Fiat Punto EVO Review

Hello Everyone….I’m Siddharth Lal here with my review on the India’s most fun to drive premium hatchback which is non other than the Fiat Punto EVO 90Hp. My review is based on the time i spent with the Punto EVO by keeping it for 3 days, the car was arranged by Kashyap Fiat showroom which is located at Okhla Phase-III, New Delhi. I really appreciate the support and assistance offered by this Fiat dealership which in turn helped me to understand the Punto EVO to the fullest. All I can say is that this dealership is among the best dealerships in India as it’s staff is really knowledgeable, and are car lovers. Like the Stylish looks of all fiat cars, this showroom’s ambience is also stylish as the Red on white interior tone looks amazing and the furniture also looks stylish and modern and goes well with the stylish stance of the Fiat cars they sell. I found the Interior ambience of this showroom best among all other brand’s showroom.

The Fiat Punto is a premium hatchback which is made in India and designed in Italy. The Punto EVO is a facelift version of the Grande Punto and Fiat introduced the EVO in the year 2014. The Fiat Punto EVO is the most fun to drive hatchback in it’s segment and now the Fiat Punto EVO has 93ps power across all variants making this hatch the best driver’s car.  So we’ll find out in the review below how the Punto EVO actually is.

Technical Specifications:

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Exterior Styling: 

Be it any view angle, the Punto EVO looks stunning, sporty, premium, big & bold and reflects an imposing stance.  It feel as if it is richly aerodynamically crafted by paying special attention to detailing. The stretched headlights along with the chrome surrounded radiator grill & chrome surrounded fog lamps with big housing highlights aggression and appends style & sportiness. 

📷 The 16" alloy wheels with 195-Section wide tyres and chrome plated door handles accentuates an upmarket & a sporty feel. The sharp race lines at the side profile adds more to its aerodynamic appeal.  The Rear also reveals boldness due to the inflated boot, surrounding areas and rear bumper while the crystal clear tail lamps and chrome surrounded rear reflector/ fog lamps adds a premium touch. 

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Interiors, Comfort & Convenience: 

Like the exteriors, the interiors also reveals a sporty yet premium appeal, the dual tone combination of black and ivory white along with the orange colour interior lighting looks amazing and the ivory white colour on it's dashboard is a soft-touch coated material which feels nice to touch. The steering and the gear lever is leather wrapped and the interior door handles are silver tone coated. 

📷 The dashboard gets a 2-DIN integrated in-dash touch screen entertainment system with AUX, USB and Bluetooth connectivity. The entertainment system also gets navigation system and is also has voice commands. 

📷 The speedometer also looks sporty and premium with big chrome surrounded dials with orange backlight. The MID displays Average speed, engine running time, instant milage, milage, distance to empty. 

📷 The cabin of the Punto EVO is moderately spacious, it has less cabin space as compered to it’s Japanese & Korean counterparts. The back seat can easily seat 2 full sized adults but seating 3 passengers at the back is a bit in convenient as there is less shoulder room.  

📷 📷 The Punto EVO also has a rear A/C vent with 1 litre bottle holder, one cup holder in the front and bottle holders at the front door pockets.  The Punto EVO has a massive 280 litres of boot space with 60:40 split back seat. 

📷280 Litres of Boot Space 📷 📷Rear A/C Vent with 1 Litre bottle Holder 📷Front Cup-Holder 📷Front Door Pocket with Bottle Holders 📷 📷Storage Space 📷Tiny Glovebox

Engine & Gearbox: 

The Punto EVO has an award winning 1248cc Multi-Jet diesel engine which generates 93ps power and 210Nm torque at 2000RPM. This engine has won an International engine of the year award in the year 2005 and the engine is used by millions of cars worldwide. It offers improved performance, better fuel efficiency, a smoother drive and has set the benchmark for diesel engines in India.  📷

TIRED OF READING???? DO WATCH OUR VIDEO ON THE REVIEW OF FIAT PUNTO EVO 90HP:

PERFORMANCE:

The Punto EVO will surely please the car enthusiasts who carve for more thrill and excitement in a car’s drive as the Punto has superb initial pickup and the accelerator paddle is really sensitive to foot. The Punto has liner torque delivery, turbo starts to kick-in at over 1800RPM making the motor pull fantastically. The torque delivery below 1800RPM is also excellent, the Punto picks up easily from a speed of 20 Km/Hr in 3rd gear and from 40 Km/Hr in 5th whereas the mid-range and high range torque delivery is also excellent and the punto doesn't feel stressed until acceleration cut-off at over 5200RPM, it even picks up excellently on higher gears with just a touch of a paddle. it goes to a maximum speed of 40 Km/Hr in 1st gear and 70 Km/Hr in 2nd whereas it’s the 3rd & 4th gear where the Punto has best performance as the 3rd 7 4th gear has best acceleration and torque feel.    We managed to clock 0-100 Km/Hr of the Punto in over 14.33secs and earlier i’ve managed to hit a top speed of 170 Km/Hr. It pulls superbly till the speed of a 160 Km/Hr and afterwards starts to loose breath. The Punto EVO manages to clock a top speed of… 180 KM/Hr. The NVH level is really controlled and the wind, engine road noise is really less inside the cabin at high speeds. The gearshift is not really smooth as it has long shifts and the gearbox wont allow u to shift aggressively.   The Steering responds excellently and is nice to hold but it is heavy as it is a hydraulic power steering and it has a decent 5.4m turning radius. Both these factor makes manoeuvring the Punto a bit inconvenient in city traffic especially for female drivers but in a way it’s a breeze in city’s bumper to bumper traffic as you don't need to press the accelerator paddle when the Punto is at 1st gear as it automatically attains a speed of 5-8 Km/hr by just realising the clutch paddle. Due to the rock solid design, the Punto EVO negotiates sharp curves with ease and it’s grips the road firmly even at high speeds.

Suspension:

The suspension is sturdy enough to take on any terrain but there is ample body-roll at low speed whereas the bumps and uneven road is unnoticeable during high speed.  It has best in class ground clearance of 185mm due to which the Punto EVO is built to glide over speed breakers, potholes, bumps and rugged terrain with ease. It's generous elevation protects the undercarriage and makes the drive a breeze. The excellent ground clearance also helps to cross over water-logging making the Punto unstoppable.

📷 We tried to cross a road divider by Punto EVO to test it's ground clearance and the EVO crossed the divider with ease, there was ample distance between the divider and Punto's undercarriage. See the pics below (Click to zoom). 📷 📷 📷 📷  In order to test the suspension and traction, we took the Punto EVO on muddy rugged terrain. The Punto EVO griped the road firmly and it felt as if this hatchback is made to conquer all-terrains and indian varied road conditions.  

BRAKING & SAFETY: 

The Punto EVO comes with safety features such as: 

• Front Dual Airbags

• ABS with EBD

• Fire Prevention System

• Speed sensing door lock

• Central Locking

The Fiat Punto EVO has really effective brakes, in our test run earlier today I encountered an unusual event that totally impressed me…..What actually happened was I was driving the Punto at a speed of 140 Km/Hr on greater Noida expressway when a car about 200m ahead of me suddenly applied brakes and stopped in front of me, the car ahead of me was at halt and I applied brakes from a speed of 160Km/Hr just 100m  behind that car and to my surprise the Punto managed to stop just 5m before that car. I was scared and happy at the same time thanking my car stopped just on time. So this made me believe that the brakes of the Punto is really effective.  

Verdict:

📷 📷While Playing In the Mud with the Fiat Punto EVO The Fiat Punto EVO is the most heaviest, sturdiest and feels most solidly built premium hatchback in it's segment. Moreover the Punto EVO is the most fun to drive hatchback in it's segment, in my opinion it's the most stylish hatchback in it's segment. It's moderately spacious, has best in class 185mm ground clearance and all I can say is if you are a driving enthusiast then look no further than the Fiat Punto EVO 90Hp as it has got all it takes to please the auto enthusiasts and is the best drivers car.  Maintaining a Fiat is also cheap and pocket-friendly and there's complete peace of mind in owning a Fiat as the parts are cheap and reliable, this hatch is sturdy and can handle abuse, it has an award winning diesel engine which returns a good fuel economy....