16th Sep 2004, 18:46
I'm sorry I own a punto HGT and there is no way on earth it will beat a civic type r off the lights or in any department for that matter.
The HGT is quicker than what is stated on paper do...
23rd Feb 2005, 12:33
Would agree with the above post whats the point, I understand it is a cheap car for younger guys to mod, but at the end of the day it is exactly what it says on the box a cheap car, that you need to spend a few K modding to get it anywhere near a decent car why not just buy a decent car?
24th Feb 2005, 19:25
"Cheap car for younger guys to mod"? I think not! For starters I own one and find it far from cheap at insurance group 15. Also I'm 28yrs old.
I highly doubt a "Young guy" could get insurance for the HGT.
I suppose your 70+ by the sound of your comment.
Pathetic fool!
1st Mar 2005, 03:10
What a pity that a mature person of 28 feels the need to name call, over someones opinions. I'm the fella that made the comment about my wifes car being a blasted disaster. I'm certainly not 70, in fact I'm a 45 year old that has just recently finished restoring (except the final re-spray) a 1988 Porsche 911 3.2. I also race a Suzuki GSXR1000, that I fully prepare myself, although my results could be better! And have various road going Motorcycles, that I restore. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, that is what I was under the impression that this site was for? Not for people that own commuter cars to inform each other how to 'soop' them up. I will not lower myself to enter into a slagging match!
7th Mar 2005, 15:10
The Punto would never beat a Ctr off in a drag.
What planet are you on???
Planet 'my car is the fastest car ever' I think...
The Punto is fairly quick, but is simply a warm hatch, nothing more.
The goalposts have been moved dear boy and the Punto is not the daddy by a long way.
21st Mar 2005, 01:37
Owned an HGT myself from Feb 2002 - June 2003. Couldn't wait to get shot of it. It went fairly well, handling was tidy and it was quite fun to drive when it worked. Unfortunately it had numerous problems, the dealers were a disgrace and caused more problems than they 'tried' to fix, and I never had any confidence in the build quality or reliability. They are cheap rubbish. HGTs are now available for £8,500 from the car supermarkets - like the previous contributor said... cheap cars for young lads. Ditched mine and bought an Astra DTi and a Kawasaki ZX6R - that's proper performance for you! (the bike, not the car!)
22nd Jun 2005, 14:23
I find it quite funny that all you people come on here saying that certain things aren't possible and that hgts are rubbish, etc. If so, why are you reading this? Now lets get to my opinnion:
HGT - one of the most under-rated cars around!
CTR - probably the most over-rated cars around!
11th Aug 2005, 07:39
Made a typing error.
What I was supposed to say was "friends ST170 Can't keep up with me"
16th Sep 2005, 09:37
To the above comment ; nicely said!
I have owned my hgt for 1.5 yrs and have had no problems with it, it is a very underestimated car.
Most people mistake it for the sporting model, until you put your foot down!
29th Sep 2005, 09:19
I own an HGT, four years now.
It is a lovely not so small "small car".I have three kids, and with my wife it's a pleasure to travel, all around Greece, and even Italy.
The performance was really nice, but I wanted something more of it so I pushed it to 150 hp. I still can't beat a Type R at the lights, but sure I give it a hard time till 120 kph (about 75 mph).Not to mention about golf GTIs, Vtis, Saxos, MR2s, BMW 323s, leon VTs and a lot of others in my "beaten list".. ;-)
OK.. I have to admit that the air conditioning is CRAP,that I hear some annoying click sounds from the cabinet (since I installed the bilsteins), that the headlights are weak, that the valve variator has gone twice (a common problem with the VFD engine), that the back-right view is a little restricted for the driver, as restricted is the space for the drivers feet.
But overall My HGT is a "Joy machine".The way it moves, turns, accelerates and looks, is a real pleasure for me.
I don't say it's a Mercedes, I just say it's worth the money..
14th Oct 2005, 04:42
I have a HGT and I love it very much.
Before I had my HGT I had a punto Turbo, and yes, the turbo was a lot faster, but, I hated the interior and the feel of the car was crap.
I had nothing, but problems with this car as it was not looked after. So I sold it and couldn't decide what to get. I have had 3 Fiat's and have always liked them, so I decided to get this punto and I wanted a fast car so that's why I got the HGT.
I think this car is my best, I love it to bits. Had a few problems, alarm kept going off and someone broken into it, but didn't get very far as alarm went off and scared them, so I had to have it D-Locked, was hard to get brake disks for it.
But overall this car is fast, smooth, big (in a small car), smart and lovely. Anyone that slates it, hasn't had one.
Not many people like Fiat, but you don't know what they are like until you have one.
I could go on and on about my car, but I won't because everyone has their own views, this is just to let you all know how I think my car is great.
14th Dec 2005, 06:51
I am looking at buying a HGT, I took one for a test drive last night and it was a very fast car, plus the extras are good! I had a saxo VTR (until I crashed it) and it is a lot faster than that!! Nice smooth car when you hit the 'city' button, my only worry is about the gear box? is it suppose to be so stiff? you sort of have to move it into neutral? got use to it in the end, but don't wanna get ripped of!! and I am 19 and they will insure me on it!! £1500 a year! very expensive, but am a mummy boy so she will sort it!! ha ha. need some advise about the gear box thou! please help!!
17th Dec 2006, 10:36
OK, this is an old thread (i.e. post), but I have to point out that people on here are getting hyped about a Fiat!!! To be honest these things are tin boxes and am quite shocked that 33 year old's are driving a kids car - go kart springs to mind! If you tried driving something with a bit of quality you would soon notice the difference!
If you're young, in-experienced in cars and want something nippy and cheap then this is the car for you, like the posts shows this car can be done up and will be nippy! But anyone thinking that this is a SERIOUS car is disillusioned! Needless to say if you bump anything in one of these consider it a write-off! Which would help to explain the insurance groups on them - don't think it's because it's a so-called hot hatch and fast, think more like a cardboard car!
And if you're buying one second hand I would definitely get a HPI check done - yes the HGT is fairly rare, but probably because the young in-experienced drivers who want to 'rip' these cars have written a majority of them off already! They are not built to last, but what can you expect for the price?! Certainly not quality! I ask the owners of these cars would your car last 4-5 years? I doubt it and notice most people have owned them for less than 2 years - maybe theres a reason for that?!
8th Jul 2004, 07:11
Yes, but the papers don't always tell the truth, I had a punto 1.2 8 valve and on paper the top speed was recorede at 97mph, why did I do 110 mph then??
So maybe it did beat the Type-R.