hello all,

Right time for my review of the above car, had it for 7 days now, and up to 1000 miles.... most of my thoughts will be in comparison to the vRS (fabia) that I've been driving for the last two years / 80,000 miles...

looks:

I think It looks great, pretty , without being too girly... the looks are what first got me interested. On Saturday I went to Blackpool, and had someone (a 20 ish bloke and his g/f in a slightly modded clio) slow down as they were passing on the m/way to check it out! never had that in the furby... then I was talking to shifty outside the chippy, and someone else stopped/looked/commented/admired. see pics on page one here http://www.briskoda.net/forums/general-car-chat/what-do-you-drive/78005/

the red really suits this car.... standard 17 inch alloys.

interior: things I like

great design, you really have to see it, from the cratfted steering wheel that just seems to fit in the hands well, to the brushed alluminium trim on the dask....

best part is the blouetooth stereo, best hands free I've used , you press a button on the steering wheel and talk to the car! (it's alive!) I just say "Call Mel" for example, and it calls her! also reads MP3 discs, and has two USB ports for IPOD type things.... seats are incredibly supportive (lumbar?!) makes my back feel much better than in the fabia, hold you well in the corners too...

things I don't like about the interior:

being a three door, the seatbelt mount is too far back, and cuts your neck. the red illumination on the dials at night is a little harsh, and the tick from the indicator is too loud! not as well put together as the Skoda either (no rattles, but bigger panel gaps, trim gaps ect.....)

Safety:

safest car in it's class. NCAP 5, and pedestrian safe. 6 airbags, and ESP as standard.

ride/handling:

Ride is harder than the vRS, front end it SO sharp its a revelation in comparison!! I understand now why people would rave about the jabba ARB.... much more confidence inspiring in the corners, very good grip, and absolutely flat! no body roll to speak of at all! I also hear of people complaining about the vRS's brakes... now, I was always happy with mine.... but another revelation, these are so much better, again, they give more confidence on a 'brisk' drive... very powerful, and I quote Shifty "big rear brake discs...." the steering is lighter and sharper, took a bit of getting used to (I don't like light steering, doesn't give enough feel) but you can position it , and adjust it in corners SO accuratley.

took me about a week, but I've found the limits, the ESP is very quick to control a slide, may not appeal to the purists, as you can only turn the ASR off, you cannot turn the ESP off... benifit of this though, is that it's one insurance group less than the vRS....

can only think of one bad thing in this section... the bloody "city" button for the steering! this makes it lighter for manouvering.... but you'd have to be 3 stone to need this! it's too light already... it need this replacing with the "sport" button in the panda 100, which weighs up the steering for more feel.....

engine/performance:

now, i've read so many reviews that the PD130 engine is a bit loud/harsh/rough ect, and I've never found it a problem in my years with the vRS, however, again, a comparison opens my eyes... refinement is not something I'd assosiate with fiat.. (nice design, poor reliabilty is what springs to mind!) but this car is so smooth and quiet, you's genuinly think you were driving a petrol... the power delivery is similar too.... no big lump of power between 2 and 4 k like in the pD130, but smooth and linear from 1k to 5k.... amazinly quiet too (unless you boot it, when it growls!)

bad? well for the first few hundred miles, I was thinking " this car handles so well, it's a shame it's just not as fast as the vRS..." I was genuinly dissapointed that it felt slow, and I could only get 40 mpg out of it... but my analytical mind reminded me the vRS was like that when new too... must give it time to bed in... after all, it IS 130 bhp.... just like the vRS....

thank GOD it's improved..... much, much better now with 1000 miles on ! speeded up very noticably, can overtake now like I used to in the vRS,puts a smile on my face like the vRS did, and got 47.9 mpg out of it during the days work today! much happier... hope it keeps improving in power/mpg up to 10k like the vRS did...

note: no visible smoke from the exhaust at all....

Angel tuning:

been talking to them they say the engine is great, and they can remap it to 190 bhp easily, but it would eat the clutch in about 5000 miles! They say 170bhp is better, and that way it will keep it's reliability, they are trying to sort out a performance clutch , so they can take advantage of wht the engine will give! I will be giving them a call soon, to arrange an appointment! a guy on the fiat forum, had his timed with an angel remap at 0-60 in 7.1 seconds..... sounds promising!

anyway... that seems about it... any questions, please ask I'm a happy new car owner, if it stays reliable, i may well be checking out the arbarth models in 18 months time!!

nice report. look forward to the 10,000 mile +

nice report. look forward to the 10,000 mile +

give me another 9 weeks! lol... another thing.. 18k service intervals

edit:1800 miles, and no problems... engine is loosening up more and more....

Additional, it's reviewed in Autoexpress this week!! it's pitted against the new mini cooper deisel.... and it wins! cool... they make note of the fabia vRS too nice to see they get the tested 0-60 at less than 9 seconds too..... just like you can with the fabia....

Although not in the same league I went for a test in the 75hp base model Grande Punto diesel (with a view to replacing the wifes 106) All I can say was I was impressed, build quality was good, everything felt solid and well put together and the engine was suprisingly flexible and cruised at nsl with no problems and still had a bit of urge beyond that without having to change down. Considering you can get these from Drive the Deal for under 8k (which makes it 1500 quid less than the equivalent Fabia) it makes a very tempting commuting car.

Just waiting for a call from my local Fiat dealer to test drive the Punto Sporting 1.9, still unsure, after all its still a FIAT

Had a look at a 1.4 Dynamic over the weekend and was impressed. Appeared well screwed to together. The one I looked at was at Motorpoint priced

Although not in the same league I went for a test in the 75hp base model Grande Punto diesel (with a view to replacing the wifes 106) All I can say was I was impressed, build quality was good, everything felt solid and well put together and the engine was suprisingly flexible and cruised at nsl with no problems and still had a bit of urge beyond that without having to change down. Considering you can get these from Drive the Deal for under 8k (which makes it 1500 quid less than the equivalent Fabia) it makes a very tempting commuting car.

That engine is great... it has 119kg of co2 emmisions, which puts it in band B, you know how much that is for car tax for a year?!

I seen my first one in the flesh today and i agree its a lovely looking motor. Thumbs up to Fiat this time round with the punto.

Oh dear... The Fiat Forum..... Whatever you do, do not tell a 16 year old, that his 1.1 Cinq, with an air-filter can't do 0-60 in 8 seconds flat.

And ... tell a Moderator, that driving 130mph down the road, when it's poring with rain, and writing your car off is dangerous.... otherwise you'll end up being banned! LOL

Oh dear... The Fiat Forum..... Whatever you do, do not tell a 16 year old, that his 1.1 Cinq, with an air-filter can't do 0-60 in 8 seconds flat.

And ... tell a Moderator, that driving 130mph down the road, when it's poring with rain, and writing your car off is dangerous.... otherwise you'll end up being banned! LOL

lol... this is SOOOOO true... they are 99% chaved up cheap motors..... (and the mods suck) however, i met a few of the GP owners at the remap today, and they were great, but to afford a new GP sporting, I guess you have to be older, and a tad more mature I stay on the GP section (or on here!)

remap review.....

bloody great! the car feels like it should have done from the factory now.... according to a weight/power calculator, it should do 0-60 in 7.5 seconds (I haven't tried this) but the mid range (a-road overtaking ) is so much better, very happy now..... pulls like a train! to angel tuning!

Nice motor. Fiat really seem to be making great looking cars nowadays. Has your car got leather or is it on the options list. The Punto is a great looking car but I am still unsure of the image and residuals. Mind you 5 years ago I would not have bought a Skoda so times are a changing. Also how much is it for service as opposed to Skoda?.

Nice motor. Fiat really seem to be making great looking cars nowadays. Has your car got leather or is it on the options list. The Punto is a great looking car but I am still unsure of the image and residuals. Mind you 5 years ago I would not have bought a Skoda so times are a changing. Also how much is it for service as opposed to Skoda?.

seeing as you asked, I'll give a little update, as I'm on 11.5k now.......

leather is an option, but better value than the fabia...

Thanks for all the info on the car!

I bought my fabia vRS last year and had to try really hard to decide between that and the Grande Punto. In the end it was the lack of second hand models that made me choose the skoda as I could get one for

Thanks for all the info on the car!

I bought my fabia vRS last year and had to try really hard to decide between that and the Grande Punto. In the end it was the lack of second hand models that made me choose the skoda as I could get one for

yeah, the 1.3 mjet is great. Very quiet too! My vRS sounds like a truck in comparison. I'd be quite tempted by the 1.3 90bhp grande punto and then get it re-mapped. Still, not sure if that would be quite enough!

I'm about to get my fabia vRS remapped so I can't imagine I'll want to step right down to around 120bhp!

1.3 90BHP is no longer available and having driven both the 90 and the 75 I have to say that the 75 was far more responsive, the 90 had huge lag (something noted by a couple of reviewers).

Interestingly, according to the new Fiat site you can now also get the Grande Punto with a 1.4 Tjet (petrol)engine pushing out 120bhp.

SWMBO picks up her 1.3 mjet Panda on Tuesday

I had noticed that the 1.3 90bhp was not longer on the website!

I'd like to try the new 1.4 turbo but I think I would still go for the diesel due to the better fuel economy.

Hope she enjoys the new Panda!

yeah, the 1.3 mjet is great. Very quiet too! My vRS sounds like a truck in comparison. I'd be quite tempted by the 1.3 90bhp grande punto and then get it re-mapped. Still, not sure if that would be quite enough!

I'm about to get my fabia vRS remapped so I can't imagine I'll want to step right down to around 120bhp!

BUT...... if you went for the 1.3 mjet in the new fiat 500, then remapped to 120bhp... that would feel just as fast as the remapped furby due to the lack of weight! the panda100hp is a cracking drive, but not quite a "quick" car... 120bhp would be much better

1.3 90BHP is no longer available and having driven both the 90 and the 75 I have to say that the 75 was far more responsive, the 90 had huge lag (something noted by a couple of reviewers).

Interestingly, according to the new Fiat site you can now also get the Grande Punto with a 1.4 Tjet (petrol)engine pushing out 120bhp.

SWMBO picks up her 1.3 mjet Panda on Tuesday

I've heard about the lag on th 90 hp engine too! must be annoying...

hope she's happy with the panda... a review would be nice (Then get it re-mapped and reviewed! lol... )