From street to boreen in the Fiat Punto

Prices for the Fiat Punto start from €12,995

If you’re a city driver who’s after a peppy car that’s spacious enough for the demands of family life but economical and easy to park then you should check out the Fiat Punto.

With a decent sized cabin and good legroom both front and back, the Fiat Punto is perfectly comfortable for a long drive as I found out when I took it along the highways and byways of Munster. Just two adults would be more comfortable in the back seat though.

The boot is also quite big in this car but it’s deep rather than wide and it houses a spare wheel.

With grey cloth upholstery, the Fiat Punto we were driving didn’t have the most exciting looking interior, but it did have a nice glossy infotainment surround.

The driver’s seat was fitted with lumbar adjustment and the Lounge model test car was well specced, with cruise control, city driving mode, stop and start technology and a beautiful panoramic sunroof.

The interior in the Fiat Punto isn’t the most exciting looking but it is comfortable

The aforementioned infotainment unit housed a radio/CD/USB/SatNav and Fiat’s Blue and Me system.

Standard spec in the lounge trim also includes alloy wheels, TomTom docking station, climate control air con and rear parking sensors.

Like in the Fiat 500, the instrument panel in the Punto makes you think as the rev counter and speedometer are transposed.

The Fiat Punto is essentially a big city car and we really took it out of its comfort zone, subjecting it not only to motorway and national routes, but also pothole cratered boreens which had grass growing down the middle.

As you’d expect for a car like the Punto, it is very much at home in the city, with the fuel efficient stop/start technology which cuts the engine when the car is idling very handy for city traffic.

There was also a nice oomph to it and it’s not at all lacking in power. I also liked City mode in this car. This further lightened the steering, making it even easier to park.

While the cabin wasn’t the quietest at high speeds, the Fiat Punto did prove to be a lovely motorway cruiser.

It also performed admirably on the narrow grass covered boreen.

Overall, I found the Fiat Punto to be a nice powerful city-friendly car that can more than handle anything a jaunt in the country has to throw at it.

While we were driving a 75bhp model, this has now been replaced by a more powerful 85bhp version.

The Fiat Punto is available now, with prices starting from €12,995. The test car I was driving cost from €19,995.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.3 Multijet II 85hp (diesel)
Acceleration: 0-100kph in 13.1 seconds
Top speed: 172kph
Fuel Economy: 4.1l/100km
CO2 emissions: 90g/km
Annual road tax: €180