2004 Fiat Punto HGT JTD Multijet review from UK and Ireland

Nothing has ever gone wrong, just some annoying things:

Creaking noise from dash where CD player sits.

Gear knob came loose, but nothing a blob of super glue couldn't fix.

This is a very well specced car with decent day to day performance, with good fuel economy. This car is fitted with the 100bhp JTD multijet diesel engine, and being as light as the car is, it's pretty nippy. Rapid would be a definite over statement, but I would probably summarise it's performance with the word 'decent'. It can be rough when started in the cold, but it smooths down once up to temp. Being a turbo diesel, it offers a very smooth and relaxing drive, especially on the motorway. At higher motorway speeds, it can really take off when you put your foot down in 5th gear. I get about 50mpg out of it on average.

Ride quality is a, but rubbish, but certaintly not unbearable. I had a Punto Sporting before this, and the ride was very jiggly. I think with the extra weight of the engine, this car is smoother over bumps, but not as good as, say, a Ford Fiesta. Handling is OK, it will under steer quite soon if you turn in fast, but it never catches you out, the under steer comes on gradually. Having disc brakes all round, it stops very quickly. However, when I asked for a quote from Fiat for new discs and pads all round, they quoted me £500 with fitting!!

The interior is a nice place to be, perhaps a bit cheaply put together in places, but it still looks nice, and I doubt it's going to collapse in on itself anytime soon, so I'm not worried! It has dual zone climate control, 6 CD changer, a little sub in the back, and a trip computer. Practicality is very good for a car of its size.

All in all it's a very good car: very reliable, gets you from a-b with no hassle, looks quite nice, has a high level of kit, is cheap to run and has decent performance. The only thing I would say against it is that it's rather BORING! Not that I don't like it, it just doesn't excite me when I drive it, which is why I intend on changing it for something small with a revvy petrol engine. I also want something that handles better. I said this car handles OK, but it runs out of grip much sooner than I'd like for what's supposed to be a 'sporty' car.