Fiat Punto 1.4 GT Turbo Review

Overall Rating

fast, great sound, wicked handlin, looks great! bye bye saxo!

There arn't any bad points

iv had my Fiat Punto 1.4 GT Turbo 2 months now its the best thing since sliced bread! Every one wants to race you off the lights people think its a Sporting until you leave them standing! bye bye saxo. and tuning is easy and not too exspencive just had mine on the rollin road and 185bhp aint bad. mods ive got a piper x filter bailydump valve bren device(boost valve) and 4"power flow decated full system and remapped brain 16"alloys with 195/45/16 tyres not lowerd but it will be soon other mods include tinted windows .audio.alpine head unit cerwin vega componet speakers. and 18"cerwin vega sub and a pro plus titan amp.next car I want is a fiat coupe 20 valve turbo. (puntos are pukka)

Members' Comments ongt lad's Review

• stevejames1981 on 19th May 2004

  Desperate GT owner!!!!!!! My punto is really jerky under boost. Is at it's worst when run flat out in second from 2000rpm. Spools up then cut's out then jerks a bit then is fine at higher revs. Sometimes it is fine and pulls really smothly. any ideas? thought it might be the small control valve the wastegate actuator is connected to or the actuator itself. Thanks

• Joe GT on 1st Jun 2004

  Just bought a Punto GT Turbo 1995 with 60 k on the clock. I got it farely cheap due to a few problems so if anyone can help that would be sound. Main problem being selecting 3rd gear,it makes a crunching noise like the clutch isnt fully in, also oil leaking from around the intercooler pipe, probley just needs tightening. And when you give it some revs the engine jumps a little, engine mount? easy to change? other than that this car is a dream, its a pocket rocket. Oh and one more thing, what is the gauge next to the psi 1 saying 1.6 bar,its got an oil can on, is it oil pressure, or the amount thats going through the turbo? what should it be on? any info will be mint. cheers.Joe

• Davchat on 10th Jun 2004

  Info for Jo. The gauge next to the turbo gauge is the oil pressure gauge. When idling this should sit between half way and full but when accelerating or driving normally the pressure should be peak as this is keeping the turbo going. Keep an eye on it but as long as its up there you can't go wrong. Punto GTs are rapid and rule, good luck Saxos!

• Scoobz on 24th Jan 2005

  Comment for SteveJames:
  
  Sounds like a couple of things could be wrong. Get your MAF (Mass Air Flow Meter) checked, make sure all your hoses are connected properly and that your dump valve (diverter valve) isn't leaking. Possibly also check the wastegate actuator valve isn't knackered.
  All could be causing hesitations.
  
  I'm not a lover of Fiats in general but do admit they did something reasonable with the Punto GT and Coupe Turbo, purely because they bolted on a turbocharger. Be cautious in your Punto GTs though thinking they'll beat all small hatchbacks off the lights... A remapped Ibiza Cupra (Turbo) will smoke you !! ;)

• spliff1star on 20th Feb 2005

  An Ibiza turbo has 180bhp as standard, a punto gt has 130bhp standard or slightly more on the later gts. 0-60 on a punto gt is 8.0 secs standard. An Ibiza turbo is 7.2 or something close to that and has a lot more torque than the punto so unless the punto is heavily modified there is no way the punto gt will leave a remapped Ibiza off the lights. My punto gt was quick but was not running to its fullest. I used to like the Ibiza cupras leons cupra rs 225s but my mate has just burnt a leon cupra r 225 and yeah its fast and he tries to race every one in it and destroyed a punto gt turbo.

• Scoobz on 6th Sep 2006

  My Ibiza is running 205-210bhp (depends on weather) at the moment. It will run 0-60 in low 6s (6 - 6.5s) depending upon launch and track surface. 1/4 mile in low 14s. It is quick indeed but the handling isn't brilliant, so twisty roads need to be negotiated with some care if you are an inexperienced driver.
  If a choice of 'old school' hatchback turbos is on the menu, it would have to be Pulsar GTiR, Escort Cossie or Renault 5 GT Turbo. They have genuine power.