Fiat has announced that the Punto Evo will be officially launched tomorrow, at an event in Delhi. The unveiling at Delhi will be followed by regional launches of the hatchback across major cities in the country. As the Punto Evo’s despatch to dealerships had commenced a while ago, deliveries of the car are expected to start immediately after its launch.
The ‘Evo’ in the new car’s name stands for ‘Evolution’ and visually, the evolution in design is clearly visible. While the overall silhouette has remained the same, the front and rear of the car gets some comprehensive updates. The front fascia looks very similar to that of the Avventura concept which was unveiled at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. The bumper has been remodelled to accommodate the new front grille, headlamps and the fog lamp housings. The tail lamp assembly is still vertically stacked, though it now gets clear lens indicators.
The interior layout and components have been borrowed from the Linea parts bin and add a touch of class to the car. The dashboard gets a black and crème theme while the centre console gets a piano black finish. The quality of plastics and switchgear has improved and lend the hatchback a premium feel.
The Punto Evo will continue to use the current Punto’s engines, which include two petrols and one diesel. The petrol variants are powered by a 1.2-litre and a 1.4-litre unit, churning out 67bhp and 89bhp respectively. The diesel variants of the Punto Evo are powered by the 1.3-litre MultiJet engine which is available in two states of tune 75bhp in the standard guise and 90bhp in the performance version. All these engines send power to the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
The Fiat Punto has been on sale in India for quite some time now and despite occasional updates, the car’s design has grown long in the teeth. With the facelift, Fiat has tried to add a bit of spark to enliven the ageing car, though it is obvious that the car needs much more than some cosmetic updates. While the Punto has always attracted a cult following, Fiat will have to devise a better marketing strategy for the Punto Evo to reach out to the masses. The Punto Evo will rival other B+-Segment hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Polo and the Hyundai Elite i20, which will go on sale on August 11.
