None.
I bought the Sporting Grande Punto on Monday 3 July, and so far have covered more than 500 miles, mainly commuting back and forth to Talacharn (50 miles away from Swansea).
The car is very quick and puts its power on the road very progressively. It pulls strongly in all gears, and economy is decent for a tight engine (40mpg+), considering I travel rather fast on the motorway.
The seats are superb and all controls are logically placed. The car has airconditioning and an electric sunroof, both have seen plenty of use since day one without giving me any trouble.
The bluetooth system is incredibly easy to use, while the onboard computer can be addictive! The stereo is brilliant, steering is the best electric system I have ever driven, much better than the Punto mk2.
The cabin is roomy and the driving position comfortable. The materials used in the cabin are not top quality, however they seem to be put together nicely. So far no creaks have been heard. The glovebox is small and illumination-free though, the cup-holders rather impractical and storage room for my clatter is rather lacking.
The handling is confident, the vehicle is equipped with ESP just in case, but I have yet to use it. The fat tyres (205) are gripping the road nicely, whereas road noise is kept to reasonable levels.
In town driving the ride can be crashy at times, although 90% of the time it seems to be more than adequate. It certainly rides well on the motorway and makes my daily commute a joy.
The local Swansea dealer seems to care a lot about my experience with the car, and that only adds up to an enjoyable experience so far.
I would very much recommend this car to anybody who's after an economical, well-equipped, roomy stylish supermini, with serious performance and long service intervals (every 18,000 miles, no interim services)
I have now reached 3,000 miles and the car still performs superbly. The wing mirrors are not only stylish, they are supremely functional too. The gearbox is a joy to use, the steering has plenty of feel despite being electric... it really feels very well sorted. the sunroof gives minimal wind noise, basically noise is well supressed at up to 115 mph. I cannot fault the car at all. Very pleased with it.
I have now covered 11,000 miles and the car still feels fresh.
Some minor defects were fixed under warranty by the dealer, all went fuss-free. These were: misaligned rear screen, USB port not reading music from memory sticks, glovebox needed a thud to close.
Engine and transmission are trouble free. I have been using BP Ultimate diesel and the car feels livelier at low revs, it also smokes a lot less under (very!) hard acceleration!
Performance is superb. Economy is very good, 40mpg in town, 55mpg on a 170 mile trip to London Heathrow.
Overall, very pleased with car, a very satisfying ownership. Highly recommended indeed.
I took delivery of one of these yesterday, to replace a 2 year old Fiesta, and am very impressed with it.
The car is generation ahead of the Fiesta, which was a good car itself, feeling very solid and well-engineered. Entering the car, the doors shut with a satisfying thud - no tinny rattles here. The cabin quality, whilst not being quite as good as the prestige brands, is excellent with good ergonomic design making everything easy to reach and use. The leather steering wheel has a quality feel, with buttons to control the stereo and hands-free phone kit. The hands-free system works brilliantly with my Nokia, and the included mp3 player read my memory stick (plugged into glove-box) with no problems.
Firing up the engine and heading off, the car is deceptively quick, despite the tightness of the new engine, and quickly reaches the speed limit - the engine is audible, but not intrusively so and the exhaust sounds good for a diesel!
There is plenty of torque, with hardly any lag, making overtaking quick and safe and the 6th ratio makes for relaxed and economical cruising.
Handling feels good, with excellent grip and reasonable feedback through the wheel although the steering is a touch light for my preference.
The cabin is a comfortable place to spend the journey with supportive seats with a wide range of adjustments, the steering wheel is comfortable to hold and can be adjusted for reach and height. There is a generous level of equipment including an excellent hi-fi system with radio/cd/mp3 player which includes a simple graphic equalizer and 100 watt sub-woofer in the boot. The bluetooth hands-free system integrates well with the music system and even includes voice-recognition that actually works!
There are electric windows with a one-touch facility for the driver, the air-conditioning works efficiently and there is a multi-featured trip computer covering distance, range, fuel economy etc. Other features include a speed warning system and follow me home headlights which are easy to use. My only criticisms inside are that there is limited storage space, and the folding seats are a little heavy to move.
Safety features include a seat-belt warning system and auto-locking doors, but these can be disabled, as can the traction control system. There is of course ABS (anti-lock brakes) but also a full ESP system should things really get out of hand. And if the worst happens there are plenty of airbags.
Visually, the car stands out from other super-minis and the sporting model looks great with the New Orleans metallic blue paintwork, alloy wheels and the subtle body kit.
Overall, I'm very impressed so far - will try and report back once we've got to know each other a little better!
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