by David Morgan (25 Jan 10)

You have to take your hat off to Fiat. Over the past few years they've turned the car-buying public's perception of their cars as indifferent and sometimes unreliable discounted transport to one of innovation and top value. The renaissance started with the Grande Punto in 2006, followed two years ago by the Fiat 500 and its cracking Abarth hot-supermini sister last year. Elsewhere the new look and feel continued through the range with improving quality, better safety and a return to building Fiats that are genuinely fun to drive.

Enter Fiat's latest great white hope - the Punto Evo. On sale now, it's substantial update of the Grande Punto that freshens and tightens a popular front-drive family hatch with smart new styling and, most significantly, much-improved petrol and turbo diesel engines.

Apart from the rather high cost of the new model (£10,995 for a 77bhp entry-level Active 1.4 eight-valve petrol three-door to £15,595 for a 95bhp range-leading Eleganza 1.3 MultiJet five-door turbo diesel with Dualogic robotised six-speed transmission) the latest Punto is an impressive package. But what stand out head and shoulders from its marketing headlines - standard Start&Stop, improved interior trim quality, slick styling and an interesting Blue&Me plug-in TomTom dashtop navigation system - are its new MultiAir petrol and MultiJet II turbo diesel engines. Both units are quantum leaps in technology, refinement and power delivery.

At the model's UK launch around Cheltenham and the Forest of Dean I drove cars both power plants in three- and five-door guises and in a variety of trim levels. I was impressed. The Grande Punto was not a bad car. Far from it. It sold well and did much to lift the image of small Fiat family hatches. Its successor takes that story to a new level. It may have a different name, but it's fundamentally the same car brought up to date.

The 22-model range (10 three-door options and 12 five-doors) is offered in five trim levels from base Active through particularly good value Dynamic and on to Eleganza in the "comfort" sector, with two sporty trim levels badged GP and Sporting.

I have to say the standard eight-valve 1.4 petrols are fairly ordinary. They are adequate and willing performers that prop up the lower value models - but to taste the Punto Evo with all of its new-found attributes you really need to dip into the 16-valve 1.4 litre MultiAir cars. The MultiAir magic is in its flexible intelligent valve timing. Drivetrain engineering manager Andrea Ferrari told me the electro-hydraulic valve actuation and its electronic control intricately manages the length of time the twin intake valves in each cylinder open. Put simply, there is no need for these valves to open fully when full power is needed. At other times a solenoid valve matches the optimum opening to suit any given load condition.

The result? Smooth, frugal fuel use, perky power, instant throttle response and a fluid flow of torque when you need it, even in top gear. The MultiAir is also easy to start at low temperatures and runs much more quietly than its fine 1.4-litre petrol predecessor. In 105bhp guise it's flexible and willing while the Sporting's 135bhp version delivers exceptional driving fun.

The new 16-valve MultiJet II turbo diesel is a development of the original 1.3 litre MultiJet I - a smoother, more economical and cleaner oil burner. It's certainly quieter than the original MultiJet with eight injection cycles compared to five of the first unit. The result is a 6% hike in power to either 75bhp or 95bhp, an 8% reduction in CO2 emissions and most significantly a 25% boost in torque.

Despite this I see no reason why you should favour the small turbo diesel over Fiat's latest petrol units - especially the MultiAir. The 105bhp MultiAir Dynamic three-door costs just £100 more than a lower-specification three-door 75bhp 1.3 Active MultiJet II.

True, the diesel will average nearly 69mpg on the combined cycle while the petrol can "only" manage 50mpg - but the 105bhp petrol drive is so much better. And when it comes to the 135bhp MultiAir compared to the 95bhp MultiJet II the difference is 50.4mpg for the petrol unit against 67mpg for the oil burner. Again, the driving experience with the cheaper fuelled petrol is light years ahead of the admittedly much improved diesel.

Whether you opt for a three- or five-door Punto Evo you'll get a much more refined car than the model it replaces. It's the roomiest in its class, impressively trimmed with softer dashboard curves and a piano black panel that is neater than before. On the road all models handle well and are great fun to drive. But while the MultiJet II diesels pull well it's the MultiAir cars that get my vote. They are superb.

Mind you I am a Start&Stop sceptic and not convinced shutting down and firing up a petrol or diesel engine at idle will save the planet. However, Punto Evo comes with the feature as standard, presumably to satisfy the tree-huggers - fortunately it also has a switch to turn the system off!

Comment on this story on Facebook or Twitter.

Back to Fiat Launch index
Back to main Launch index