Italian automaker Fiat has just launched
the Punto hatchback with a mid career facelift in the UK market. The
2012 Punto, as the facelifted is known as, comes with many changes on
the cosmetics front. The car gets brand new headlamps and fog lamps
along with a new front bumper. Overall, the look of the car from the
front has been changed quite a bit when compared to the existing model.
The rear of the car also gets a makeover with a new bumper, a new tail
gate design and new tail lamps. The interiors also get a once over with
new materials used.
The other big change is regarding the
engine. In the 2012 Grande Punto, Fiat has introduced the turbocharged,
twin cylinder TwinAir engine displacing 875cc. This turbo petrol engine
outputs a peak power of 85 Bhp while peak torque comes in at 145 Nm. The
tech packed engine, while not being the smoothest unit around is quite
fuel efficient owing to its small capacity. The engine is mated to a six
speed manual gearbox and comes with an unique fuel saving option of
reducing peak torque to 105 Nm by means of a dashboard mounted button
for low power applications like cruising.
The other engines include petrol and
diesel units. The 1.3 Liter Fiat Multijet turbo diesel engine is
available in two states of tune, 75 Bhp-190 Nm and 90 Bhp-205 Nm. The
petrol engines come in displacements of 1.2 Liters and 1.4 Liters
respectively. While the 1.2 Liter, four pot petrol is naturally
aspirated, the 1.4 Liter turbo petrol engine features MultiAir variable
valve technology to deliver both high performance as well as high fuel
economy. All engines on the 2012 line up of the Punto get start-Stop
technology as well as gear shift indicators that indicates the optimum
gear depending on the speed of the car.
Both these technologies work in tandem to
maximize fuel economy. Earlier this year, just before the 2012 Indian
Auto Expo fiat India launched the 2012 version of the Punto in India.
apart from higher ground clearance and a few new features on the base
model, there was little in terms of new features/style on the car. So,
we expect the facelifted UK spec 2012 Punto to arrive into India
sometime next year as the 2013 model. This will be quite necessary as
the Grande Punto’s competitors in India have moved on to offer more
features. So, will you bring the facelifted 2012 Punto to India, Fiat?
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