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By
EWAN KENNEDY
3 September 2007
When Fiat made its welcome return to the Australian passenger car
market in 2006 it did so with a single model. The Punto, called the
Grand Punto in Europe, but simply Punto in Australia, was only offered
with a manual gearbox. A few months later a self-shifting manual, called
the Dual Logic, was introduced on the price-leading Punto Dynamic
versions. This is the car we have road tested for a week in our home
conditions.
This isn’t a full automatic in the sense that
most Australians understand it, rather it’s a manual gearbox
that does its own shifting. You can either put it in ‘A’ mode
and let it do all its own gearchanges, or drive it as a manual. A
manual without a clutch pedal, you simply flick the change lever
forward to go up a gear and backwards to bring it down.
In the petrol engined 1.4-litre Punto we tested
the Dual Logic gearbox was a five-speed unit. It adds $1500 to the
price, bringing it up to $21,490. On-road costs have to be
factored in.
This price is reasonable when you consider the
Fiat Punto gives you the prestige of a European car that is pretty
well specified and has achieved five stars in Euro NCAP testing.
A well as driving convenience, a transmission of
this type means there is no loss of performance or economy, both
of which can suffer in a full automatic.
The 1.4-litre Fiat petrol engine is reasonably
nippy on the road, it’s no ball of fire but it has enough
acceleration for most drivers. On the other hand, hilly roads with
a fair load will tax this small car.
Economy is particularly impressive. During our
testing we had no trouble getting the consumption below six litres
per hundred kilometres on motorway running at around 100 to 120
km/h. Even around town it’s not hard to get the consumption
below seven litres per hundred in moderate conditions. Push the
Punto in heavy-duty traffic and it’s still seldom going to go
over eight litres. Why would you go for an expensive, noisy diesel
engine when you can have a petrol unit like this one?
The downside of sequential manual gearboxes is
that they can be rough in operation, especially on upshifts in
lower gears. Reversing is difficult when parking as the clutch
doesn’t slip to give finer speed control. One uphill kerbside
parking manoeuvre in a tight spot verged on the nerve racking.
It’s possible to smooth things out a little with
some experience in driving the Punto sequential manual, so if you
do most of your driving in tight traffic conditions the Pro Logic
gearbox may be the one for you. Personally, we would go for the
full-manual any day.
The lines of the Fiat Punto are elegant in their
simplicity. Only Italian stylists could have made such a basic
shape look so attractive.
Interior space in the Punto is surprisingly good
given the car’s relatively small exterior dimensions. There’s
plenty of front headroom and reasonable rear leg and headroom. The
interior feels even more spacious than it really is thanks to
clever design that really gives the impression the Punto stretches
out in all directions.
Not only does it work nicely from a practical
point of view, the little Fiat's cabin is styled to perfection
with simple sweeping curves making a strong statement and arguably
lifting the car into the next size up as far as prestige is
concerned.
Boot space is good thanks to it having plenty of
depth. A large suitcase of a couple of small-medium ones can be
carried with room to spare for small softer items around them.
The Fiat Punto has handling that’s very European
in its actions and the feedback it gives to the driver. It is
enjoyable to drive hard and has plenty of safety in reserve.
Noise levels are generally well subdued, though
some coarse-chip sealed roads are less isolated from the interior
than we like and can set up quite a racket at times. Rough roads
can also cause the car to be bumped around, sometimes with a fair
bit of suspension noise. As the Punto is aimed at the suburban
dweller these latter criticisms are of less importance than in
some other cars.
Our test car had an irritating wind whistle at the
driver’s door as well as a rattle behind the dashboard. These
flaws would indicate that the Fiat company hasn’t been quite as
good at sorting out build quality than is common with other
marques.
Punto comes well-equipped with all models having
air conditioning, cruise control, trip computer, power windows and
mirrors, remote central locking, CD player with steering wheel
audio controls and ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution.
If your budget will stretch to more than a basic
Asian small car and you are looking for something out of the
ordinary, then the Fiat Punto may be just the thing for your
garage, or that tight parking spot outside your inner-city home.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Dynamic 1.4-litre five-door hatch - $19,990
Dynamic 1.3-litre diesel five-door hatch - $23,990
Emotion 1.9-litre diesel five-door hatch - $27,990
Sport 1.9-litre diesel three-door hatch - $27,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: $1500 option in Dynamic, not offered in
Emotion or Sport
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all modelsSide Airbags: Standard in
all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Fiat Punto Dynamic 1.3-litre
diesel five-door hatch)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.248 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 17.6:1
Bore/Stroke: 69.6 x 82.0 mm
Maximum Power: 90 kW @ 4000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 200 Nm @ 1750 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: Not supplied
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4030 mm
Wheelbase: 2510 mm
Width: 1687 mm
Height: 1490 mm
Turning Circle: 10.1 metres
Kerb Mass: 1145kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 45 litres
Towing Ability: 400kg (1000kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, telescopic
dampers, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Torsion beam interconnected wheels with torsion
bar, telescopic hydraulic dampers
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Drum
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 11.9 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 18.0 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: Diesel
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 4.6 L/100 km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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