Fiat Punto Turbo Sport 2008 Review

Road Test - Fiat Punto Turbo Sport

RRP: $ 25,990
Price as tested: $ 25,990
Crash rating: 5 Star ENCAP
Fuel: PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.6
CO2 emissions (g/km): 155
Also consider: Volkswagen Polo GTi (more here) Ford Fiesta XR4 (more here), Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart (more here)

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 4.0/5.0
Safety: 3.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

About our ratings

The Fiat Punto Turbo Sport is fun, fast, stylish, quick, perky, pretty, nippy, zippy and just quirky enough to be enduringly endearing. Did this tester like it? Are Ferraris red?

The Punto has been on sale in Australia since 2006 and formed the backbone of the iconic Italian brand's passenger car return Down Under. Highly specified, they represent reasonable value for money -- all versions have cruise control, aircon, ABS brakes, electric front windows, central locking and electric power steering as standard.

With three diesels and two petrol engines, five and six-cog manual transmissions, three and five-door bodies and three distinct trim levels, there are not many gaps in the Punto range. The subject of this test is the sporty and spirited new 1.4-litre T-jet petrol-engined turbocharged three-door variant.

Its sporting aspirations are obvious -- from its blood-red paint, skirts and spoilers, 17-inch alloys and liquorice-strip tyres to its burbling exhaust note, chunky steering wheel, wraparound seats and taut ride.

Thanks in no small part to its diminutive size and well-contained 1155kg weight, the 1.4-litre engine never felt like it was labouring or over-burdened, despite the fact that the turbo is a so-called 'low-blow' light pressure system that lifts the output to a modest 88kW (from 57kW) albeit with a healthy 206Nm -- up from a pretty weedy 115. [Ed: this should not be confused with the 110kW/206-230Nm version fitted to the Ritmo Sport]

Noteworthy is the frugal 6.6L/100km claimed combined fuel consumption -- however, the Punto is so much fun to drive that over 728km, our consumption was an unimpressive 8.2L/100km. Getting better will be hard -- not because the Punto can't do better, but because it's difficult to resist the temptation to exploit the Punto's surprising depths of performance.

Behind the chunky leather steering wheel, the Fiat offers a largely involving drive. It feels, perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot like a small Alfa Romeo -- tautly sprung but supple, well-planted and grippy. Negatives include the glovebox being too small for the car's owner manual, an awkwardly high driver's left foot rest, and the lifeless electrically-assisted steering.

As if those sticky 205/45R17 tyres make parking too hard, Fiat has thoughtfully added a City button, which boosts assistance to the steering still further. It's not something you'd want to use above parking speed, as it makes the steering nervously sensitive -- indeed, at 30km/h, it effectively reverts to the 'standard' level of assistance.

The rationale behind electric steering is that the unit is smaller, lighter and consumes virtually no engine power against a hydraulic steering pump.

But the featureless steering aside, the peppy Punto is a driver's delight -- wieldy, chuckable and predictable, right up to the time that the stability control system decides that you're skating towards disaster and judiciously squeezes brakes or trims power to tug the car back on course.

The gearshift is slick, snicking between ratios with a distinct feeling of smooth metal parts sliding across each other, with positive engagement. The provision of a trip computer, traction control, brakeforce distribution and a hill-holder brake-system suggest a higher pricetag than the Punto inflicts.

Dual front, front-side and full-length curtain airbags -- and an optional kneebag for the driver helps the Punto to a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

The front seats are supportive when pushing the car into turns and are nice enough when cutting through city traffic, but for longer stints behind the wheel, there's not enough lumbar support. After a couple of hours you'll find yourself squirming in the faux-studded seat, looking for a more comfortable position.

The Punto's boot is only medium-sized -- enough for a weekend away or the odd bit of grocery-shopping, but don't expect to pack in the family's luggage for a month-long road-trip.

And as the argument over space-saver spare tyres continues, Fiat offers no spare at all -- rather the Punto has a re-inflation kit under the boot's floor, underlining that this is a metropolitan vehicle.

The high waistline and low-slung seats mean that the second row is a pit - it's dark and children may find it hard to see out. As is the norm with an increasing number of three-doors, the rear windows don't open. While front seats move more than most and the doors are long and open wide, the low roofline makes getting into the back seat an exercise in contortionism for adults. Once there, the legroom and low seat mean that the back of the Punto isn't hugely comfortable for full-sized people.

But most front seaters will leave this car with a smile. A surprising performer, the Punto is good-looking, well-priced and well-built enough to be a viable alternative to the Germans and French hot hatches. If it was a pizza, the Punto Turbo Sport would be a pepperoni -- with the lot.

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