It was at the last year’s annual Auto Expo in Delhi that Fiat announced its plans to unveil 4 new cars in the Indian market. 2 out of these 4 were supposed to be a revamped version of the familiar sedan Linea and the hatchback Punto from the Italian car giant’s stable. Punto was never Fiat’s most successful car as it faced a tough challenge in the competitive hatchback market.
Tata Motors also announced 2 new cars just before the last year’s Auto Expo; a sedan called the Zest and a hatchback called Bolt. One of the most successful Tata products over the years has been the Tata Indica. The diesel car had become the brand ambassador of the Tata Motors since its release more than a decade ago. Though one of the major problems, the car faced was that it never received a major update or overhaul. Tata is here to change it by releasing a new car called Bolt that is based on the same X11 platform and looks like the bigger brother of the older and more docile looking Tata Indica.
The hatchback market is already hot with cars like Nissan Micra and Toyota Live. Bolt and Evo only add to the buyer’s confusion. So here we are facing off the 2 new contenders in a duel to make the decision easy. The Fiat Punto Evo is the longer of the 2 cars, and also has a larger wheelbase. While the Tata Bolt is wider and taller than the Fiat Punto Evo, the Fiat also comes with a larger boot space of 280 litres compared to 210 litres of the Tata hatchback. Tata Bolt looks like an overgrown Indica and is not very particularly appealing to the eyes from all the angles.
The front grill of the car has been updated and replaced with a wider and better-looking grille section, which merges with the headlamps and give the Bolt a bold look. The Fiat Punto Evo looks almost the same as its predecessor except a few subtle changes. The car comes with a new set of alloy wheels, which make the Evo look edgier. The headlamps have undergone an overhaul and a chrome treatment around them. Evo also comes with a pair of beautifully styled LED taillights that add to the overall appeal of the Evo.
As you move to the insides, the Evo sports a dual toned interior in black and beige color that looks very pleasing. It also comes equipped with functions like a CD/MP3 player, Aux-in, Bluetooth and voice recognition. The car looks good from the inside though everything feels a little too plastic and tacky. The Tata Bolt also comes with all the standard features including USB, Aux-In, Bluetooth streaming and also a SD card slot. The car also comes equipped with a video playback feature. The interiors of the car are all black and look a little bland.
Both the Bolt and the Evo come in 2 versions, petrol and diesel. Tata Bolt diesel comes with a 1.3 litre MultiJet engine capable of churning out a power of 74 bhp with a torque of 190 Nm while the petrol version comes equipped with a 1.2 litre engine that produces 89 bhp and 140 Nm. The Fiat Punto Evo comes equipped with the same old 1.3-litre engine that produces 75 bhp of peak power. Both the cars feature good suspension and are easy to drive around in the normal traffic though the Punto Evo has a slightly better gearbox.
