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Fiat Punto Evo

Expert Rating: 4 out of 5

What is it?

The Punto Evo isn't the result of a tryst between Fiat and Mitsubishi, makers of the famous series of rally-bred saloons nicknamed 'Evo'. That would have been great though, so sorry if we've disappointed you. No, the Punto Evo is a very thorough revision of the current Grande Punto, offering a new set of petrol and diesel engines, an entirely new cabin layout and some sporty styling for the outside; it's Fiat's attempt to drag the older Punto into a fair old scrap with the new Ford Fiesta and the very new Volkswagen Polo.

Is it any good?

It is, but the base car wasn't too bad to start with. In a slightly unorthodox move, Fiat will actually keep selling the Grande Punto alongside the Evo for the foreseeable future, making the older car a 'base' model (possibly reducing the price) and slotting this in as a more premium car above it.

And the changes are just about enough to justify that marketing strategy. The shape of the newcomer is instantly familiar, but the front gets a deep dual air intake separated by plastic (which we think looks like The Joker's mouth, as portrayed by Jack Nicholson), as well as a Fiat 500 style chrome strip. The rear gets new light graphics and mid-mounted 'Punto Evo' badging. Some will like the added aggression, but for us the addenda has detracted from what was a fundamentally attractive shape.

The internal changes are better, serving to elevate the cabin from being quite sparse and too plastic in feel to something closer to the tactility of the Fiesta's - if not quite there. There's still a lot of hard plastic, but the central air vent and stereo controls are encased in trendy gloss black, and there's now an integrated cradle for an optional TomTom satnav, which links to Fiat's Blue&Me Bluetooth system. It means that the cost of navigation is dramatically reduced (as per SEAT's system on the Ibiza), but it also links with the car directly to allow, for example, drivers to see how economical they're being via the TomTom's touch screen. The data can be collected and compared with other drivers over the Internet.

Should I call the bank manager?

Fiat has invested an eye watering £220m into this facelift; although that gives you an indication about how seriously it takes its claim that it is almost a new car (thus selling it alongside the Grande Punto). As well as the obvious visual tweaks, that investment has gone into improving the chassis and adding some new engines - and the results are positive. Right-hand drive versions won't appear until late January 2010 (Fiat won't release it until the scrap scheme ends, although that's not the only reason for the delay), so the prices, full engine line-up and spec aren't set in stone yet, but the car will come powered by new MultiJet 2 diesels and MultiAir petrol engines. We drove the 135bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged MultiAir petrol and very briefly got behind the wheel of a diesel model. Of the latter we can say it's impressively quiet, vibration free and rev-happy, but our limited time with it means we'll reserve final judgement until another drive in the future.

The MultiAir unit combines plenty of punch with impressive frugality and is another example of petrol engines becoming more justifiable in terms of their running costs compared to diesel. The engine doesn't really come alive until the middle of the rev range, but when it does it fizzes to the rev limiter quickly and smoothly: despite a mere 8.5-second 0-62mph sprint, it will return 50.4mpg and emit 129g/km of CO2.

The newcomer's strength is its ride comfort - despite steering and suspension tweaks to improve handling dynamics. The suspension is set up on the soft side and the steering maintains that over-light wooliness of the Grande Punto, but the Evo maintains the turn-in sharpness of the pre-facelift car and does a fine job of staying level on uneven surfaces. Only when it encounters really broken roads does it get annoyingly wavy in the cabin.

Summary

While we're not convinced by the Evo's new face or its OTT name, the interior and mechanical updates have made the Punto a far more convincing car. It has neither the style nor quality of the class-leading Fiesta, but it's comfortable, spacious and, with this new MultiAir petrol unit, is both punchy and frugal. The second-generation MultiJet diesels are impressive too. As long as it's priced keenly when it arrives in January (there's no reason to think why not), the Punto should once again give the established supermini pack something to think about.

Mark Nichol