2009 FIAT Punto Evo 5 Doors 1.4L LPG 5MT FWD (70 HP)

Vehicle Overview

After four years on the market, the Punto had to evolve, and the Italian carmaker introduced the facelifted version for it, dubbed Punto Evo, in 2009.

In 2009, the Euro5 emission standards came into force on the European market. Most carmakers thought to make aesthetic changes since they already had to adjust the powertrains. Fiat delayed that moment as much as possible to get more money out of the 2005 Punto, which was built on the same platform as the German Opel Corsa (Corsa D).

Fiat introduced a new front fascia with a chromed slat between the headlights on the facelifted version. The grille was smaller, and the headlights featured clear-lens glass. Its five-door bodywork tried to hide the rear doors using a blackened B-pillar. Yet, the carmaker didn’t want to add unjustifiable costs and hid the rear door handles into the C-pillar. At the back, its taillights were redesigned and received a different styling with clear lenses and a red surrounding on their outer side.

The interior was completely different than on the non-facelifted version. It featured a center stack with trapezoidal air vents on top, and the main design trend featured curved lines on the dashboard. Its split-folding rear bench offered enough room for three kids or four adults. Not the best seats in the house, but still good enough for daily commute to school and back.

Due to slow sales and high production costs, Fiat axed the twin-air (inline-two, turbocharged engine) from Grande Punto’s lineup and the base version became the 65 PS (64 hp) 1.4-liter gasoline engine. Apart from this one, the carmaker also offered another eight powerplants plus two so-called hybrid engines that used either LPG or Methane.