You’ll be forgiven if you already forgot
that the current-generation Fiat Tipo has been on sale for the past five years.
Since its inception, the Tipo has been manufactured in sedan, hatchback and
station wagon form, at the carmaker’s Bursa plant in Turkey. The Tipo is of
course a C-segment offering, which means that it competes with the likes of the
VW Golf and Ford Focus, even though it hasn’t posed much of a threat.
Overall however, it has managed to outsell
the Hyundai i30, Honda Civic and Mazda3 in Europe last year, while trailing the
Kia Ceed, Renault Megane, Toyota Corolla, Seat Leon, Opel/Vauxhall Astra,
Peugeot 308, Skoda Octavia, Ford Focus and VW Golf. Fiat is currently in the
process of updating the Tipo, and this is the very first prototype spotted out
and about by spy photographers.
Aside from all that tape that’s covering up
the front grille and part of the front bumper, we understand why Fiat didn’t
add even more layers of camouflage. For starters, it’s obvious that the car
isn’t even wearing its new light units – the headlights and taillights appear
unchanged from those found on the current model. Further down the road, we
expect new prototypes to emerge featuring new light graphics, to go with what
we assume is a redesigned front grille and a new bumper.
Inside, we might get a new infotainment
system (perhaps with a larger display) and new materials, while the engine
range should continue to hold naturally-aspirated and turbocharged 1.4-liter
petrol units, as well as at least one of the two currently available diesel
option (1.3 and 1.6-liter units). The updated Fiat Tipo will hit showrooms
either later on this year, or sometime in early 2021.
