This is the Fiat Punto Evo, the revised version of the Grande Punto that will be displayed at this month’s Frankfurt motorshow and go on sale in the UK Spring 2010.
As well as a mild restyling, the Fiat Punto Evo gets an updated engine range that includes the innovative 1.4-litre petrol Multiair unit. The Multiair system works by allowing direct control of air and combustion in engines, cylinder by cylinder and stroke by stroke, without the use of a conventional throttle. It saves energy wasted in traditional systems, cutting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by around 10% over a comparable standard engine, and increasing power by up to 10% and torque by up to 15%. It can also reduce particulate emissions by up to 40% and NOx emissions by up to 60%. Fiat plans to fit the technology to all its engines in coming years.
Other engines in the range include a new 1.3-litre Multijet diesel, which features a new common-rail injector that reduces consumption by around 2% and NOx emissions by 30%, plus methane and LPG units that boost the car’s eco credentials but which won’t be on sale in the UK. This emits 115g/km of CO2. Fiat is also fitting stop-start as standard on all its Euro5-compliant petrol and diesel engines.
Fiat says the interior has been completely reworked, while the exterior has been tweaked by the addition of new bumpers and light clusters. The car is slightly longer than before, at 406cm from 403cm. All other dimensions are the same.
The Punto Evo has seven airbags as standard, including a driver’s knee-bag. Options include a hill holder function to make hillstarts easier, and adaptive cornering fog lights that switch on according to the angle of steering and a new sat-nav system is also available. Called Blue&Me-TomTom, it allows the driver to manage telephone, sat-nav and information systems via a single colour touch screen. 
