Fiat launched the Grande Punto in June last year with three engine variants— 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre multijet diesel engine. The 1.2-litre at that time was only being offered in a base version (which is basically the Active trim) and now with the 1.2-litre petrol competition growing with a slew of launches earlier this year, Fiat launched the 1.2-litre powered Grande Punto in Dynamic and Emotion trim levels.

The Grande Punto 1.2 Emotion that we’ve tested doesn’t come with the Emotion Pack option, so it’s missing the rich leather steering cover, Blue&Me kit with steering mounted audio controls, Airbags and those delicious fifteen-inch alloys which are all available on the larger engined (1.4 petrol and 1.3 multijet) Grande Punto Emotion Pack. Apart from this, the 1.2-litre Emotion lacks the height adjustable driver’s seat and ABS which are available on other Emotion variants. And when you look at the finer details, even the audio system knobs are black in colour rather than the silver-finished ones seen on the other Grande Punto variants. The rest of the features that constitute part of the Emotion trim level are all there. Like the chrome front grille, body coloured mirrors, in-dash MP3/CD player, electric mirrors, rear defogger and wiper, dual-tone seats and fog lamps.

If you have sat in the 1.2 Active, and you have had complaints about the rather uninspiring grey interiors, your views will change when you sit in this one. The dual tone (black and grey) interiors, the in-dash audio system and the good quality fit and finish no longer give you that dull feel. The fit and finish of the interiors is definitely one of the best amongst cars that are being offered at this price point. The bodyshell still exudes a robustness that very few cars this size manage and it really feels tough as nails. To our dismay, Airbags and ABS are not available on the 1.2, which are now being offered by all its competitors and is almost a standard feature in the top-end variants of most small cars.

Fiat has used the 8-valve 1172cc, 68bhp petrol engine, which is the same engine that powers the Tata Indica Vista SAFIRE which we recently tested. The Indica Vista even has the same Fiat gearbox, however due to the difference in the final drive, we found that the Grande Punto is far more driveable in the city. In our quarter mile run, the Grande Punto 1.2 took 21.4 seconds to hit the 402m mark and reached 100kph in 19.4 seconds. No doubt, a better figure could be achieved if the car was a tad lighter. It tips the scales at 1140kgs compared to the Indica Vista Drivetech4 SAFIRE which is 1035kgs, making the Grande Punto 1.2 Emotion a whole 105kgs heavier. Of course, it is this weight that gives the car its solid and unshakeable feel.

The gearing is spot on and the higher differential ratio does make it more convenient to drive in city. As in the case with the Indica Vista, we really do wish this hatch had a DOHC valve-gear and a lot more go! (Even the old 1242cc Fiat block which propelled the Palio would have done wonders!) In our in-gear test, the 1.2-litre hatch clocked the 30-50kph in 5 seconds in the third gear and 7.8 seconds in the fourth. In the 50-70kph run, the Grande Punto took 9.9 seconds in the fifth gear. The engine pulls strongly even at 40kph in the third gear on an uphill but somehow the Indica Vista SAFIRE Drivetech4 didn’t pull that well and this just goes to show how much of an impact the differential ratios make. Considering the weight of the hatchback and the power of the engine, the fuel efficiency it returned was quite decent. We achieved a best figure of 15.24kpl which was on our highway run cycle and we got a worst figure of 10.67kpl during our performance testing which is all pedal-to-metal driving.

The Grande Punto has the same suspension for all its variants and it retains its smooth and composed ride quality and agile handling. The hatchback does carry its Italian DNA of being a great handler with all the engines its being offered with. No doubt, this chassis of is capable of handling much more powerful engines than what is currently being offered in India. This is the same chassis that’s being used for rallying (WRC) in Abarth Grande Punto S2000 guise. Throw it around a tight bend or take it up winding roads and the chassis takes everything in its stride without really affecting the ride quality or ever feeling uncomposed. The 1.2-litre also misses out the bigger wheel & tyre options and comes with 175/70/R14 tyres. This is another reason why we also discovered a fairly large speedometer error between the indicated reading and our test equipment which displays true speed. So when the speedometer is at the 100kph mark, the true speed is about 92kph, which is an 8kph error. This we think boils down to the tyre size (from the larger 196/60 R15 on the emotion pack to the 175/70R14 on this car) which impacts rolling circumference ultimately leading to such speedo errors.

The Grande Punto 1.2 Emotion costs Rs 5.04Lakhs(ex-showroom, Mumbai). It isn’t a bad buy considering its tough build quality, the good fit and finish of the plastics, the overall driving feel and not to forget the great handling characteristics. Yes, those who have large feet will find the foot-well too cramped and the dead pedal usable, and it still loses out on rear legroom in light of new competition. We wish at this price Fiat would have offered Airbags and ABS as standard. And when you look at its pricing in comparison with its sibling from the Tata stable, it does seem so much less value than the Indica Visata SAFIRE Aura+ which is at 4.59Lakhs(ex-showroom Mumbai). However the Punto scores strongly on being just that much better built and is a far better car (even with this 1.2) to driving owing to its better chassis design. By launching these two new trim levels, the Dynamic & Emotion; Fiat aims to increase its sales volume by making a car for those who aren’t looking for performance, by availing of the excise benefits on engines upto 1.2-litres. Performance enthusiasts will have to wait only a month more because there’s going to be a new Punto to wear the performance crown – a new 90bhp multijet! Wait for it.