Grande Punto 1.4 T-jet (read, turbo) Sporting
Discussion
I posted this elswhere ut got little response.
o, owners, how does it drive? Is it fast and easy to live woth? Reliable? MPG? etc etc
Basically I'd like to hear your opinions on living with one as the missus like's either that or a new shape Focus 1.6/TDCi.
I have a feeling for not much outlay one could spank that little turbo Punto up to 250bhp pretty easily,(its around 120bhp already with similar torque, maybe a touch more I believe) whereas a 1.6 petrol Focus is stuffed for tuning without big bucks doing engine swaps and the like. The TDCi could be remapped for a load more torque I expect but other than a bigger turbo I'm still left with a diesel and it's short power band. (Out of interest, which 1600cc Focus is the better drive, the petrol or the diesel?)
I have to say if I get good feedback on it here I am leaning towards the Punto. If it's big enough....
Thoughts guys...?
smile Joe
o, owners, how does it drive? Is it fast and easy to live woth? Reliable? MPG? etc etc
Basically I'd like to hear your opinions on living with one as the missus like's either that or a new shape Focus 1.6/TDCi.
I have a feeling for not much outlay one could spank that little turbo Punto up to 250bhp pretty easily,(its around 120bhp already with similar torque, maybe a touch more I believe) whereas a 1.6 petrol Focus is stuffed for tuning without big bucks doing engine swaps and the like. The TDCi could be remapped for a load more torque I expect but other than a bigger turbo I'm still left with a diesel and it's short power band. (Out of interest, which 1600cc Focus is the better drive, the petrol or the diesel?)
I have to say if I get good feedback on it here I am leaning towards the Punto. If it's big enough....
Thoughts guys...?
smile Joe
I haven't driven a Punto, but I've had goes in a couple of Focuses. Any number of motoring journalists will say that the Focus is a far better chassis and probably has better engines too, but you don't look at an Italian car because of what's on paper, and so it's a pretty tough call. The petrol Focus will almost certainly handle better than its diesel counterpart because it'll be carrying less weight over the nose (diesel engines are substantially heavier than petrol ones because they need to be much stronger). The petrol would probably be a more rewarding car to push on in too, since it's going to be a revvier engine.
For my two cents, the Focus is a very well put-together machine that's built with the driver in mind, and handles easily sharply enough for most. It is, however, hard to be decisive about the better car to drive when I've only been out in one of them, so I'll leave that for someone else to build on.
As far as tuning is concerned, you could probably get quite a bit more out of the petrol Focus than you expect, I shouldn't think 160-180bhp would be too hard with that engine. You'd be surprised what a remap and exhaust system might do, and the engine is sold working below its performance potential for durability and reliability advantages. Tuning the diesel would be still more effective for the cost - a simple remap could have you "pulling like a train", no problem. A narrow power band tends not to feel so much of an issue when you can get hit by 250ft.lb+ all at once when you plant your boot!
Of course, I bet you want to be talked into the Punto which is why you're here - so sorry for talking about the Focus
but that's just what I know/am informed about it. Hope it's helpful,
Sam
For my two cents, the Focus is a very well put-together machine that's built with the driver in mind, and handles easily sharply enough for most. It is, however, hard to be decisive about the better car to drive when I've only been out in one of them, so I'll leave that for someone else to build on.
As far as tuning is concerned, you could probably get quite a bit more out of the petrol Focus than you expect, I shouldn't think 160-180bhp would be too hard with that engine. You'd be surprised what a remap and exhaust system might do, and the engine is sold working below its performance potential for durability and reliability advantages. Tuning the diesel would be still more effective for the cost - a simple remap could have you "pulling like a train", no problem. A narrow power band tends not to feel so much of an issue when you can get hit by 250ft.lb+ all at once when you plant your boot!
Of course, I bet you want to be talked into the Punto which is why you're here - so sorry for talking about the Focus
but that's just what I know/am informed about it. Hope it's helpful,Sam
I've had a GP TJet 120 for a couple of months now.
Had a 1.4 Active Sport before that.
Pics at http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/dpr59/Cars/
Handles well, good torque for the engine size and ticks all the boxes I need.
I get around 37-39 in mixed urban.
However I think if driven hard you could push that well down and into the upper 20s'
The driver 'aids' don't intrude too early.
I got this model becuase I liked the Active Sport.
It's even better with the extra bph/torque.
I parked next to an Alfa MITO last week and this'll be controversial.
I think the current GP is better looking.
But beware there's a god awful facelift coming in the new year
Also worth a look
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/
Had a 1.4 Active Sport before that.
Pics at http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/dpr59/Cars/
Handles well, good torque for the engine size and ticks all the boxes I need.
I get around 37-39 in mixed urban.
However I think if driven hard you could push that well down and into the upper 20s'
The driver 'aids' don't intrude too early.
I got this model becuase I liked the Active Sport.
It's even better with the extra bph/torque.
I parked next to an Alfa MITO last week and this'll be controversial.
I think the current GP is better looking.
But beware there's a god awful facelift coming in the new year
Also worth a look
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/
Edited by dpr59 on Sunday 29th November 22:31
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