Fiat Punto [2011-2014] User Reviews

Exterior Punto has one of the best exteriors, unlike Maruti who only make Money, fiat offers good built( body is strong) paint job is excellent, One of the best designs and the vehicle is bigggggggggg.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Space is fantastic, people seating in the rear seats can relax, no problem with leg room and no problem for tall people. Comfort is amazing with the suspension loaded on punto, it just glides on the road. Ac is one of the best in class. Good seating.

Features Plastic used for interiors could have been better which is one of the drawback. No bottle holder in the car.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox No problem with gear movement, its smooth and easy. Engine is sluggish below 20KMPH. but after that there is no looking back as Turbo opens up. Very smooth zero noise inside the car. My car is fairly new done about 3k Kms, bought in Jan 2012.  I travel mostly during peak traffic( peak hour) its bumper to bumper traffic for about 3-4 Kms and I get about 15 km/ltr. On highway I got about 19-20 kms/ltr( first trip in my car). The efficieny seems to be increasing as days pass by and should be better after the first service.

Ride Quality & Handling This car gives so much comfort during drives, engine noise is nill. you cant figure out that the car is doing more than 100kmph. effortless driving. I drive for long distance and in peak traffic with minimal stress. its like a gaming on PS3.

Final Words This is one of the best cars I have driven. I took lot of  time to decide on which car but finally I am happy about my decsion. The maintainace cost is ver less I have heard. Most of my friends are happy about my car and its performance. I can proudly recommend this  car to anyone as the car stands out from the other competitors like Fabia,swift and POLO. Maruti just makes money from people, cost per service may be low but you need to service it quite often, this mean machine of mine requires a service once in 15k kms and hardly costs 4-5 k. Its not only a VFM but it is a complete car.

Areas of improvement Interior plastic could have been of better quality, auto lock feature is not available. Bottle holder is required atleast two of them.

 

Drive,suspension,engine,control,AC, built quality,finishing...etcQuality of plasti used for interiors,Visibility while using reverse gear.

Dear All,

Placed order for Active-diesel during mid March, 2012 and got delivered in 2^nd April, 2012.

First Appearance the elegant and timid outside look attracts everybody and the same with me.  Big wheels, Ultra big doors with wide hand rests & large dash board(not present even in SUVs & MUVs), elegantly designed steering wheel with good grip on both sides, a large amount of interior space and luxury seats which even the fattest people in earth can accommodate.  Truly eye catcher while the vehicle on road.   The amount of noise normally present in Diesel Vehicles is comparatively less in Punto Diesel.  Due to this I preferred this vehicle.

Before having this car, I took test drive of diesel versions of I20, Fabia, fiesta & figo, Beat, dZire.  Because of Shape & Waiting Time I dropped dZire; Lesser Boot Space, less inner space, size of rear seat, position of opening of rear doors, I dropped Beat; Fabia, & I20 are costlier when compared with Punto, and finally figo which lesser features.  Punto Active has all the features which I like to have in my new Car.  Though placed as basic model, it has inbuilt Music System, Tachometer, tilt  steering, large hand rests, effective AC with rear vents, Power Steering, Central Locking, Tubeless Tyres and I suppose it is the best Value for Money in this Class.  Because of less advertising campaign & poor marketing, this car has not ruled the roads.  And I suppose after launch of new fiat cars like bravo etc, fiat may do well in market.

Earlier I used Santro.  During one month of purchase of Punto I drove for 1100 Kms and I felt the difference of comfort, and driving a big vehicle.  Though it comes under hatch, the size is  13mm lesser than 4Meters, hence it enjoys the excise cut and delivers large leg & boot space of seden.  Special features available in this basic mode like real time Mileage display, trip indicator, distance to empty, tilt steering, the look of SUV from inside etc.  There are uncountable features available and these features are not indicated either in brochure or in any of the sites.  I am amazed with the enhanced ground clearance which I feel driving an SUV while driving.  I am sure that the owners of Punto may feel the same as I feel after purchasing the car.

Regarding after sales service, I am satisfied when I took the vehicle to the service station at Mandi, of Himachal Pradesh for getting a small error rectified at rear window.

This is my experience in the last one month of using the car. I will be back with more updates of my car.  Bye to all.

Final Words Good Value for Money.

Areas of improvement Professionalism in Marketing Personnel.

Style, Shape, Space & FeaturesMarketing Network & Sales Personnel

Exterior It has got damn good looks, if made resemblance, it would look like Austin Martin speedster. Strong body when compared to other cars in this segment. Give you a feel of riding a sedan, even it is a hatchback. The concern point is just that the road clearence could have been better, heard that the latest 2012 cars from fiat have got this issue resolved.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Interiors are really good. THe leg room and boot space is good. The voice command intake is really cool and helps you a lot while driving. It keeps you focus on driving and avoids distraction. Noice reductions just great. The main things that a little worry is, you cannot disconnect a call using voice command or steering wheel keys. The music system is just good but not great. Back leg room is just quite good, could have been better.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is the best part of this car, damn good. Even it is a diesel engine, it give you a feel of riding a petrol car. Smooth and sweet. Very nice and very less sound compared to anyother diesel cars in this segment. I drive in heavy traffic all the time in city. With AC on and frequent gear shift, and brakes, it is giving me a mileage of 13km per litre in city and it is giving an average of 20km on highway with AC. My car has got little issues with second gear when driving on ghat sections, it is almost dead slow when taking it up on the ghat. You will have take it on first gear. all other gear work fine per the speed. I am not sure is it the same with every other diesel car.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride is just awesome, beliive me, the car did not have little vibrations even when I was cruzing at a speed of 165 km/hr. Really good ease of riding and it doesn't strain your body while driving. It's shows the best on highway. Pick-up is little less when compared to swift, but that is because of it weight. Hence you have the stability. The concern part is when you are driving in city, the real problem in the turning radius can be seen. You will have to estimate as if you are riding a sedan.

Final Words Awesome car, for ride and comfort. Best diesel car in it class and segment. Nice features with voice commands. Feels like driving an international car. Choose this car if you are going for diesel car in this segment. It is really good than swift and figo overall.

Areas of improvement Turning radius, gear shift.

Ride, comfort, features, value for money.Turning Radius, Second gear shift

I bought my Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 Emotion Pack in Sept 2009. Since then I have driven the car for 76000kms till date and I would like to tell you all that the car still performs the same as it was on day one. Its a car made for those who have a passion for driving. Its safe, powerful, and comfortable. I'd say its value for every rupee you spend to buy this mean machine.

Exterior Car with a sporty and macho look

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Insufficient legroom for passengers in the rear seat.

Comfort in the front seats is excellent. Very good lumbar support, you can drive this car continiously 3 to 4 hours without taking a break and you still wont feel exhausted. Sufficient space for luggage in the boot. Very good audio system with blue & me

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Smooth gearbox. Consistent performance since I bought the car, with a mileage of 16 to 17km/ltr in city and 18.5 on highways @ speeds exceeding 110km/hr and 21km/ltr on highways @ 80 to 90 km/hr speed

Ride Quality & Handling Great suspension, excellent road gripping and stability even @ 160km/hr. ABS with EBD gives you a safety at high speeds. The clutch lever is butter smooth, practically effortless and comfortable in city traffic.

Manuvering in bumper to bumper traffic is a tough job as the steering feels heavy with a big turning radius of 5.5mtrs. 

Final Words As said apart from a couple of cons the Fiat Grande Punto is stylish, comfortable and great value for money.

Areas of improvement Committed dealership with More service centres and timely availability of consumables & spares at the service centres.

Improve the fit and finish of plastic components

Inbuilt reverse parking sensors with camera would be appreciated.

Proper placement of drivers seat height adjustment lever.

driving pleasure, low maintainance, good & consistent milage and performance, excellent suspensionInsufficient legroom for passengers on rear seat, inferior finish of plastics

Like many others, Punto was never on top of our must-buy list. Like many others, we played safe and almost booked a Maruti. Like many others, we went for a Punto test-drive on a lazy Sunday and there was just no looking back after that! Despite the reluctance of family and friends, decided on the Punto because no other car felt and rode like it did. Very comfortable and spacious, yet easy to manouvre and easy to park. The major red-flag has been the after sales service, prompting low sales of this beauty. In the 2 years that I have owned it, not only has the service been excellent, even the cost of service/repairs is very low (comparable to Maruti that I previously owned). I would assign poor service reputation to a bad first-impression that has been hard to change despite great improvements in recent years.

Ironically, the problems, if any, are created by Fiat themselves rather than the (now defunct) Tata JV. The car-maker is often late and tardy in supplying spares and accessories to the dealership, which causes return visits and heart burn. Took me over a year to get Fiat-approved central lock installed; while I was willing to pay for it, just wasn't available. Ditto for AC cooling kit replacement (free recall) that took 2 years for want of supply. Each time, the dealership installed everything quickly, did not charge any extra, and delivered the car on time as promised. The service engineer kept us informed on the progress/delay as needed. 

On a day to day basis, these niggles don't matter and are expected with any car. From a driving point of view, both Linea and the Grande Punto are extremely well-egineered and as a driver you can feel the 'power' and 'refinement' of the beast. 

Now for some specific details:

Exterior Absolutely the best looking car in town. Love the front grille and available in some cool colors, like Tuscan Wine.  

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) This was the practical reason to get the car. Wanted a hatchback, with the boot space of a sedan. Can fit 2 large suitcases and a duffel bag easily in the boot of a Punto. Regularly carry strollers and stuff. The rear seat folds, have carried chests and tables in it.

The front seats have excellent thigh support that make long drives very comfortable. The quality of plastic used could be better, but they've saved on such frills while keeping the metal heavy to keep costs low and safety high. 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Considering how heavy the car is, quite satisfied with the typical mileage of 10-11KMPL in city driving, going up to 15-17 on highway.  Gear box is very responsive. Pick up is a bit of drag, compared to Swift and Hyundai, but once you get the hang it is a stress free drive. Service interval of 15000KM is very useful and welcome. 

Ride Quality & Handling Despite the weight and size, car is very easy to manouvre in city and weave around auto rickshaws. Excellent brakes allow you to snatch windows of opportunity during gridlocks. The steering wheel design also helps keep fatigue low and pleasure high. Ground clearance is quite decent, though I hear the new 2012 version has even better GC. Cabin noise is almost nil (except when AC is on) and the ride is quite bump-free.

Final Words Since social perception and demand defines resale price, Punto suffers the lack of marketing by Fiat in India. If that's less important for you than pure joy of driving and safety that comes with a heavy car, Punto is an obvious choice. 

Areas of improvement Hopefully, the decision by Fiat to go solo in India will help improve focus on marketing. There is nothing wrong with the cars, but the management at Fiat India definitely needs an over haul. They seem extremely lazy and incompetent, destroying the brand equity of Fiat with their tardy approach. Late comers like Renault and VW have been able to establish a good presence, while Fiat languishes despite best efforts by Tata Motors.

As a person who is not fond of driving, the best compliment to the Grande Punto is that it makes me look for excuses to go long distances on weekends. And even the crazy Bangalore traffic cannot wipe the satisifed smile off my face, after I have arrived in the Punto.

Still India's best looking car, comfortable seats, quality of metal, good suspension, ride qualityNothing really, except the availability of spares and accessories

Exterior Chrome plated,stylings, like a sedan filled with features and performance.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Blue&me is awesome ,still having fun on it. voice recognisation,srs dual airbags, usb and cd player,abs with ebd and electronic stability system,tripmeter and tripdata, service remainder,low fuel warning,seat belt warning with buzzer!,climate control, etc.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Powerful performance, refined engine, easy to drive, nice control.nice fuel economy . its a diesel engine and its a peppy engine too.multiget(MTD) engine which makes this car very very powerful.

Ride Quality & Handling Very easy to drive, nice immersion of quality.very strong built body.its rated 5 star for safety for grande punto.

Final Words Defeated i20, fabia, micra, pulse, accent, palio, maruti, aveo, a-star, nissan sunnyetc... no hatchpack cars can defeat grande punto. im planning to buy this sesky car.

Nice car for a family packed with lots of features and safety equipment level.I took a test drive today morning and i was so impressed that I gave the booking amount for the 1.3L multijet, emotion pack, the top end car, immediately. It is so amazing, that the car is really a great value for money. Airbag, Blue&me, auto climate control, alloys, superb interiors, excellent drive comfort, steering mounted audio controls and that too for 6.7 on the road. I was amazed when the car was going at 20km/hr in the 5th gear without any problem. The car doesn't require frequent gear shift. It offers a great driving comfort. The car offers a good pick up. It is very comfortable to sit inside. The engine is already proven and the showroom guy told me that it requires oil change only 30000km. Tried the blue and me. It is good. No cabin noise. AC is powerful. Music system is really good with the 6 speakers. I had test driven most of the cars in its class.

Areas of improvement Boot space is very large, powerful engine, comfy inside, cup holders, 4 integrated speakers, lots of space in it.

features,performance,etc..-nil-

Exterior One of the most influencing factor for me to buy GRANDE PUNTO, just loved the looks.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Nice interiors, very spacious and comfortable. even the rear seats have enough leg room.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is considered to be the soul of the car and Grande Punto has the best, award winning engine. really like the performance of the engine, The fuel economy is a little less (arnd 13-15 kmpl), maybe I have covered jst 1000 kms, contacted the fiat officials and they say that it will go upto 17-20 kmpl after first service (on 5000 kms). hope it does so. The gearbox is smooth. no problems in shifting.

Ride Quality & Handling The best thing that I realised about Grande Punto is its ride quality and handling. loved the way it smoothly zips around.

Final Words Awesome Hatchback, Great Value for Money. I would love to recommend it to others.

Areas of improvement I dont think there are any major areas of improvement. Only that reverse parking sensors should be provided due to small rear windscreen.

Looks, Handling and Driving, Space, Comfort, Engine PerformanceSmall rear wind screen

Exterior The looks are good, features inside are decent if compared to other cars in the same segment. It's a car you would like to drive very safe and good car.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Fuel economy is good engine should have been more powerfull. The suspensions also goes bad after 30000 Kms.

Ride Quality & Handling Its a value for money car but it has pathetic customer service and that's the reason fiat is unsuccessful in India.

Final Words I had a very bad experience with fiat in customer service I had a few issues with the service dealer the way they cheated me and after complaining to fiat they hardly cared what I went through I would suggest though the car is good but don't buy a car who's manufacturerfront care for the customers.

Areas of improvement Till the time fiat don't have their own service stations customers will never be satisfied with the after sales service. I hope they do it very soon.

Fuel economy, good brakes, a very safe carCustomer service is pathetic

Got my Punto Dynamic diesel 0n 1st September 2012, already clocked around 3500kms and to be honest I am loving it. Looks is what got my eyes since the first time i saw a Punto few years back and then a test drive and i was convinced 100%. Not even the harshest of Fiat critics would deny its good looks.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Quite spacious front seats no problems for even the tallest of guys as the seats have a long back slide and height adjustable. Seats have a premium feel to it. The rear is a bit cramped though for taller guys. Decent boot of 280 ltrs. The centre console is beautiful so is the instrument panel, the steering feels great, the foot well is spacious with a dead pedal which is quite handy in long drives.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox 76 PS means that the wt to power ratio is quite good and the acceleration is great thanks to its 197NM of torque which kicks in at 1750 RPM, you feel that kickback effect. Highway it gives around 18+ kmpl in the city it comes down to about 13kmpl and my AC is on almost all of the time.

Ride Quality & Handling Best in class, I have driven the swift, i20, beat and i can vouch for it whether you are doing 40km/hr or 100+ km/hr you are in full control. It tackles the bumps and the rough roads with ease.

Final Words Just worried about the infamous TATA after sales service, otherwise i have no complaints with the car.

Areas of improvement Improvement in Public Relations vis a vis both FIAT and TATA.

Looks, Fuel economy, Comfort, Built quality, GC (185mm), Boot space..Stock tyres could have been wider, some interior plastics, poor quality speakers.