Bliss for real driving enthusiasts. Review on Fiat Grande Punto

It's an amazingly designed car. Stays in full control even at higher speeds. The only thing it lacks is a good pickup speed. But that's an insignificant sacrifice when compared to the heavy weight that aids in safety and robust build quality. One more reason for lag in initial gears is tall gears(mostly between 1 and 2). After 3rd it moves very fast.

The only problem is poor service network. But it has many good points too, like service duration of 1 year/15000 kms as compared to 6 months/5000 kms of other cars, low cost spare parts.

Things I liked:

1. Good wheelbase

   
   




2. Proper road grip with sufficiently wide tires and appropriate wheel size

   
   




3. Great ground clearance(it goes easily where figo and i20 rub their bottoms)

   
   




4. Powerful engine, well, not for drag, but can pull a lot of weight, it has immense torque and easily holds under low rpms(I drove at 40 on 5th gear and it goes smooth).

   
   




5. Good mileage(22+ on highways when driven between 80-90 kmph)

   
   




6. Spacious interiors with good boot space

   
   




7. Appropriate placed control except fog lamps

   
   




8. Classy interior styling

   
   




9. Fantastic steering feedback, credit to the hydraulic power steering

   
   




10. No body roll at sharp turns, thanks for appropriately tunes suspensions(well of course sometimes its a problem but gives good control on turns)

    
    




11. Smoothness of the engine even at higher speeds, it doesn't cry a bit when you pull it from 110 to 130 or even more on expressway. Diesel machine of honda dies out at higher rpms and gives a lag at higher speeds like this.

    
    

This I didn't like:

Nothing much but a small things here and there like

1. Folding of seats is a little trouble with rear headrests, you have to move the front seats a bit to accommodate full folding

   
   




2. Only one cup holder in rear

   
   




3. Sun visor is somewhat small when you have to pull it sideways

   
   




4. Tall gears(between 1 and 2) that creates a lot of lag in initial pickup

   
   

Things I miss:

1. Cruse control( they should have given it in the emotion model)

   
   




2. Front sear arm rest(well I got a custom one but they could have easily used the one from linea)

   
   




3. Arm rest in rear seats

   
   




4. Rear AC vents(well, they have given it in the evo I guess so good job there)

   
   

Overall it's a far better build and ride quality than any other in the segment. People cry for speed, drag(0-100) etc. but fiat offers appropriate combination of speed, agility, safety, driving control, comfort and build quality. Some will complain about the poor plastic quality etc. But, I think for the cost that they are taking for such a fantastic product, this sacrifice is nothing. I have driven 20k Kms so far and have driven for as long as 570 Kms in one stretch. It's amazing.