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Punto Power first impressions pg.2


AK350Z

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Right guys, new job starting at the end of november, and sadly its a bit far to cycle! So i need a commuter shed, not much emphasis on the shed part though thanks. :lol:

 

The commute:

A one hour hell of tight and narrow A and B roads, with the option of a slightly shorter fell road detour where you must do battle with lunatic Sellafield drivers coming the other way, or the coast road which although two lanes and better surfaced, is longer and very twisty.

 

The car:

Small to medium size

Must do at least 40mpg

Must handle well and not roll like a weeble.

About £4-5K, and as near to Cumbria as possible please!

 

Ideas please Ladies and Gents!

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That's a tough one I think.....

 

Living where you do... should it be 4x4(Winter on the way and all)? If you don't want four wheel drive then it has to be front wheel drive :thumbs:

 

Don't you already have a Panda 4x4?

 

My Suggestions........

 

Ford Focus

Subaru Legacy

Landrover

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Cheers so far guys, will defo be looking at some Ford product - focus and fiesta depending on what I can find locally. Fiesta ST probably overkill, maybe just a Zetec S? Older Focus diesel? I don't know if they are any good.

 

Doogy, yep, my GF has a panda 4x4, but I think she'll let me use that If it gets really bad for a week or two. 4x4 is probably too much of a drag on the fuel otherwise.

 

Stan, shame the Micra is one of the worst looking cars on the road, given Nissans current leftfield styling direction, surely its due for a re-vamp? 1.5dCi Juke might be good in a few years time though eh...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorted now! Went to my sisters in Leeds to have a good poke round some garages on saturday. I found a couple of nice cars, one a nice sensible (slightly over budget) focus, the other was a bit tasty, red, and Italian. Can you guess what it was yet? :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It's a tidy 1.9JTD in sporting trim. Rear parking sensors, steering wheel controls, and possibly Blue and me too, it has a usb port and Bluetooth i think.

 

Yes, i probably should have opted for the Focus, but it was a proper heart over head moment. I'm so weak! :doh:

Anyway, both the potential Focuses on the shortlist had issues to sort out, like alloys to refurbish, and one very clean privately owned one had patchy history. El Punto has full service history, all at the same garage, and seems to have been properly looked after; good quality Bridgestones were fitted, as opposed to the Nanking Ditchfinders that every other car I looked at had. Plus I managed to haggle a few quid off and get a years tax thrown in.

 

Deposit is down, just have to go back next saturday to pick it up. We have three red cars now, and two of them are Fiats! At least I won't have to buy any different coloured wax eh? ;) A big cleaning sesh awaits...

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Smart little motor. Does the bike/s fit in the back or on a rack?

 

Not sure yet Immy, but it's the same size as my mates Clio 197 and his bike fits in with seats down and wheels off. Haven't checked to see if it takes a rack or not yet.

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Went down to Leeds on saturday to collect the Punto, so finally had the chance to test it out properly, the couple of miles I did in Leeds traffic last week wasn't exactly enlightening. :yuck:

 

First impressions are good, being a diesel of course means that the in-gear acceleration in 3rd and 4th in particular is strong, and although the ride isn't exactly cosseting, its competent and corners well enough with minimal lean. I believe it might be slightly lower in Sporting trim, and it certainly looks the part on those alloys, even if they do need a refurb. A job for next spring I think.

More pressing is some new tyres. What with the back-of-beyond commute, I'm seriously considering some winter tyres.

 

Stats are 130bhp and a healthy 208Lbs-ft torque. I belive you can even get these things remapped to 180bhp and near 300 Lbs-ft!

 

Coming back from Leeds on mixed A and B roads I managed 50.4mpg too.

 

Back at home with the other Fiat:

 

IMAG0032.jpg

 

IMAG0033.jpg

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