It seems that the expectations of the auto lovers in India with respect to the new hatchback that Fiat has launched globally, the Grande Punto EVO, is going to remain unfulfilled. The car manufacturer does not have plans of launching this vehicle in India. However, the 2012 variants of both the Fiat Punto and the Fiat Linea are just round the corner. The changes in both these vehicles have just been restricted to the exterior and the manufacturer has not gone for any major modifications with respect to their engines. Both the new variants of the Fiat Punto and Fiat Linea are on track to come into the market as per schedule on January 03, 2012. Thus, they are making the foray into the Indian auto market much before the Auto Expo of 2012. Along with the changes to the exteriors, Fiat is also likely to modify some key ergonomics of the vehicles.
A major change made in these vehicles relates to the placing of their pedals. The earlier versions of the cars faced certain complaints with regards to placing of the acceleration, brake and clutch pedals. Based on the same, Fiat has gone in for some improvements on this aspect. The Fiat Punto was not able to power up to 90Bhp through its multi-jet 1.3L engine essentially because of the incapability of its 5-speed manual transmission gearbox. However, improvement of the gearbox has become even more mandatory in the present context with Fiat India tweaking its 1.3L diesel engine of the Punto to deliver 90Bhp against its earlier peak power of 76Bhp. Hence, it is felt by auto experts that the latest Fiat Punto will have to incorporate this improvement into its gearbox. The changes in the exteriors are definitely visible, highlighted particularly by the redesigning of the headlamps as well as in the placement of the grille. Some modifications have also been done to the already luxurious interiors.
As has been discussed before, the new Fiat Linea will continue to operate with the same engines that had been fitted to the earlier version – the 1.2L petrol and its highly popular 1.3L multi-jet diesel engines. The new Fiat Punto will, however, have two variants of petrol engines, 1.2L and 1.4L engines. The same multi-jet 1.3L diesel engine has been retained for the hatchback. Strong rumors have been floated across auto circles that the car manufacturer from Italy is considering to come out with a 1.6L diesel engine variant for the Fiat Linea, sometime in the near future. When this new makeover is going to be provided to the sedan is something that we are eagerly awaiting to see.