So this is the new facelifted Fiat Punto we featured spyshots of which some months ago! Now if you are American it might not make sense to you, but this little fella is actually a very important car in Europe. It comes with an Evo badge, which means it’s not a totally new model, but everything has been improved in it. Starting with the looks where the lovely Punto features restyled front and rear aprons.
On the outside, both the front and the rear have been thoroughly restyled, as shown by the attractive lines of the new bumpers and the incorporation of innovative and original headlights and taillights. The latest design has also “stretched” the car to a total length of 406 centimetres, so that its winning characteristics of driver and passenger comfort remain unchanged. The other external dimensions remain the same, with a width of 169 cm, a height of 149 cm and a wheelbase of 251 cm.
he Punto Evo is also one of the few cars in its class equipped with adaptive ‘cornering’ front fog lights that switch on automatically with dipped headlights according to the angle of steering. And don’t forget that the new Punto Evo also guarantees constant and reliable road holding thanks to electronic dynamic control systems for braking and steering. The ABS system that is available across the complete engine range incorporates EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution), ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and Hill-holder to help with hill-starts.
The Punto Evo expresses its technical excellence first and foremost through a wide choice of Euro 5 engines, including a 1.3 second generation Multijet diesel and a 1.4 petrol engine with the revolutionary MultiAir technology developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and eventually to be incorporated in all Fiat Group engines. Fiat’s innovative and conventional powerplants are also joined by dual-fuel methane and petrol units to create the most complete and ecological range of engines in the segment. With reduced consumption and emissions in mind, the new Punto Evo also offers Start&Stop, the system that switches off and restarts the engine in stop-and-go traffic. Start&Stop is being introduced as standard on all Euro5 petrol and diesel engines. Another system making its first appearance on the Punto Evo is “Blue&Me–TomTom”, the new portable satellite navigation unit that lets you manage telephone, navigation and information functions on a practical colour touch-screen.
In the area of safety, the Punto Evo sets new standards thanks to 7 airbags, including a driver knee airbag. The Punto Evo is one of very few cars in its segment with a driver knee airbag fitted as standard on all versions. Other innovative safety systems are also available, including Hill-Holder to help with hill starts, adaptive ‘cornering’ front fog lights that switch on automatically with dipped headlights according to the angle of steering, and Fiat’s tried and tested ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems.
The Fiat Punto Evo goes on sale in the second half of October with the precise objective of consolidating its role as one of Europe’s market leaders in the highly important compact segment.
