The widely acclaimed all-new Fiat Punto, known as Grande Punto in deference to its class-leading overall size, went on sale across the UK last weekend. Spearheading the new 'compact model's market arrival is a high-profile appearance for the Giugiaro-styled car in the world famous Harrods department store in Knightsbridge.

This is the first time that window shoppers and visitors to the famous London department store have been able to view the sleek new Italian 'supermini. Two Grande Puntos are now showcased in Harrods' Brompton Road shop windows for a two month period and visitors to the store will be able to experience the car for themselves at close quarters, and even have the chance of a test drive them in the store's carpark. Numerous posters and plasmas installed at key locations throughout the store now inform Harrods' customers that Grande Punto has moved in.

Fiat Auto’s attractive new supermini is the largest car in the highly competitive B segment, combining class-leading accommodation with high quality build, flexible and practical interiors, comprehensive equipment levels, state-of-the-art technology and the superior driving dynamics of larger, higher segment vehicles. As a result of top quality construction, research and development, Grande Punto, which has undergone a gruelling testing regime comprising more than 3,000,000 miles, also meets the highest safety standards. Benefiting from the company’s unrivalled expertise in the field of small cars, new Punto has been awarded a maximum 5-star safety rating in the gruelling Euro NCAP crash test programme. Achieving 5 stars for passenger safety, 3 stars for child protection and a further 3 for pedestrian protection, the new Fiat recorded a total of 33 points out of a possible 37 – the highest overall score yet recorded in its market category.

Thirteen versions of the new Punto, priced from a remarkably competitive £7594 – £12,295 on-the-road in the UK, will be available from launch, embracing five trim levels – Active, Active Sport, Dynamic, Eleganza and Sporting. Augmenting an interior design founded on the fundamental pre-requisites of class-leading space, high quality build, and visual and tactile sophistication, the new Fiat’s equipment specification has been carefully considered to simplify and enhance life on board. Standard equipment on all versions includes ABS anti-lock braking, remote central locking, driver and passenger front airbags, electric front windows, a CD player, Dualdrive electric power steering and Follow Me Home headlamps. This comprehensive equipment package is boosted by a range of innovative, safety and comfort enhancing options more usually reserved for higher segment cars, such as dual-zone climate control, cruise control, rain and parking sensors, a SkyDome glass sunroof occupying almost the entire roof area, a multi-CD and MP3 player with subwoofer, and hands-free Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity.

The all-new Punto has already picked up some notable international media awards, including The Golden Steering Wheel (Germany); Auto Europa (Italy), and Best City Car (France). It goes on sale in the UK, which has been its predecessor’s leading export market, with a choice of six powerplants, including the widest diesel engine range in its category: 1.2 litre, 65bhp and 1.4 litre, 77bhp versions of the renowned 8-valve Fire petrol engine, and four turbocharged examples of Fiat’s sophisticated direct injection MultiJet diesel engine technology: 120bhp and 130bhp variants of the widely acclaimed 1.9 litre 8-valve MultiJet, as well as 75bhp and 90bhp versions of the award winning 1.3 litre 16-valve unit – the world’s smallest and most advanced second generation common rail direct injection turbodiesel.

Both petrol engines, together with the 75bhp, 1.3 litre MultiJet unit, are mated to 5-speed manual gearboxes; whilst the 90bhp, 1.3 litre turbodiesel as well as the 120bhp and 130bhp versions of the 1.9 litre MultiJet engine are equipped with 6-speed manual transmissions. Future additions to the engine range include a 95bhp 1.4 litre 16-valve petrol engine, which, along with the option of Dualogic – a sophisticated, clutchless, 5-speed sequential manual shift with a selectable, fully automatic mode – will be available later in the year. Further, more powerful engine options are in the ‘pipeline’. These developments will equip the all-new Punto with the widest, most comprehensive range of engines and transmissions available in B-segment today.

With a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating to its name, the new Punto builds on an already impressive safety portfolio with the full range of braking, traction control and stability systems available on the market today. Along with standard equipment ABS anti-lock brakes, complete with electronic brakeforce distribution, Grande Punto versions can be equipped with ASR to limit wheelspin during acceleration, MSR to modulate brake torque whilst changing down, and a sophisticated ESP to control stability through bends. Vehicles fitted with ESP also benefit from hydraulic brake assistance and a unique Hill Holder function to facilitate smooth hill starts.

With 15,000 orders placed and 100,000 test-drives booked within just five days of the new Punto going on sale in Europe, Fiat expects to better initial global sales predictions of 360,000 cars per annum.
 

Over 100,000 versions of the all-new Punto have been sold since its launch in late September last year. The current Punto continues in production, and a limited range will remain on sale in the UK throughout 2006.

The original Punto was introduced in 1993 and immediately became a hugely successful product throughout Europe. By its second year in production, it had already been voted European Car of the Year, and became Europe’s best selling small car, ahead of the Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 206 and Renault Clio. In 1997, it was the best selling car in Europe, outright. Still in production today, there are currently more than 500,000 examples of the Punto active on Britain’s roads.

So Grande Punto is one of the most important vehicles in Fiat’s 107 year history, because it is the latest in a long line of advanced, stylish small cars that has created and built Fiat’s legendary heritage. These advanced small cars started with the original Fiat 500, launched in 1936 as the world’s smallest mass production car and nicknamed Topolino, or Mickey Mouse. The price of the original Fiat 500 made it accessible to people who had hitherto never been able to afford one, and it did it with the style and panache of much larger, more expensive cars. In 1955 the Fiat 600 was launched, followed by a new 500 in 1957. Another classic small car, the 600 was also the basis for the Fiat 600 Multipla, launched in 1956. With its revolutionary six seat layout in a small car, it laid the foundations for the millions of people movers that followed more than 40 years later. These classic small cars, which provided real value for their customers, have been followed by generations of world-beating designs, such as the Fiat 127 in 1971, fore-runner of the modern front-wheel drive hatchback, the first and second generation Pandas, the Fiat Uno, and the first generations of the Fiat Punto, a car that has been purchased by more than six million people, and is still in production.

The all-new Grande Punto, therefore, has a hefty reputation to maintain. So it’s not surprising that it sets safety and quality standards that are particularly high for its category. It boasts the widest range of diesel engines, has a very competitive price/content ratio, and offers conspicuous value to customers. As a result, Grande Punto meets the fundamental requirements of this class, and then it adds a new level of styling, along with a driving experience that befits a country that produces the world’s best sports cars, and does it all in a highly original way.

Developed by Italdesign, together with the Fiat Styling Centre, Grande Punto stands out in the current automotive scene for its appearance, which is modern, elegant and distinctly Italian, with a Mediterranean stylistic ‘language’ inspired by the sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s. Like the exterior, the interior of new Grande Punto represents the most evolved expression of Italian styling, thanks to the quality of the materials and the care that has gone into detailing. The result is a bright, welcoming, yet still functional environment.

This is a car created to ‘excite’, but also to express the solidity that comes from high quality standards. This is borne out by extremely high safety standards; attention to detail that is unusual in this market bracket, and exceptional comfort. This impression is confirmed by the car’s external dimensions, which put it at the top of its category: it is 4030mm long, 1687mm wide, 1490mm high and has a wheelbase of 2510mm, measurements which translate into an extraordinary amount of interior space and comfort, and which are also significant in terms of the car’s crash safety performance. Grande Punto is clearly a car of superior quality: from the very first stages of the project, the team working on it pursued very high standards, drawing on a stringent engineering process, based on a very strong all-new platform, while it applied the most advanced, innovative reliability methodologies throughout the model’s development and construction. This is a car built to be solid and safe. And finally, Grande Punto is agile and enjoyable to drive in all situations, and its engines combine strong performance, low fuel consumption and respect for the environment.

Styling, comfort, best-in-class safety standards, solidity and a highly competitive price: these are the guidelines along which Grande Punto was developed; a car created for young adults, for first-time car buyers, for women, and for young families. To meet the requirements of this broad customer base, Grande Punto offers vibrant Italian styling, a symbol of character and refinement, in three or five door form. The three door version is more assertive and dynamic, and will appeal above all to performance and style-driven owners, while the five door version strikes a balance between styling and comfort, performance and safety, access and its distinctive look. Both versions share a broad, comprehensive range with five UK trim levels, each capable of satisfying different customers who share the same youthful, dynamic spirit.