The next major offering from Fiat will be the Avventura Crossover that was showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo in February this year. The Avventura is essentially a Punto underneath with extensive changes like body cladding and improved ground clearance for a rugged appeal. Now as the launch date comes closer for the Avventura, an Autocolumn reader managed to snap the production spec version of the crossover without any camouflage and as expected, the production model is very similar to the concept, albeit with some practical changes.
The production spec Fiat Avventura misses out on projector headlamps, which have been replaced by conventional bulbs with an overall new arrangement. The LED daytime running lights have been replaced by fog lamps. The skid plates now get brushed silver finish instead of the dull grey finish (which looked better). Fiat has also added a radio antenna on top of the windshield. The rest of the body though will sport a black body cladding, roof rails, tail gate mounted spare wheel and diamond cut alloy wheels compared to the standard Punto.
In terms of powertrain, the 1.3-litre Multijet diesel, the 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol engines from the Punto are expected to be found under the hood with no mechanical changes. All the engines will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Interestingly, the Avventura concept version was showcased with a 6-speed gearbox at the Auto Expo, which we hope makes it to production. The Avventura is expected to be launched in the coming months.
Apart from the Avventura, Fiat will also be comprehensively updating the Punto this year. Virtually unchanged for the past few years, the Punto dawns a new front and rear fascia, with updates to the interiors. While the launch is still sometime away, our eagle eyed reader Mr. Mandar Kulkarni managed to snap the Punto facelift while on test in Pune. The Punto facelift shares its new front fascia with the Avventura. The facelift model gets Avventura inspired headlights, grille and bumper. Both the models will also be sharing the interiors, which are carried over from the new Linea.
The rear features changes that are in-sync with the international Punto. The bumper has been reworked upon and gets new lines and creases, while the rear fog lamps receive a new design. The tail light cluster has been internally revised for a fresher look and the tail gate sport’s new lines, while the nameplate arrangement could be revised. The Punto facelift is expected to be launched by the end of this calendar year, while the next generation model will debut in 2017, being called the 500 Plus with Fiat dropping the Punto nameplate altogether.
Avventura Spy Pictures Source – AutoColumn