First Drive: 2012 Fiat Punto

Fiat introduced a new version of its staple B-segment Punto hatchback to South Africa this week, as well as into other right-hand drive markets around the world. Refreshingly, the European launch was just last week, so this news is as hot-off-the-presses as it can get for a European car in South Africa.

First things first, the car may be new, but it’s still pronounced the same way. That’s to say with a dramatic emphasis on the ‘u’ after the ‘p’, followed by another emphasis on the ‘toh’ at the end, climaxing in a curt finish. Saying ‘Puun-toh’ like this makes you sound like an authentic Italian even if you’ve never set foot out of Fourways and it makes the car better as well.

In all seriousness though, there is an issue regarding the Punto’s ‘new-ness’. Anyone expecting an inspired, Italian design makeover is going to be somewhat let down. Its got a tweaked front bumper and some new taillights, but that’s it on the aesthetics and you’d be hard pressed to notice the new-ness over the old one, but of course it would be impossible to engage in such a solitary past time because it’s doubtful you’d see an old one driving around anyway.

The Fiat Punto is not exactly the ‘go-to’ car in the mind of the buying public when it comes to B-segment cars and, ahem…, can you blame them when you consider this list of competitors: Polo, Jazz, Fiesta, i20, Rio, Yaris, Corsa, Micra, Swift. Okay, aside from that Suzuki, that’s a serious collection of nameplates. The Punto is the equivalent of no. 10 in the ICC cricket rankings – Zimbabwe or Bangladesh versus the South African Polo, how do you think that game is going to go? The Bangladeshi boys could pull something out the bag, but hardly sleepless nights for us South African’s.

What would you do to climb your way up that monumentally daunting pile of competitors? Suggestions anyone? Keep a cool head, baby steps, don’t sweat the small stuff, all that will probably help. However, what Fiat has tried to do is get cleverer than DJ Hi-Tek from ‘Die Antwoord.’ The Punto now has all-new engines under the bonnet and all new interiors on those same models. So the chassis and everything else is the same, but in fairness, I’d argue all new engines counts as making the Punto more than just a facelift. It’s close, but it qualifies… just. They’ve jacked down the prices as well, versus its competitors (all nine of them).

So we start with the 8-valve, 1.4-litre Pop that has an evolution of the original Fire engine and makes 57 kW. The entire range now gets engine start/stop technology, but the Pop spec retains the old Punto’s interior. The new interiors start with the 1.4-litre Easy spec. Then we get the 1.4-litre with MultiAir technology on the engine in Easy spec and finally the 1.4-litre Turbo MultiAir in Lounge spec.

With the introduction of MuiltiAir, and its start/stop technology, Fiat might have a fighting chance after all. To conquer a market that has grown from 25% to 35% of the total vehicle market in South Africa and one that’s dominated to the tune of 95% petrol cars and 75% five-door hatches, you need a USP. MultiAir is a very clever one and maximises the humble Fiat’s performance versus its efficiencies. The 8-valve engine without MultiAir produces 57 kW and gets to 100 km/h in 13-plus seconds. The non-turbo MultiAir can do the sprint to 100 km/h in 10-seconds and the Turbo MultiAir gets to 100 km/h in a very respectable 8.5 seconds. Yet they all consume fuel and produce CO2 at virtually identical rates: 133g/km CO2 and 5.7-litres per 100km. Voila!

We were able to take the two top spec Fiat Punto’s, Easy and Lounge, on a drive of a few hundred km’s plus some change; hardly enough to come up with a definitive verdict on the car, but it was enough to conclude a few things. The first conclusion being that, for a car presumably bought by people who aren’t interested in driving, hence their choice of number ten on the list; it’s really not that bad at all. The non-turbo engine breathes nicely, rev’s nicely, the road noise isn’t overwhelming and, while the interior is more functional than stylish in the way that any buttons are sort of collected on one easy to build slab, it does have a host of kit to play with like ASR (anti-skid-restriction), city steering, a trip computer, etc. The seats are not what I’d call supportive so any inclination to corner fast is discouraged straight from the off, but the fit of the plastics and touch of the materials is not offensive.

The Turbo MultiAir churns out 99 kW and 206 Nm and that gets a right old move-on when you put your foot down. The choice of a five speed manual in the turbo versus a six-speed in the non-turbo is a bit bizarre, but the execution in the shift action is rather aimless in any case, so one is hardly encouraged to belt it around. The front suspension and their combination with hard-ish compound tyres also don’t illicit a razor sharp cornering attitude either.

Despite these haphazard factors, you could probably call the Fiat Punto MultiAirs underrated, a bit like last year’s Fiat Bravo Sport. When you climb into them you can’t help access your lack of expectation and say, ‘this isn’t too bad.’ Unfortunately, I can’t envisage ‘isn’t too bad’ as being good enough to make ambitious inroads into the big ten ahead of Fiat. Then again, if the price is right in our South African market, anything can sell.

Prices include a 5-year/150 000km warranty.

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