2016 Fiat Tipo Hatchback Spied, Looking Ready to Storm the Upper-Budget Compact Segment

There’s no question where the new Tipo will fit in, being nothing more than the hatchback version of the Aegea sedan (also called Tipo in certain markets) launched earlier this year. While it won’t do anything particular to rock the boat, the Aegea has had an encouraging welcome, the first reactions being that the car actually does offer great features and a surprisingly high level of quality considering its price.

The new body type is expected to debut early next year at Europe’s first major motor show in Geneva, which will take place in March. The Aegea range will eventually consist of a station wagon version as well, which should also come sometime during 2016. All past, present and future members of the Aegea family will be built at the company's plant in Bursa, Turkey.

Predictably, the Tipo hatchback looks identical to the Aegea sedan until you pass the B-pilar. The front end is typical Aegea, with that rather aggressive demeanor, large radiator grille and simple, clean cuts. The Aegea isn’t trying to pass as an upper-market product, and it’s precisely this simplicity and understatement that make it look stylish.

However, while the sedan’s roofline above the rear doors follows the line of the windows and drops together with it, on the hatchback it goes on unabated and ends up in a tailgate-mounted spoiler.

The test car’s rear end is covered in some sort of inflatable black trash plastic bags that make it hard to make out any of its lines, but the taillights do pop out. They seem to follow the general wrap-around trend present on almost all current C-Segment hatchbacks (Toyota Auris, Hyundai i30 or Opel Astra, to name just a few).

Even though it’s too early to tell, the Tipo hatchback seems to lose some of the sedan’s elegance, but it makes up for it with its shorter overall length and more accessible trunk. And, who knows, maybe after the Michelin-man costume goes off, we’ll even have a nice surprise, and the Tipo hatchback will present itself as an interesting budget alternative in this segment.