| You do get a height adjustable steering, but no such luck with the seats. This makes the driving position a little odd and shorter drivers will have difficulty in sighting the road. Luxuries of the Emotion variant are all missing except for power windows which are available only to the front passengers. The seats are finished in grey and black fabric and both the front and rear seats have good thigh support but are on the firm side. From the outside the Punto looks large but space is cramped especially for the rear passengers. ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION The 1.2-litre FIRE engine on the Punto produces 68PS at 6000rpm and torque peaks at 2500rpm at 96Nm. The tried and tested 1242cc inline four has been around for a while and over the years it has seen refinements in the inlet and exhaust manifold design, a new combustion chamber and fresh cam profiles to optimise the fluid dynamics of the engine, thus improving efficiency. The engine adopts a drive-by-wire system which eliminates the mechanical link between the accelerator pedal and the throttle valve, significantly improving the torque delivery on the basis of the driver’s demands, translating into better driveability and consumption. Compared to the power rating of the Hyundai i20 and the Swift which produce 80PS and 85PS respectively the Punto produces less power. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into a boring drive, I’m happy to report. For what it is the 8-valve 1.2 engine feels peppy and eager to rev. She isn’t a pocket rocket but there is enough torque available across the band and linear power delivery ensures you don’t need to work on the gearbox to get her going. Not that you would mind using the five-speed gearbox because Fiat gearboxes are much improved with better precision and shorter throws. |
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| fiat punto grande gpunto 1.2 car |
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