2000 Fiat Punto review from UK and Ireland

This car was bought from a used car dealership specialising in Fiat Puntos. It came with a 3 months warranty, 12 months MoT test certificate, fully valeted and serviced.

Nothing has gone wrong with the car apart from the known fault of this model at this year of Power Steering Failure.

It is imperative that I warn people here that so-called serviceable power steering units units sold through Ebay should never be purchased. This is not a hydraulic or electro hydraulic unit, it is a fully electrical unit. The motor is situated actually on the steering rack.

First point of check is to ascertain all the fuses and larger relays both on the fuse panel and under the bonnet are working OK. I did this for my son (it's his car). I also checked the electrical connectors for dampness and security.

Still the intermittent problem persisted, and the Punto feels like a truck without power steering, especially after being used to the lightweight 'City' button steering feature being so handy.

We resigned ourselves to the fact that this problem was unsolvable, and I made sure the front tyres were correctly inflated for my son at all times, so as not to make the steering heavier still.

On July 25, 2007 I tried one 'last' solution to the problem. I changed ignition keys and used the spare supplied with the car (both keys being the unique Fiat 'blue' type). Almost like a miracle the problem was solved. The fault lay in the KEY being used (apparently these Fiat keys host a whole load of electrical data that interacts with the ECU).

Now I'm not saying that this will be YOUR solution to this annoying Fiat trait, but give it a try and good luck!

Highly user friendly, and loaded with extras for such a budget buy; adjustable steering column, electric sunroof, windows, height adjusting seat etc.

Handles well, and the 8-valve 1.2 unit is lively at all times. Grip is liable to break on wet roundabouts, so take care.