Fiat PUNTO SPORTING
A Basic Budget Doesn't Have To Restrict You To A Boring Supermini. Jonathan Crouch Tries The Punto Sporting
True driving satisfaction doesn't really have very much to do with speed. Rather, it's about two things; handling and grip. How does the car respond when you turn the wheel - and can you get all its power onto the road, even in extreme situations?
If the model you have in mind can offer such a blend of traction and action, then its actual power output need not matter over-much. If you've sporting preferences and are buying on a budget, this discovery is really rather liberating. Instead of paying umpteen thousand for an over-engined or turbocharged shopping rocket, you find that you can have your fun in more affordable doses. For proof, you've only to take a drive in
Fiat's 95bhp Punto Sporting. Here, for around £11,095, there are more smiles per mile than you'd get from many a high-performance three-door costing twice as much. The handling balance is great and theres no drama involved in getting that power down.
| Build |
 |
| Comfort |
 |
| Depreciation |
 |
| Economy |
|
| Equipment |
 |
| Handling |
|
| Insurance |
|
| Performance |
|
| Styling |
|
| Value |
|
"There are more smiles per mile than you'd get from many a high-performance three-door costing twice as much"
The Sporting model shares its core styling with the rest of the latest Punto range. Anyone familiar with the cars previous incarnation will notice the larger clear-lensed headlamps and the three-part under-bumper grille that have received mixed reviews and the rather neater treatment to the rear end. In making this Sporting more sporty, though,
Fiat have tacked on a few extras. 15" alloy wheels, side skirts, a sports front bumper and a livelier grille all put in an appearance to confirm the cars direction in life. Inside you get leather on the steering wheel and the gear knob as well as equipment running to air-conditioning, a CD-player and electric heated door mirrors. Curtain airbags and ABS brakes are also included to supplement the twin front airbags that feature on all Puntos. On the road is where it matters most though and the Sporting shouldnt disappoint.
The 1.4-litre engine arrived with this latest version of the Punto and its official title of 1.4 16-valve FIRE should tell you that its designed to be on the warm side. Peak power of 95bhp shows up at 5,800rpm and the top torque comes in at 4,500rpm.
The top speed of 111mph will be plenty for most and the 9.9-second dash to 60mph represents a useful turn of speed. Perhaps of equal importance to buyers in this sector will be the 46.3mpg combined fuel consumption, proving that pace and parsimony dont have to be mutually exclusive.
Power is directed to the front wheels through a well-engineered 6-speed transmission system. All right, so the Punto Sporting is not earth-shatteringly fast but as we've already said, driving satisfaction isn't something you measure against the stopwatch. If you want fun behind the wheel, the chassis and suspension are where its at. This Punto uses a proven MacPherson strut suspension set-up at the front and a lightweight Torsion beam at the rear. Engineers have upped the cars ride height by 10mm to accommodate bigger shock absorbers making everything smoother over the bumps but theyve also taken steps to retain the crisp handling of the previous model.
Drive the Punto Sporting and youd have to say that theyve made a decent fist of it. The steering's good too, with a power-assisted set-up tuned to react quickly to driver inputs. Nor do you have to struggle with it when you're trying to park the car in a congested street: press the 'City' button on the console and at low speeds, the assistance becomes finger-light. As for practicalities, there's more space in the back than you might expect - and a decent capacity boot. There's no five-door option with Sporting trim - though bear in mind that exactly the same engine is offered in five-door Dynamic Plus and Eleganza five-door models, although here, you have to do without the stiffer settings and sporty bits. Inside the accent is on user-friendliness, with useful storage compartments wherever you look. Small items will always be safely tucked away - but easy to lose. The interior also benefits from the drive to endow the Punto with a more upmarket ambiance.
Two-tone dashboards give the car an airier feel than its predecessor and dual-zone climate control is now available. A fascinating piece of electronics is the Connect OBN system, an optional off-board navigation system. Rather than rely on the more usual CD-ROM of information that invariably fails to mention a newly-built motorway or terminates as you cross a national border, Connect OBN instead uses information stored centrally. Users pay a nominal fee every time they download a route and it keeps costs down.
The Punto isnt a car that Fiat can afford to gamble on. The Barchetta yes, the Multipla maybe but the Punto represents the financial lifeblood of the company. Its been a success story to date with over 375,000 pounding our streets, but in order to keep pace with the latest generation of supermini challengers, a number of changes were necessary and they seem to have done the trick. The Punto Sporting is a class-leading 'warm' hatchback with more style than most of its immediate rivals - for the same money as a boring shopping runabout. The young at heart will certainly want to try it.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Fiat Punto Sporting
PRICES: £11,095 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 7
CO2 EMISSIONS: 145g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.6s / Max Speed 111mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 36.2mpg / (extra urban) 55.4mpg / (combined) 46.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags/ curtain airbags/ ABS/ seatbelt pre-tensioners
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 3800/1660/1480mm
<< Back to Fiat car reviews
<< Back to car reviews homepage
Find New & Used Cars in the UK |
New & Used Fiat Cars For Sale UK
