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-   -   Fiat Punto EVO & Avventura PowerTech range with 92 BHP launched; starts at INR 6.81 lakh (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/177894-fiat-punto-evo-avventura-powertech-range-92-bhp-launched-starts-inr-6-81-lakh.html)

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India (FCA) has launched the new Punto EVO PowerTech and Avventura PowerTech range, which will now be offered with more powerful engines and a touch screen infotainment system with navigation, across all trims. The PowerTech series starts at INR 6.81 lakh for the Fiat Punto EVO and INR 7.87 lakh for the Fiat Avventura (all mentioned prices are ex-showroom, New Delhi).

Both the Punto EVO, as well as the Avventura will now be offered with the 93 PS 1.3-litre Multijet engine and the 5-inch multi-functional touch screen infotainment system with navigation across all variants. The 5-inch touch screen, multi-functional infotainment system with navigation consists of features such as Bluetooth, Capacitive (soft-touch) touch screen, SD card facility, USB-enabled, navigation from ‘Map My India’ and rear view camera capability. Branded as ‘PowerTech’ both Punto EVO and Avventura will be available in three progressive trims – Active, Dynamic and Emotion.

Mr. Kevin Flynn, President and Managing Director, FCA India said, Ayan Ghosh - Motoroids

PowerTech word used for giving infotainment system with navigation and making the 93 VGT MJD as the default engine? Way to go Fiat :Frustrati

Only saving grace is, atleast one feature goes off the lacking features list and the engine it should have been launched at the first place.

:eek:

It's the same engine with same 93ps of power as earlier. Where is the "promise of additional power" Mr Flynn is taking about!

Or have they made VGT engine standard across the range?

EDIT- Oh, it looks like the 90ps engine and touchscreen navigation has been made standard across the range now. Good move, but too little and too late.

What a wonderful speech for nothing! Full flowery language, but no substance. :Frustrati

TOO INSIGNIFICANT A CHANGE AND TOO LATE TO THE PARTY FCA:Frustrati

Reason IMO:

1. Personally, Punto EVO must have had this 93PS Multijet engine as standard at least from the mid variant upwards right from the launch.
With the latest, greatest and fastest diesel packing in 3 digit power output, 93PS Punto Evo is a good but nothing really to harp about.

2. 5" screen on a premium hatch back?? Today, cars from couple of segments low (Kwid) offer bigger (better?) touchscreen infotainment systems.

3. The biggest bummer is that FCA have woken up from their slumber and updated the diesel engine their premium hatch, when the entire market has shifted towards a Petrol motor!! :Shockked:

4. Linea T-jet is still an awesome car for a petrol head, but have not AT even as an option, is almost guaranteed of not have AS (As-many Sales)!!

I for one, don't see that competitiveness or hunger in FCA for Indian market, considering the fact that even the big established players are pulling out all strings to stay in the competition.

I can understand everyone's disappointment and I am too.

But I am at least happy that the VGT engine which was only available at a premium of ~10 lacs is now available at lesser price.

And I'd rather buy a Punto than anything else for the sheer beauty and toughness it possesses. One of my friends is safe and sound because of his Punto and had it been any other hatch, it would've been a horrible accident.

Punto Evo
-1.2 active, 1.4 FIRE emotion discontinued, 1.3 Multijet VGT Sport discontinued
Present variants:
-1.2 FIRE dynamic
-1.3 multijet diesel VGT active
-1.3 multijet diesel VGT dynamic (ABS)
-1,3 multijet diesel VGT emotion (ABS/dual airbags)
-all these variants get 5" touchscreen with navigation, USB, AUX and SD card as standard
-shades: Bronzo Tan, silver, white, black, magnesio grey, red

http://www.fiat-india.com/brochures/...voBrochure.pdf

I simply fail to understand the think tank at fiat. I mean come on for God's sake. I have a Linea mjd and trust me it's a good car but imagine my misery :mad:when I drive my friend's s-cross 1.6 and wonder why fiat didn't offer me this when infact this is their very own engine. If Fiat is so game about power then bringing in the 1.6 seems to be the logical step but no, all they do is superficial and gimmicky.
Really disappoints when you consider what all great could have been offered and what is actually being offered.:Frustrati

I was at the showroom yesterday to TD the new/updated Linea. During the course of the conversation it was revealed to me that 1.6 cannot be manufactured in India due to prior contractual agreements. It was also added that this might change in the next year or so.

Regards
Bharath

I have a humble lowly 1.1L Palio Stile (simple, but all European goodness). I settled for it after waiting interminably for the Punto to be launched, deciding Fiat are yet to dive into the market here.

After all these years, it seems pretty clear that diving into the market has never been their goal. With their engine division being a separate company (must be making good money), the car division seems to be just for show (ma look, the engines work).

I guess I should be happy I didn't give them much money for my car & help finance their show even more. Why oh why would a ravishing-looking Evo be my next car, let alone anybody else's?

It doesn't help that the closest alternative is Chevrolet's; the UV-A was a fine option, the Sail too is now, may not handle like a Fiat, but equally comfortable & solid - they too seem to like digging themselves into holes.

Now next would be the Abarth Punto ?
Fiat please fit the touch screen stereo and push button start and a dual clutch automatic gearbox.

Comparison: 2016 Punto Evo powertech 90 hp vs 2012 Grande Punto remapped 90 hp





It was inevitable. Like, calling of monsoon so soon and rain gods drenching showers of eternal mystical water blossoms on the streets of humidity stuck region of Delhi. The rain drain continued, and I was enjoying my Grande Punto to the fullest, with of course, harnessing all the power I could, thanks to the new found eagerness and very much reduced turbo lag. I am now used to the truck like gearbox and rubbery, clunky shifts which are much better than exercising in the gym and wasting time and moolah. The heavy accurate HPS takes care of handling and stability and the 185 MM ground clearance makes it a 2WD SUV in the disguise of a hatch. She remains a looker, and does turn heads with the subtle mods I have done to her.



Now lets get to some facts.
My Grande Punto has a rated peak power of 75 hp@4000 rpm and 197 nm@1750 rpm, weighing at 1130 kgs. And with the remap, it possesses a claimed 90 hp and 230 nm at the same revs. Please note that I am estimating these figures as told by my friend who did the remap and I have to believe just because of the way my car feels lively. Maybe a dyno test is on the anvil, but more on that at a later date and time.
The Evo 90 HP powertech has 90 hp at 4000 rpm and 209 nm torque at 2000 rpm with a kerb weight of 1198 kilos. Now, I do admit that my car also has 16" alloys, heavy audio equipment and damping, but no airbags and it does have ABS, though.





The review will only focus on two aspects
-the powertrain
-the touchscreen audio

Fiat in an attempt to flog its aging product lineup has clearly opted to exit the petrol market, with discontinuing the evo active 1.2 (you have Punto Pure for it) and the 1.4 FIRE emotion (buy the Abarth if you want all that power). The immortal 1.3 75 bhp multijet has been dropped of the evo, and all variants have gained 90 hp motor as standard. The 90 HP sport which had black interiors, 16" alloys and a rear spoiler, is also discontinued, as well as those Glitterati Gold and Tuscan whine shades).
What, is also significant, is that Fiat has finally ditched the stone age Blue and Me infotainment system and replaced with a 5" touchscreen audio system, which has inbuilt navigation (with SD card sourced from mapmyIndia), aux-in, USB and bluetooth connectivity for mobile phone and also music streaming. The CD player has been eliminated and its now up to date and Fiat's attempt to contribute to our PM's dream of "digital India".
Well done on that front.

Now, with all those updates, the petrol only has one variant-the 1.2 68 bhp dynamic with the same stereo. ABS is given a miss, which is standard on diesel dynamic and emotion. Dual Airbags are standard only on top end emotion. Its again, an opportunity lost as all manufacturers now provide atleast some form of safety equipment from base model onwards. This is the role of a follower, not an innovator, which Fiat once was.





Does it have the go to match the show?
Lets compare 90 vs 90.
The engine does have a retuned ECU, and in the stock car, the turbo spools at 2200 rpm to its fullest, but what Fiat has improved, is the throttle response. They have used a similar tuning as in the avventura.
The VGT had horrendous lag in city (even the 2014-16 sport trim, now discontinued, had it), which has been rectified to a large extent. Fiat had kept on tweaking the gearing of the 90HP punto and its this time that from their standards of using a primitive gearbox, they got the tuning decent. Its now more driveable in city and though the gears 1 and 2 remain short, the torque delivery is more linear. Gear 3 again is a shining star, wherein the speed gathers momentum and all that 209 nm is used to a great extent. Mid range is very competent and its easy to accelerate within its 4000 rpm peak powerband. Gear 3 tops at approx 95-100 and seems to have been made taller. The top 2 gears work as tandem overdrive gears, which extract power when required on the open highway, which this engine is actually known for. Its completely at home on the open stretches. What is also better, is the NVH level. My car did have improved sound insulation in 2012 spec, but this one gets a thicker foampad across the firewall, and under the hood. Both have patchy quality, though.
The gearshift quality compared to my car remains rubbery, but somewhat better, and that's due to a new cable design. But, I did notice that gear 2 and 4 are now having shorter throws. Surprising.





In comparison, my car is a different animal altogether. Its far more effortless, far more fun to accelerate and much more torquier. The extra 2.1 Kgm does help, and the turbo spooling at 1600 rpm (I aimed at better driveability and mid range) helps even more. I still have to downshift a gear on the 90 powertech, wherein I can potter along at gear 3 and 4 at 1100 rpm at speeds of 30-50 kmph respectively, without lugging. Its obvious that in a straight line, my car will be more eager but on the other side, the stock 90 HP does have a better top end. It also boils down to the fact that my car is nearing 77000 kms and runs on fully synthetic and the test car had semi synthetic and not even run in.









Coming to the touchscreen audio, I am not aware of who is the supplier or vendor, but it does have a separate owners manual branded "Fiat Audio and Infotainment system" and not Blue and Me which it once had. The Turkish Linea has the same HU which is different from the hastily stupid ICE that the Linea elegante and Punto sportivo had (some Chinese make).
This HU does not have any dangling cables inside the glovebox, only the ports are located at the front.
The touchscreen is 5", and touch response is actually pretty competent, far better of what, say a Honda OEM unit is equipped with. That the i20's touchscreen or the Baleno's smartplay system is still better is a different story, but this one is no slouch either. The source can be selected from the buttons also, and GPS was absent due to the card not being present. Sound quality remains a hit or a miss, with speakers cracking at high volume. Now, expecting Rainbow level sound quality would be a bit foolish to ask.

Overall, competition has gone way ahead and I do appreciate Fiat for making the Punto evo evolve with times. The facelift is a hit or a miss, I still prefer the timeless design of my car, I like the interiors of the evo, am used to the weird ergonomics, but will hold my concern on the potential high cost of maintenance at every 60000 km intervals (timing chain replacement). Fiat does not recommend EGR/inlet manifold cleaning, but personally I recommend this at every 50000 kms to keep the engine healthy and in top shape. The oil change interval of selenia semi synthetic remains at 15000 kms, but anything beyond 7500 kms and the quality deteriorates, thanks to our environment and abuse that the cars see.
While the evergreen ride, handling, steering feel, body control and high speed stability remains, putting more power on a nose heavy car on active and dynamic versions, equipped with 14" wheels and 165/80 R14 tyres, will surely lead to potential alignment issues, which some existing owners have actually raised a concern on. I recommend a 15" tyre and wheel upgrade with 195/60 patch to get rid of this issue. I am running 195/55 R16, and am extremely happy with them. The additional power my car has finally can harness the brilliant chassis it had. Another area where potential owners would pay caution is the shock absorber mount, and those best in class brakes would also mean frequent replacement of pads, which, costing Rs. 3450, isn't exactly cheap.

The product is based on a 11 year old platform, and has evolved, but what remains the concern is the brand on the nose.
Fiat sells about 500-600 Puntos and avventuras every month, and if I am a resident of Delhi NCR, I only have to contend with 4 workshops. The whole of Gurgaon has one, Faridabad has one, Delhi ONLY one, and Noida, ONLY one, that too near Greater Noida. A new dealer is supposed to come up in west Delhi, is what I have heard. That it does carry a 3 years, or one lakh kms of warranty, is another redeeming factory. Extended warranty is currently not available, but Fiat has always been liberal with warranty claims, and this is something I too have experienced.



Overall I quite liked the car, even though, after discounts, the final pricing does come in to be approx 1.5-1.8 lakh cheaper than its competitors 9the emotion costs 9.2 OTR Delhi without discounts approx), which are also better equipped. But, again, how much additional units it will sell, depends on how much effort Fiat puts in it. And a silent launch with no outlet in Mumbai is not something that's needed. And at the end of the day, its a consumer driven market, not a manufacturer driven. And for a brand which places prime importance to engines over cars, its a case of too little, too late.
(PS: was a first drive review, so please excuse the quality of pics taken from Moto X2).

Awesome review sidindica.

You seem to have covered all the 'Primary' updates/changes on the Powertech 90HP against the old Punto (90 HP) albeit a remapped one at that :D

I had posted this on the Linea 123 PS thread as well and I would reiterate myself here:

Too Late, Too Little and Mostly Insignificant


IMO, this was probably the 'BEST' thing about the update. The once 'Most Powerful Diesel Hatch of the Country' is not even true on papers...not that it was on the road anytime. :Frustrati

When most of the competitors have moved into the mode of offering comfort over dynamics, Fiat are still focused on enthusiasts, but seems like their 'Engine(ering)' team is not able to keep up.


That pretty much sums up FAC(T) in India.

That's something I didn't knew at all. Thanks.

If at all it changes and there's a 1.6 within Fiat's lineup would be great...!!clap:

Just saw the ad finally today in the newspaper.

May be this is why they aren't doing much to change the current perception. And they will start fresh investments once they have the new models lined up??? God only knows...