Fiat Grande Punto

On sale 11th February 2006

My local junior school has just announced that it is no longer going to hold sports days. On the grounds that kids who don’t win races will feel upset. It does make me wonder how these kids will cope when they leave these cottonwool wrapped walls of school life. In the outside world, it is one big competition and in my opinion, from a young age, we need to learn every coping strategy we can. From the loss of our first job, to the loss of a new love, we need to learn how to cope with failure.

However, there is one car manufacturer that won’t even need to consider building in fail safe options. Fiat is already winning notable media awards with its new Grande Punto, which goes on sale on 11th February. Its winning attributes include the fact that it will be the largest car in the small car segment. It has the best safety rating and the widest choice of diesel engines in the category and it is cheaper than the Punto.

The British public have always liked the Fiat Punto with 500,000 currently on UK roads. The new Grande Punto has a modern elegant style, which is distinctly Italian – Bella.

As the largest car in the B segment, built on an entirely new platform, there is lots of space, with the 3 and 5 door versions sharing the same dimensions. Front legroom has increased by 2” and rear legroom by 1”. There is 5 litres more luggage room than the previous Punto, with a fantastic 1030 litres of space with the seats down.

I found the interior quality to be excellent, whichever of the five trim levels I looked at. Your choice will depend on whether you prefer the comforts of air conditioning and airbags, or a sporty trim with alloy wheels and an MP3 player.

The high level of standard equipment on even the basic model, is boosted by a range of innovative safety and comfort enhancing options more usually reserved for higher segment cars, such as dual zone climate control, cruise control and rain and parking sensors.

With a 5 star EuroNCAP safety rating, plus 3 stars for child occupant protection and 3 stars for pedestrian protection, the Grande Punto will appeal to the majority, who according to the RAC Foundation, are putting safety at the top of their list when buying a car. This small car has the choice of 7 airbags and two ‘must have’ safety braking systems – ABS and ESP.

Another essential is a diesel engine. The Grande Punto has six engine choices, with 4 diesels, the widest range of diesel powerplants in the compact car segment. I drove the new 1.3 litre 90bhp common rail direct injection turbodiesel, which has lots of guts and a fantastic combined fuel consumption of 61.4mpg. CO2 emissions are 122g/km. I also drove the 1.4 litre petrol unit, but much preferred the pulling power of the diesel engine.

Our road test route took us on motorways and country roads. In both vehicles I found the suspension very firm, although motorway driving was more pleasant. Steering and handling are excellent.

Over 6 million Puntos have been sold in the twelve years since its launch and it will continue to be sold throughout 2006, alongside the Grande Punto, which will have thirteen versions to choose from. Along with competitive insurance rates and a predicted 40% residual value, the Grande Punto will cost £1 less than the current Punto.

So in order to win, you have to learn how to cope with failure, but in my view, in its class, the Grande Punto will be one of the rare winners.

By Sue Cooke