Fiat Punto Hatchback (2003 - 2006) 1.2 Chill 3d Owner Review

I'm driving this car approx 100 miles a day and it's been super reliable in the 3 years I've owned this car. Parts for the car are cheap and most garages can work on this car easily due to its simplicity so labour costs are low. The engine is a non interference engine so you don't have to worry about catastrophic damage if the timing belt breaks. Main fault for my car was the electric power steering unit failing, this cost £150 to fix (that was the cost of the part, I fitted it myself with the help of some forum posts and YouTube, its a bit fiddly but manageable with basic tools, the job is supposed to take 2 hours but I'm a novice and it ended up taking me the full day). Down sides are the power of the 1.2 8v engine is not great but I manage ok on the motorway at 70. The engine isn't very "revvy" and runs out of puff at around 4.5k rpm so it's not really any fun if you want a spirited drive. Seats are ok on short journeys but not comfy on longer journeys. Also I find the position of seat, steering wheel and pedal to be awkward and i can never seem to get it right, I wish the steering wheel had a telescopic adjustment to come towards you but it only has up and down adjustment. The car pedals are also very close together. Overall however these cars are a good cheap buy, my recommendation is to look out for one which has had the power steering repaired. I wish to upgrade soon to something more comfortable and something a bit safer too as these cars do feel a bit light and rattly and would probably be rubbish in a crash if the worst ever happened.