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If you ask true blue Indian petrol heads what is the first car that comes to their mind when they hear the words 'hot hatch', the most probable answers would point to the Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX. It was an icon really. It introduced the 'hot hatch' concept to a country for which a small car was nothing but a compromise and the first step to owning a four-wheeled vehicle. The enthusiasts loved the GTX, while others hated it for its fuel-guzzling habit.
Times changed and so did the fuel preferences and a new hot hatch emerged on the scene – the Swift VDi. It offered a peppy engine that was also frugal and that recipe worked! So Fiat probably thought to itself – why not do they same – after-all, it is their engine that made the Swift VDi so popular. What’s more, Fiat have yet another car that can take up the responsibility of being a hot hatch…
What we have here is the Punto Sport. It is based on the same Punto 90hp that was launched a few years back. But the Sport variant differentiates itself with body graphics, a chrome plated tail pipe and contrasting mirrors. The front end is the same one that you get on the regular Punto and the reassuring Multijet badge on the grille should, in a way, makes life easy for you.
Since the Sport is based on the 2012 model of the Punto that was launched before the Auto Expo, you also get the higher ground clearance that Fiat is touting with the new range. The Punto Sport also comes with fatter rubber (same as the one of the Punto 1.4 petrol and the Punto 90 HP) that adds further substance to the car's sporty styling. Thankfully, it doesn't look awkwardly raised or bloated like most other 'Do-it-yourself' hot hatches that you see on Indian roads. The body graphics run through the length of the car and look decent as compared to the loud and racy decals that Fiat India sells as an optional accessory for the rest of the Punto range.
Move over to the back and the raised stance of the 2012 model is visible again – more so if you don't get a set of mud-flaps. The graphic vinyl on the boot-lid does look like an afterthought and the one on our test car was already peeling off. Believe it or not, but the vinyls on the good ol’ Palio S10 were a lot more durable!
The decals apart, the Punto Sport also gets the '90hp' monogram and a chrome exhaust tip that add up to the rest of the cosmetics and make the car appear sportier than the regular Punto. But that said, the Punto Sport looks relatively docile and the inclusion (or at least the option) of a subtle body kit like the one on the Palio S10 or the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 could have made a large difference.
When the Punto came out in 2009, many complained about the quality of plastics. But over the years, Fiat has worked towards bettering the plastics and the overall fit and finish of their cars. The effort is visible the moment you get inside the cabin. The rough edges, the panel gaps, the low-rent plastics – most of them are gone. The plastics are still the scratchy type like those in most other cars in this segment – however the texture looks rich.
The dashboard carries forward the black and dark-grey colour combination that was first seen on the 2012 Punto. The centre console gets a metallic silver finish that gels well with the rest of the theme. What differentiates the interiors of the Sport from the regular Punto is the red stitching on the seats and on the leather wrapped gear-knob. It's not a remarkable change, but the cabin looks premium nevertheless.
The Punto Sport trades in the regular rubber-wrapped pedals for brushed-metal ones. But while they feel nice and sporty to operate, I don't like the ergonomics. The clutch pedal has an unusually long travel and tends to become cumbersome when driving through stop-and-go city traffic. Furthermore, if you are wearing chunky casual shoes, then chances are that the dead pedal will keep interfering or brushing against the sole when you operate the clutch pedal. This also means that the process of taking your foot off the dead pedal and back onto the clutch-pedal isn't as easy and quick as it should be.
Don't let the 'Sport' tag scare you – for you don't get racing bucket seats or five-point seatbelts in this car. After all, it isn't a track tool, so you still get the comfortably large bucket seats upfront. The padding is soft and the seats can be adjusted for height, reach and recline.
The rear seats have contours that are much similar to the one seen on the Ford Figo’s rear bench. The Punto’s seat is wide and can comfortably seat two adults and a kid. The rear seat also gets two adjustable headrests. The rear parcel tray is fairly large too and since the car has a decent, four-way speaker set, you can use the tray for stowing away knick-knacks.
Since the Punto Sport is built on top of the Emotion variant, you get all the bells and whistles like climate control, a feature rich audio system, Microsoft Blue-N-Me phone pairing, steering mounted controls and a voice-command system – which actually understands Indian accents. Unlike the erstwhile Palio S10, the Punto Sport gets cup holders as well! In fact, despite the Sport moniker, the newest Punto doesn’t go overboard and still gives you all the creature comforts that y
ou expect from today’s premium hatchbacks.
The Punto Sport, as we mentioned earlier, has a different approach towards the ‘hot hatch’ concept. Since it caters to the highly fuel-economy-conscious Indian market, the Punto Sport uses a diesel engine instead of a petrol one. But unlike the Punto diesel, which gets the 75 PS version of the 1.3-litre Multijet engine, the Sport variant borrows the 93 PS version from the Punto 90 HP. This engine is the essentially the same 1.3-litre oil burner, albeit with a variable geometry turbocharger. The more advanced turbocharger also gives the Punto Sport a 209 Nm torque output as opposed to the 197 Nm output of the regular Punto diesel.
In spite of the additional power and torque output, the Punto doesn’t feel more eager to sprint when compared to the new Swift – which is still the preferred choice for many hot hatch enthusiasts. The Punto Sport is a slightly heavier car too. However, the variable geometry turbocharger aims at reducing the turbo-lag that you experience in most economical turbocharged cars. Therefore, the Punto Sport gives you better low-end torque that helps while driving in the city, as you don’t need to keep cycling through the gears every now and then. You also get a linear torque and power build-up as you accelerate even on part throttle.
Since the Punto Sport is based on the upgraded mechanicals of the 2012 model, it gets the 14mm higher ground clearance as compared to the older Punto. Despite this, the Punto Sport is charming around the bends. As compared to the Swift, there is lesser body roll and the fatter rubber provides better grip as well. Add to it the strong midrange performance of the diesel engine and you have a package that is fun around the twisties! Even with all this fun and frolic the Punto Sport managed to give an overall fuel economy of over 15 kmpl. Expect the car to return about 15 kmpl in the city and over 18 kmpl on the highway in the real world conditions.
Conclusion
Fiat is not new to the concept of a hot-hatch and the Punto Sport manages to warrant that fact while staying within the boundaries that the stringent India market marks around it. It definitely doesn’t go all out like the old Palio S10 or the Punto T-jet that is sold in some other markets. It doesn’t even have the aural beauty of a high-revving petrol engine – in fact the diesel mill sounds like it has developed kidney stones! But the Punto Sport is a still a very potent package overall since it is based on the 90HP variant that we love. And all said and done, the Punto Sport definitely looks much better than most other makeshift hot hatches that you see in the country today. At almost a lakh over a Swift ZDi, the Punto Sport is surely a pricey proposition – but if you don't mind paying the premium for better power, torque, styling and handling – then the Punto Sport won't disappoint you.
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