Fiat Punto review (2012-2018)

Step inside, and you’ll find more of that cute curvy character that is shown at the front of the car.

Most of the major controls are mounted nice and high up, stacked on top of each other in a central ‘tower,’ which the dashboard swoops elegantly over the top of. 

The deep-set, sporty instruments are grouped underneath a curvy shelf to help reduce glare when the sun is streaming into the cabin.

The height-adjustable front seat will give you plenty of support and comfort.

While the Punto is no limousine, four can be carried in comfort thanks to reasonable levels of head- and leg-room.

Tech and features

While some car manufacturers like to come out with a new trim level or another special edition almost every week, Fiat took a steady and simple approach to the Punto.

For the last six years of the Punto’s ‘new car life,’ which ended in 2018, it was offered with just a couple of trim levels – Pop+ and Easy+. 

Choose the entry-level Pop+ model and you get features such as front electric windows, alloy wheels and air-con.

There’s a radio-CD player as well, to which you can hook up MP3 devices for your own, personal road-trip soundtrack.  

Stepping up to Easy+ trim adds larger alloy wheels and climate control, plus a leather steering wheel.

You also get Fiat’s Blue&Me system, which lets you control your MP3 player or smartphone through the stereo system.

Finally, there’s a TomTom sat-nav system that slots into the top of the dashboard, which you can remove and use to guide you as you finish your journey on foot. 

If you’ve not long passed your driving test and have yet to cover a lot of miles and gain experience, the Punto’s easy-driving nature will reassure you. 

Thanks to a button on the dashboard, you can make the steering feel lighter at low speeds to make it easier to manoeuvre the car around town.

You don’t want to scratch your new Punto. 

Engines and power

Earlier versions of the Fiat Punto featured a diesel engine.

Later models came with a choice of petrol engines – a 1.2-litre and a 1.4-litre. If you are going to be travelling out of town quite frequently, go for the 1.4-litre, which offers better performance on the motorway.

Storage solutions

If you like to have breakfast on the go, and if that breakfast consists of a cold smoothie to start with and a hot coffee to finish, then the Fiat Punto could just be the car for you.

Why? Because it comes with no less than four cup holders up front!

And if your liquid breakfast didn’t prove quite as filling as you thought, there are plenty of cubby holes to store snack bars in and maybe a sandwich in the large glovebox – just in case. 

Boot space

The Punto’s boot is only average for the supermini class. It will hold a week’s shopping or a couple of large soft, squidgy sports bags.

Its back seats fold almost flat and quadruple the amount of cargo space available to better that offered by most rivals.

Buying a brand-new Fiat Punto maybe wasn’t the smartest move back in the day, at least not if you paid full price for it, because values plummeted almost before customers got their pride and joy home.

Those low resale values are good news for second-hand buyers now, and they come with affordable insurance and servicing costs too. 

However, part of the reason for the Punto’s poor resale value is that it is somewhat lacking in modern safety equipment and has a poor Euro NCAP safety rating.