Talk:Fiat Punto

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Noticed an error with this article: the Punto is not "officially titled Grande Punto". Grande Punto is a larger version of the car, and has a slightly different front end. The photo in the infobox is of a Grande Punto. A quick visit to the Fiat UK website will allow anyone to see that both the Punto and Grande Punto are available for sale (see the "showroom" in the bottom right).[1] I'll add this to my watchlist, but I'm no expert, so someone else can correct this if they get there first. -- DeLarge 10:11, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know, the Grande Punto is the new model, whereas the cars sold as just Punto are the old, mk 2 model. \COPEH 85.82.241.82 21:07, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is it appropriate to mention problems with this car in the article?

My girlfriend drives one of these (a 1998 Punto S 60) and has been having problems with it. The clutch completely went last night and when the break-down guy came to tow away the car, he laughed and said " I see 200 of these in a week - they're my most popular model!". From talking to various mechanics, it appears that the Punto is infamous for having problems and breaking down (apparently usually around the 35000 miles mark). This view of the car is so wide-spread in my experience that I wonder is it worth mentioning in the article? For a source, see this link from The Independent Motoring section where the Punto is the worst car in a "Driver Power survey by 'Auto Express'". http://www.independent.co.uk/living/motoring/features/article353983.ece --Brian Fenton 11:22, 19 February 2007 (UTC)


I've added a comment to that regard.--Brian Fenton 15:54, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I would not put these kind of statements in intro section, if somebody definetly wants it should be in right model section, we can find all kind of statistics, so it kinda unnecessary to put these on car articles --— Typ932T | C  16:04, 1 June 2007 (UTC)...what car says this about punto in 1997 :

"Shining star in the current Fiat line-up is the Punto, a spacious supermini that's fast developing a reputation even the Japanese would envy. Its overall score of just 4.1 is quite remarkable, placing it within spitting distance of that 'supermini that never breaks', the Nissan Micra. "

Fair point, it's just that (from talking to mechanics), the Punto seems to have a particularly bad reputation compared to other car. One mechanic told me "I built my house from fixing Puntos". Thanks for discussing before reverting my comment. ;-) --Brian Fenton 17:49, 1 June 2007 (UTC)
I think it's horses for courses with cars and I'm not sure your experience is entirely indicative. I've owned a 1995 Punto since I passed my test 4 years ago and it has never once broken down. From the home mechanic's point of view, the Punto Mk1 is easy to work on and therefore very easy to do the kind of maintainence that usually prevents most breakdowns. As far as I know, the Grande Punto is so far proving to be very reliable, and the consensus of the Punto over its model life is certainly that it is no better or worse than most supermins. Alexpritchard 08:42, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
It's not as bad as, say, the awful Rover 25... but the one my mother owned did have it's fair share of recurrent faults, mostly along the lines of what I've seen others complain about (including those listed here) - clutch simply disintegrating when trying to turn right uphill across a busy road (and taking the gearbox with it), lambda sensor / ECU / injectors that appeared to be made out of pewter and phlegm, etc. I'm being recommended to get one of these second hand as I'm after something more economical than my current vauxhall, but it's going to be a hard sell as I also need something with bombproof northern european style reliability...
Also as an aside, the article could do with a bit of a general cleanup and tidy, some of the information seems to be rather selective and perhaps written from the standpoint of someone who knows a fair deal about one or two of the models in particular and the range as a whole but hasn't looked up anything on the others to give them more than a passing glance ... e.g. the 1.2 8v and 16v engines (75 and 85) weren't just fitted to the ELX models, but all the types - S, SX, ELX, etcetera, and it doesn't even list the power levels for the 1.1 (55 and 60hp)... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.180.56 (talk) 20:21, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Probably doesn't belong here, and the Punto experts know that the common weaknesses are HGF and clutch release bearings. Ease of repair is designed into the engine, which is for the most part, very reliable, and extremely proven. --PiP 20:33, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Grande Punto

Ok, Im new at this editing lark, but I'm thinking that the information on the Grande Punto should not be on this page. It is not a mark 3 version of the Punto, it is basically a new car with a new chassis and body shell. I was in the middle of creating a page for this but it seems to have been reverted... Onesti (talk) 09:23, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

I disagree with you. In South America the Grande Punto is simply referred to as the Punto. The Grande Punto is a Punto and replaced Punto MK2. Just because the styling changed drAmatically doesn't mean that it's not from the same family. The Punto mk 1 and 2 are very different cars, yet there is no disput here. I think that, while there should be a seperate page for Grande Punto, it should also have a section here. That's my view. On another point, this article isn't the best, it is difficult to understand, and not that up to date —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.142.234.48 (talk) 23:17, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

See thats where I have a problem with this. You wouldn't put the Ford Cortina, Sierra and Mondeo on the same page, as they are completely different models even though one replaces the other. Just because the Punto and Grande Punto share a similar name (I didnt realise that the GP was called the Punto in Brazil :) ) does not mean they are the same car. The Grande Punto is not a mark 3 variant of the Punto, the mark 1 and mark 2 are the same family. I think what we've got here is going the right way, just need to clear up the wording. Agreed though the page for the Punto needs sorting out. Will give it a go when I can... Onesti (talk) 21:25, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

But isn't this the same for all modern cars? If the first focus was called escort it would still be included on the escort page! Yet they are completely different cars. A good example I've found to this effect is the Panda-bothe generations are on the same page, and yet there is a near 30 yr gap between the first Panda and the second Panda!

But these cars are named differently other is Punto and other is Grande Punto, (www.fiat.com)--— Typ932T | C  18:24, 23 December 2007 (UTC)
Not really, Fiat alternates between both names on occasions, also note no "Grande" on the badge. It is pretty clear they intend to drop the prefix once the 188 Punto is gone, but for now "Grande" sounds better than "Nuova" (or "Nuovo", actually). I see no reason for split now based on the vehicles being "different". PrinceGloria (talk) 21:05, 15 February 2008 (UTC)