Quattroruote presented an accurate sketch earlier this summer which shows clearly that the facelift will cosmetically draw on the C-segment Bravo, introduced earlier this year. Photographs of the revised car seen testing recently have been presented by Italian magazine Quattroruote as the station wagon gears up for a brighter new look.

The facelifted Fiat Croma has broken cover ahead of its debut at next month's Bologna Motor Show. Photographs of the revised car seen testing recently have been presented by Italian magazine Quattroruote as the station wagon gears up for a brighter new look.

The Fiat Croma was launched two years ago in Geneva and it draws heavily on the previous alliance between Fiat and General Motors, being based on the GM Epsilon platform and using its petrol engines. Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Croma was Fiat's first new large car for nearly two decades, and was aimed at straddling several market segments, providing a multi-purpose vehicle that can seat five in comfort. The car, built at the Cassino factory, earned a prestigious EuroNCAP 5-star safety rating and has 7 airbags as standard. Sales have been solid, if unspectacular, and its availability has been discontinued in some Western European markets, such as the UK.

Quattroruote also presented an accurate sketch earlier this summer which shows clearly that the facelift will cosmetically draw on the C-segment Bravo, introduced earlier this year. The weakest point of the 5-door Croma was regarded to be its somewhat bland styling and this makeover seeks to fully address this shortcoming. The front end gets headlights borrowed from the Bravo, and the large double radiator grille area gets a Bravo-esque treatment. To offer a distinct appearance, the grilles will be chrome-finished. At the rear a new bumper profile will be incorporated, while for the first time the Croma will wear the new Fiat badge. A new tailgate roofline spoiler, meanwhile, will give the car a more aggressive profile.

Under the skin the Croma will remain virtually unchanged, but with one petrol engine (the 147 bhp/203 Nm 2.2-litre unit) being dropped, leaving the 140 bhp/175 Nm 1.8-litre as the sole petrol unit in the range.  All three diesels (120 bhp 1.9 8V, 150 bhp 1.9 16V and 200 bhp 2.4 20V) will be retained, while automatic options will be extended across the range, available alongside the manual 6-speed transmissions. Pricing for the facelifted model will start at 23,000 euros, rising to 33,000 euros for the top-spec 2.4 version.