New best life fire passion Fiat … I’m sorry. This isn’t really working, is it? It’s just that, having driven the new Fiat Grande Punto at the launch, I returned to my office and opened the press pack to see if I’d missed anything during my 600km on the road, only to be assaulted by a 36-page press release, loaded to the gunwales with no less than 11 885 words. Condensing that into the 800 words I’ve been allocated for this report would take weeks that would feel like years. I mean, how do you translate the following into something people will actually read?
‘The communications policy planned for this original model addresses a young, dynamic public using a fresh, immediate language. One result is the ‘Mr. Dot’ logo, a cheerful P-shaped pictogram which changes appearance according to the situation: from a driver to a little man on skis. There are 50 possible transformations, each with a different personality, the expression of the concept of ‘moving passion’ that lies behind the Grande Punto project: if on one hand the new model represents the passion shown by Fiat and its employees for cars, speed and racing, on the other, it is also the spirit of a customer who is attracted by the values of beauty, dynamism, colour, passion and movement.”
The entire Sermon on the Mount, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a Dream” speech added together come to just 4 261 words — I know, because I’ve just downloaded them and done a word count — and each of them carried rather more gravitas than the announcement of yet another new 1,4-litre hatchback.
Anyway, I figured that the simplest way to cut 11 885 words back to 800 was to start at the top of the press release and use every 15th word, so that’s what I did with my opening sentence. It worked better than I expected but not as well as I’d hoped, so I’ll use my remaining 440 words to tell you, in English, about the car.
Fiat says that the Grande Punto is going to change the way that people feel about its products, and I think the company has a point there. It’s stylish, it looks and feels better built than many of Fiat’s other offerings, although some of the interior plastics are rather too glossy and brittle for my liking, and it comes with a healthy range of toys for the price. Interior space is above average, and the large boot contains a proper spare wheel shod with a full-sized tyre.
I suspect that I annoy the industry’s marketing people enormously by telling readers that the base models offer the best value. That’s usually true, but the profit margins are lower, so salesmen like to push the upmarket versions. Fiat flummoxed me this time around, though, by bringing in not one, but two entry-level Puntos, both priced at R108 000. For that price you get to choose between the 48kW 1,2-litre Active version, that includes an aircon but no radio, or the 55kW 1,4-litre Active that comes with a radio, but no aircon. Standard features in both include dual airbags, ABS brakes, electric front windows, power steering, trip computers, central locking, adjustable headlamps, and height-and-reach adjustable steering wheels. The 1,2 in particular presents a bargain for those who live at the coast — unfettered by the 17% power loss experienced at reef altitudes, it’ll deliver as much power at sea level as the 1,4 does in Gauteng, and you get the aircon for free. All you need to do is cough up R399 at Game or Hi-Fi Corporation for a radio/CD player and you’re home dry. Those who want the 1,4 Active with aircon will need to chip in another R8 000.
The 1,4 Dynamic adds to the mix with additional side airbags, steering wheel sound-system controls, a leather covered gear knob and steering wheel, a centre armrest, a split rear seat, colour-coded door handles and wing mirrors, alloy wheels, and fog lamps, all for R129 000. For R8 320 more you can go for the 1.3 JTD Dynamic that offers the same specifications as the 1,4 petrol Dynamic, but with a 1,3-litre turbo-diesel engine that delivers 55kW of power and 190Nm of torque. The range-topping 88kW 1,9-litre Emotion turbodiesel (R168 000) was unfortunately not available for us to drive, but I suspect it’ll come up against some very stiff competition at that price.
I drove the 1,4-litre petrol and the 1,3 turbodiesel models at the launch, and both performed respectably. Fiat claims top-speeds of 165kph for both, and a 0-100kph time of 13,2 seconds for the 1,4 petrol, with the oil burner taking 0,4 seconds longer. At the coast the petrol version will benefit substantially from the extra power available at sea level, but on the Reef I reckon the 1,3-litre turbodiesel or the base model 1,4 petrol are the ones to go for.
Fact file
Model: Fiat Grande Punto 1,4-litre petrol
Price: R108 000
Engine: 1,4 litre
Tech: 55kW
Top speed: 165kph, 0-100kph in 13,2 seconds
Tank: 45 litres
Services: 30 000km