FIRST DRIVE: Andrew Hamilton at the wheels of the new Fiat Punto
Fiat, Italy's beleaguered car-maker, was in festive mood on Monday night. It put on a lavish banquet for 800 motoring journalists and the great and the good of its home city, Turin. The message was of turnaround and reducing losses.
The celebrations centred on Fiat's latest model, the Grande Punto. "It's the car that we are counting on to close the recent past and tell the market, our competitors and our customers - Fiat is back," exclaimed a passionate Fiat chairman, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo.
The Grande Punto, as the name implies, is significantly bigger than the outgoing model which incidentally will continue on sale in Irish and other markets until the end of next year. The new car goes on sale in Ireland at the end of this year.
The Grande Punto boasts vital statistics of 403cm long, 168cm wide and 149cm high. It all translates into an extraordinary amount of roominess - in fact, Fiat marketing people believe customers for bigger C segment family cars will be won over.
The Grande Punto comes with two petrol engines, a 656 bhp 1.2- litre and an all-new 77 bhp 1.4-litre. Two 1.3-litre turbodiesels will also be offered with 75 and 90 bhp.
The styling too is promoted as "distinctly Italian". Fiat says that the car's tapered, rounded lines were inspired by sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s.
Some six million Puntos from previous incarnations have been sold and Luca de Meo, Fiat's brand director, predicted that most of these customers and more would make the Grande transition.
"This is one of the world's greatest comebacks," he told a press conference yesterday.
A brief 38-kilometre drive later yesterday suggested that the Grande Punto in its 1.4 petrol form is agile and has good road-holding manners. The biggest impression is, however, of incredible interior space, while that's also a strong emphasis on a quality finish.