Jan 13 2009
FIAT GRANDE PUNTO
Fiat India has plans to launch Fiat Grande Punto shortly. Fiat Grande Punto is a premium B-segment category car that is highly successful in Europe. Designed by the famous Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, Fiat Grand Punto was given the Euro NCAP five-star rating for passenger safety. It is an attractive and spacious car which suits your personality.
The styling of the Grande Punto stands out in the current automotive scene for the beauty of the exterior line, which is modern, elegant and distinctly ‘Italian’, a ‘Mediterranean’ stylistic language where the tapered rounded lines seem to be inspired by the sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s.
This is a car created to ‘excite’, but also to express the solidity that comes from superb quality standards. This is borne out by extremely high safety standards, attention to detail that is unusual in this market bracket, and exceptional comfort.
It would probably have 1.3-litre multi-jet diesel engine that would be manufactured by the Suzuki-GM-Fiat alliance engine plant. Fiat may also shorten the present length of Grande Punto, which is 4030mm, by 30mm so that it can comply with the new small car regulations and take advantage of an 8 percent excise saving.
Inside, heavily bolstered sports seats provide plenty of support during cornering, and are comfortable on long journeys. The chunky leather steering wheel is a joy to hold, while the dashboard design is simple and well laid out. The punto is preceded with “Grande” to indicate its larger size.
Fiat claim the interior represents the epitome of Italian style it means being able to get in and out of the car easily and comfortably, and once you are sitting down, it means being surrounded by an airy environment, enjoying its generous space and greater visibility. The cabin has a few storage areas and a luggage organiser can be bought as an accessory which also raises the floor of the boot so it becomes flat with the rear seats folded and also acts as a box to hide valuables.
Grande Punto feels well made and although the hard plastics aren’t that nice to touch, they look quite attractive and can be chosen with some vibrant colour schemes to add a sense of fun to the interior. Finding the ideal driving position is easy thanks to the great range of steering and seat adjustment but the thick two-pronged windscreen pillars can obscure visibility at the front.
It represents superb value in the small car sector and very few rivals can match it’s low prices and generous kit levels. Styling, emotion, comfort, safety and a good price: these are the guidelines along which the Grande Punto was developed; a car created for young adults, the very young, new active women, and small modern families. To meet the requirements of this heterogeneous public, the Grande Punto proposes typically Italian styling.
