2006 Fiat Grande Punto Active 1.2 petrol

Summary:

You can do better

Faults:

Power steering motor failed at 18,000 miles (£640).

Seat belt mechanism jammed.

Brakes constantly squeak.

Door locks failed.

Water in rear tail gate.

The horn is so hard to operate, it is not worth having.

General Comments:

The Punto Grande is a typical Fiat; cheap materials, poorly built, and built to a low cost.

If the car had spent an extra hour in the factory and a week in design, it could have been a great little car.

Fiat must make more money selling steering motors than selling whole cars. As this fault has been a Fiat trade mark for decades (come on Fiat!!!).

The main selling point of the car is its looks. My advice would be to look at your neighbour's Fiat, and buy something better built.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th September, 2012

2006 Fiat Grande Punto Dynamic 1.4

Summary:

Poor reliability

Faults:

Car is 18 months old and very low mileage; 7800 miles.

1. Front suspension problems, fixed with steering dampeners replaced by dealer.

2. Front passenger door would not open, dealer realigned door.

3. Plastic fell off side mirror, replaced by dealer.

4. Boot would not open, solenoid blown. Replaced by dealer.

5. Car driving underpowered, Alternator faulty still waiting for part delivery. Five days car off the road so far with dealer.

Not impressed with a car hardly used.!!!

General Comments:

Will not be buying Fiat again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th March, 2008

2006 Fiat Grande Punto Sporting 1.9 JTD Multijet

Summary:

This car is a rare combination of being practical, economical, affordable and full of flair

Faults:

Airflow Sensor failure at 6,000 miles caused shut down at 70mph.

I turned on my right indicator, and all the electronic ancillaries (e.g. Traction Control, ABS, PAS) switched off. Turned out the Power Steering ECU had a fault and shorted itself out.

General Comments:

The Turbo Diesel engine in this car is brilliant. It offers high levels of torque throughout the majority of the rev range, including at high speeds. There is little cabin noise.

The fuel economy is very good and returns more than 40 miles per gallon on my mixture of motorway and urban road commuting that I use this car for.

The interior quality is fantastic. The lower models, such as the Active, look like every expense has been spared, however it is a different story in the Sporting. Quality leather trimming is on the steering wheel and gear-knob, and quality materials cover the extremely comfortable bucket seats designed by Lear (yes, the people who make the luxury jets).

The back is also very comfy. I am over 6ft and find there is ample head and leg room.

The boot is more than adequate, and bigger than my Alfa Romeo 147. I no longer have to take the parcel shelf out to put them pram in.

Styling, what can I say! It speaks for itself!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th January, 2008

31st Jan 2008, 11:28

I took one of these out on a test the other day, and simply put, it is a brilliant car-much better than the more expensive Alfa 147.

Compared to my old Fabia vRS it is much softer and more supple on the road and suffers far less tyre roar and wind noise. A very competent package with nice interior and stunning looks.

I have seen them advertised on the fiatsupasaver site for £10,495 and elsewhere for under 11k which makes it a roaring bargain. The Fiat main dealer wanted to sell me the 3,000 mile demonstrator (red, standard car) for £12,355 which was preposterous, so I walked away. If the dealer had come up with a sensible deal, I would have signed up there and then...

2006 Fiat Grande Punto Dynamic 1.2

Faults:

Steering rack replaced.

General Comments:

The Grande Punto is a great car; I have done 6000 miles, no faults apart from steering rack, and no rattles.

The 1.2 is fine around town, and is not too bad at 70mph.

Best looking car in its class, easy to drive, good sound system, very good value for money.

The only bad things are the air-con, which could be a bit cooler, and the cup holders, which are as useful as a chocolate fire guard.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st October, 2007

12th Aug 2010, 12:55

I'm planning to buy a Grande Punto 1.2 Dynamic. It's a 2006 and it only has 12000 miles on the clock.

I already had a test drive (short one) and was very happy until I read some horror stories in this site.

Comments on this specific thread seem to be good.

Did you ever had any major problems?

In reply to 12th Aug 2010, 12:55

10th Jul 2015, 12:24

It seems there are issues with 2006 models, like wheel alignment and electric power steering failures. They seem to have sorted out the issues, but I don't know how long it took. I just recently bought a 2007 1.4 8-valve and it has no issues. However, the mileage is extremely low (67000 km / 41000 miles). Diesels give typical diesel problems too, and are expensive to fix.