and then go for the fiat.. by that time u'll know from others experinces if the new punto is reliable

it's still a "Fix it again tomorrow" car.

maybe wait till new fabia is out? VRS me thinks will look awsome

Went down to loacal Fiat dealers yesterday (but forgot license so no TD yet )Loved the shape and outside looks esp in blue! Was not convinced by dash or wheel, looks nor quality, or seat style, Maybe in leather tho! Will go test drive one sometime but convinced allready thay the vRS order was the right move!

Tony

Hopefully the testdrive will convince you not to buy the Fiat. They may look good, but I still hear horror stories of build quality and bits breaking and falling off. Thats not to say its a bad car, they may have sorted things out for the new Punto.

I had an experience with a JTD engine - It ate itself after 20,000 miles.... Never again would I dirve one unless I had to. I was just lucky that Punto wasn't actually mine.

Things changed alot with the new Punto.. Build quality is much better and its more reliable.. older models were really good to drive to be honest and handeled very well... my bros manual punto used to do 200 Km/h... thats amazing from A 75 or 80 hp car.. all the problems were with the transmision and clutch.. engine was very good.. i've read some reviews abt the new one.. they seem to be so imprssed by the car

it will probrably depreciate really fast aswell, most people i know who owned or own a fiat have troubles with their cars windscreen wipers packing up, electric windows, poor quality and just a bit naff keep the fabia and wait for the new one its only next year and they should be showing it at paris

dont go for the Fiat tho it does look stunning on the outside lol

Thanks for all your informed posts.

I will hang fire at the moment and follow developments with the Vrs and see how the new Punto fairs.

cheers, Tony

It is a new design - would strongly recomend not buying a new design car of any manufacturer. There are always problems in most cars in the 1st year - even skodas (ask shifty)

But being a Fiat - I have had an alfa 156 and a Fiat Stillo. Neither were reliable - the stillo's JTD engine was good though - pitty the same couldn't be said about the electrics.

The problem with fiat is they over supply to hire companies etc = heavy depreciation. If they don't do this with the Grande Punto - it will be a good buy. They haven't done this with the Panda, so their is some hope.

The problem with fiat is they over supply to hire companies etc

The problem is that Fiat STILL make inferior cars, end of.

It's a mystery to me how Fiat (and Alfa) still manage to produce cars of such debatable quality...

I have a Fabia Vrs and had this car for over 2 1/2 years. Very happy with it that was until I saw the new Fiat Grande Punto. I think it looks great and I would be very interested in the Sporting (1.9gtd 130bhp) engine.

I have had many Fiat's before including a Punto and to be honest they were aweful. I know it would probably fall to bits but it really looks so good.

Has anyone had any experience with the JTD engine and how good are they to a bit of tinkering (remap).

My heart says that I should think about it' date=' my head think that this is the a really bad idea. Depreciaiton, quality and together with my Vrs only covered 16k miles it would be very foolish to even consider this.....[/quote']

I had a Fiat, it was great, engine was sweet and loved to be reved. Only problem was the interior fell to bits after 12 months and 13.5k miles of use :thumbdwn:

Went down to loacal Fiat dealers yesterday (but forgot license so no TD yet )Loved the shape and outside looks esp in blue! Was not convinced by dash or wheel, looks nor quality, or seat style, Maybe in leather tho! Will go test drive one sometime but convinced allready thay the vRS order was the right move!

Is it still on Sticker Lane? :confused:

satay with ur vrs ive got a punto and am changing for a fabia

I changed to Skoda from a Fiat Tempra (ugh!) Bits just kept falling off it. By the time it was 5years/50000 miles old, it was ready for the scrapyard.

AndyC