By Mike Torpey on 2012-10-14 - Driving Force news editor and responsible for organising our daily output. He was staff motoring editor of the Liverpool Echo for 20 years.
Fiat Punto 1.3
MultiJet Lounge
KEEPING it simple is the name of the game at Fiat these days as the Italian company's most successful model targets a younger audience.
To celebrate the Punto's expansion in size it became the Grande; then as the popular supermini got greener and moved more upmarket it was renamed the Evo.
Now, with more than 8.5 million vehicles sold in Europe since its original launch, Fiat has removed any confusion and gone back to the plain old Punto.
Except that this car is anything but plain. To continue the model's evolution Fiat has introduced styling changes like colour coded front and rear bumpers plus a trio of new exterior colours - Brit Pop Blue, Tango Red and Underground Grey.
There are also denim inserts on the most affordable models, aimed at more youthful, price sensitive buyers.
Punto models are also fitted with Fiat's Blue&Me interface that controls all the car's major functions. However it's well worth the extra £250 to add the slick new Blue&Me Tom Tom LIVE, giving fingertip access to a touchscreen navigation set-up, mobile phone, trip computer and MP3 player with steering wheel commands.
It is compact, links to the car via a discreet integrated connector on the dash and being portable it can be used in any other vehicle.
It also includes something called eco:Drive, whereby owners receive info on how to reduce the environmental impact of their driving style.
While entry to the line-up starts at £9,900 for the base level 1.2-litre Punto Pop boasting a respectable 54 miles per gallon, the big news is the addition of two new engines - an 85bhp version of the MultiJet diesel engine and the Engine of the Year 85bhp petrol TwinAir.
One of the cleanest cars in its class with CO2 emissions of a tax-busting 90g/km, the tested Multijet model was put through some serious eco driving - and returned a fraction under the claimed average economy figure of 80.7mpg.
There's not a lot there if you need instant acceleration but once up to speed the diesel performs well, and is accomplished in urban conditions where a press of the City button lightens up the steering.
Apart from a classier feel to the interior, and in the Lounge version a terrific Skydome double sunroof, the important aspect of the Punto is its rear space.
Three adults may be shoulder to shoulder across the back, but the seating position is comfortable and there's sufficient legroom too - something few cars of this size can genuinely claim.
All Punto models, and there are 27 of them, now feature Start&Stop technology and every car comes with remote central locking, electric front windows, driver and passenger airbags, window airbags, radio/CD/MP3 player, electric power steering and height-adjustable driver's seat.
Fiat Punto 1.3 MultiJet Lounge
Price: £15,600
Mechanical: 85bhp, 1,248cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox
Max Speed: 107mph
0-62mph: 13.1 seconds
Combined MPG: 80.7
Insurance Group: 14
C02 emissions: 90g/km
Bik rating: 13%
Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles
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