Fiat has updated its most sensible (or, to be cruel, its most boring) car, the Tipo, giving it a fresh new look and plenty of extra tech for 2020.
Available to buy in Fiat dealerships from late November 2020, the updated Tipo looks on the face of it to be significantly more desirable than the car it replaces, with a rather stylish visual upgrade and a new trim level, the jacked-up, SUV-style Tipo Cross.
New look across the range
The new style begins right on the Tipo’s nose, where it proudly displays Fiat’s new corporate logo. This debuted first on the new 500, and replaces the brand’s old round badge with a stylised ‘FIAT’.
It’s situated in the centre of a full-width grille, flanked by updated headlights and above a redesigned bumper.
The rest of the car has seen a lighter touch applied, but there are some new alloy wheel designs as well as new colours available, including the bold and bright Paprika Orange and Oceano Blue.
Inside, Fiat’s added an optional seven-inch digital instrument panel, helping to bring the interior up-to-date and matching the top-end 10.25-inch infotainment display.
Strong equipment levels throughout
There will be three trim levels available for the Tipo – Tipo, Tipo Life and Tipo Cross. The former two are available as either a hatchback or estate, while the standalone Cross is intended as a more ‘lifestyle’ variant, appealing to the SUV generation with its black plastic cladding, 40mm raised ride height and larger tyres.
Basic Tipos get LED daytime running lights, rear parking sensors, cruise control, 16-inch alloy wheels and electrically adjustable door mirrors as standard, along with plenty of standard safety kit – autonomous emergency braking, driver attention monitoring, traffic sign recognition and lane keep assist. They start from £17,690 for a hatch or £19,190 for an estate.
The Tipo Life comes in at £19,690 or £21,190 for hatch or estate models, and gains adaptive cruise control, climate control, tinted rear windows, the aforementioned digital instrument display, LED lights all round and a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The range-topping Cross, meanwhile, comes in at £21,690. It’s mostly a visual upgrade, but does add a rear-view camera, rear armrest and USB socket, sat-nav and a full-size spare wheel.
Regardless of trim level, you get the same engine. It’s a 1.0-litre petrol with 100hp, capable of up to 51.4mpg and 125g/km of CO2.
What this means for you
The Fiat Tipo has never exactly been at the top of our shopping list here at Parkers – we rated the pre-facelift car just three stars out of five. But with improvements across the board this new model could be a big improvement – and it retains the space and keen pricing that were the old car’s main selling points.
