2013 Fiat Punto Review: Pop, Lounge
2013 FIAT PUNTO REVIEW
What’s hot: Sharp driveaway pricing for the Pop; involving handling
What’s not: Unconventional ‘auto’; ageing mechanicals
X-Factor: There is something special about driving an Italian car; the Punto puts the ‘p’ back into personality.
Vehicle style: Light five-door hatch
Price: $16,000 (driveaway) Pop manual; $21,800 (plus on-roads) Lounge auto
Engine/trans: 1.4 litre petrol/five-speed manual and five-speed ‘Dualogic’ auto
Power/torque: 57kW/115Nm
Fuel consumption (listed): 5.7 l/100km (manual); 5.4 l/100km (auto)
Fuel consumption (tested): 5.7 l/100km (manual); 6.3 l/100km (auto)
OVERVIEW
Is Fiat back? It can’t get enough of the spunky and impish 500 to satisfy demand, and the Freemont seems to have found a foothold.
So maybe the market is ready for another Fiat.
For sure, the re-launched Punto won’t do the brand any harm. At $16,000 driveaway for four doors, style with a bit of passion, and the crisp handling that sits deep within the DNA of all Italian cars, it will make more of a mark this time round.
We spent half a day at the wheel of the entry Pop and up-specced Lounge at the Melbourne launch.
It’s up against the likes of the Barina Spark and Mitsubishi Mirage at the lower end of the light car category, and Mazda2, Honda Jazz, Yaris, VW Polo and Kia Rio at the upper end.
There’s not much room in there for a new player. Especially for one, despite a refresh last year, that is soldiering on with a platform and a drivetrain that is now five years old.