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Design & Style: Teddy bear cute? Think again!
If the first time you've seen a Grande Punto it's been in silver
or blue or black, you're bound to have one of those 'I think you're
cute, but can you be sexy?' reactions. And then she comes out dressed
in red, replete with those suave 12-spoke silver alloys and your
jaw drops, you begin to go weak in your knees, sweat trickles down
your forehead and you realise this is one hot looking car! Yet,
it retains a certain individuality that can only be Italian - in
fact, it can only be Fiat. Change the logo on the grille from the
red Fiat logo to anything else and it will be completely out of
place. The grille itself is a continuation of the theme set by Fiat
designs in the recent past - a rectangular mesh that seems to be
divided horizontally through the centre by a solid portion that
also holds the registration plate - exactly the way it is in the
Linea.
The feature that sets the brand recall for the Grande Punto has
to be its teardrop shaped head lights set at far corners of the
car's front end. Quite frankly, there's not much happening as far
as the car's design goes, but as a complete package the Punto is
extremely attractive. Subtle highlights such as the slightly flared
wheel arches and the tight crease running between them, thick wing
mirror stalks and well-rounded bumpers fore and aft make the car
cute and cuddly. Move to the rear and typically Fiat tail lamps
greet you with an 'I told you so' grin plastered all about them.
The fat vertical cluster houses the turn indicators all the way
at the top towering over the night and brake lights. The reverse
lamp gets pushed all the way to the reflectors in the rear bumper
on the car's left. With all the lights out of the way, it leaves
for a fairly wide tail gate - making for easy stowage and removal
of luggage in the cavernous boot - which by the way was big enough
to swallow one of the producers for our television show with utmost
ease.
View: 1.3 Multijet Specs, 1.4 Fire Specs, 1.3 Multijet Ratings, 1.4 Fire Ratings
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