Photo: Virtuel-Car
There isn't going to be a direct successor to the Fiat Punto. The market is just too competitive in Europe for cash-strapped Fiat to try.
Instead, the Punto is going to receive updates in emerging markets where it will continue to be sold. Europe might get a premium 5-door subcompact from Fiat that will sit inside the ever-growing 500 lineup.
Nobody has seen one yet, but Fiat says it will be like a pair of Levi's jeans, practical yet also capable of striking an emotional response.
Fiat feels like it's running on fumes. While its rivals have almost completely recovered from the economic crisis, the Italians have only managed to give the 500 another minor facelift this year. Considering the tiny city car has been on sale for seven years, in which time well over a million were sold, this fact is deeply troubling.
The 5-door 500 family car has been talked about on numerous occasions. Nobody has seen one and we don't know what it's called either, as both 500 Cinqueporte and 600 monikers have been rumored.
Today, we're bringing you a couple of renderings from French graphics editor Khalil B of Virtuel-Car. His machine is like a 500X that's been brought lower to the ground and stripped of its offroad armor. We like what we see, as the product is undeniably more elegant than the aging Punto.
But has it got that 500 cuteness factor? We don't think so, and neither does it have the full technology package it needs. You see, in a market where even Korean automakers know how to soundproof a cabin completely and make the doors feel solid when they close, you can't just say "our car is premium."
Fiat has no hybrids, no cylinder deactivation, no active safety systems and lags behind in the connectivity department. Still, half a great small car is better than no car at all, considering the current generation of the Punto was launched in freaking 2005.
Nobody has seen one yet, but Fiat says it will be like a pair of Levi's jeans, practical yet also capable of striking an emotional response.
Fiat feels like it's running on fumes. While its rivals have almost completely recovered from the economic crisis, the Italians have only managed to give the 500 another minor facelift this year. Considering the tiny city car has been on sale for seven years, in which time well over a million were sold, this fact is deeply troubling.
The 5-door 500 family car has been talked about on numerous occasions. Nobody has seen one and we don't know what it's called either, as both 500 Cinqueporte and 600 monikers have been rumored.
Today, we're bringing you a couple of renderings from French graphics editor Khalil B of Virtuel-Car. His machine is like a 500X that's been brought lower to the ground and stripped of its offroad armor. We like what we see, as the product is undeniably more elegant than the aging Punto.
But has it got that 500 cuteness factor? We don't think so, and neither does it have the full technology package it needs. You see, in a market where even Korean automakers know how to soundproof a cabin completely and make the doors feel solid when they close, you can't just say "our car is premium."
Fiat has no hybrids, no cylinder deactivation, no active safety systems and lags behind in the connectivity department. Still, half a great small car is better than no car at all, considering the current generation of the Punto was launched in freaking 2005.
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