Modern and dynamic styling: from the LED daytime running lights and generous horizontal chrome grille, every part of the FIAT Tipo Hatchback blends elegantly and harmoniously.

You don't need much to get a lot: a wealth of standard equipment with all the space and comfort you could want. This is the Fiat Tipo philosophy

Practical Size. The Fiat Tipo Hatchback stands up to expectations with its class leading 440 litre boot capacity and best in class rear legroom. All this in just 4.37 metres of length.

Strong Personality. Modern and dynamic styling: from the LED daytime running lights (DRLs) to the generous horizontal chrome grille, every part of the Fiat Tipo Hatchback blends elegantly and harmoniously into the overall architecture. For a personality that won't go unnoticed.

Need a bit of elbow room? The Fiat Tipo Hatchback is designed to deliver the best comfort to driver and passengers. Best in class for rear passenger seat legroom. It can easily accommodate five adults. Conveniently store essential items in any of the 9 handy compartments. The best travelling quality, for everyone.

The perfect drive does exist. The perfect alignment of steering-wheel, pedals and driver's seat creates a truly ergonomic driving position. Everything is now within reach.

You can get your whole life in it. Functionality is the top priority for Fiat Tipo Hatchback: this is why it has five doors and one of the most generous boots in its class. The 440 litre boot capacity allows for easy entry and exhibits good shape so that you can carry everything you want. The 60/40 rear seat split allows for various configurations, guaranteeing the maximum exploitation of the boot for longer items.

Five comfortable seats with a view. Uncompromising comfort and design: the Fiat Tipo Hatchback offers five comfortable, supportive, ergonomic seats, in either fabric or leather. Not to mention class-leading legroom. So you can watch the world go by in complete comfort.

What trim levels are available with the Tipo Hatchback:

Easy - Features include:

• Air Conditioning
• 15" Steel Wheels
• Cruise Control

Street - Features include:

• 60/40 Split Folding Rear Seat with Headrestraints
• Start&Stop
• 16" Black Alloy Wheels

Easy Plus - Features include:

• Rear Parking Sensors
• 16" Alloy Wheels
• Air Conditioning

Mirror- Features include:

• 7" Touchscreen with Bluetooth, USB & DAB
• Apple CarPlay / Android Auto connectivity
• Safety Pack (Autonomous Emergency Break with Speed Limiter)

Lounge - Features include:

• Uconnect® Live Services
• Electrically Adjustable Body Coloured Door Mirrors (With Defrosting & External Temperature Sensor)
• Parkview Rear Parking Camera

S-Design - Features include:

• Start&Stop
• 18" Alloy Wheels
• External Temperature Sensor & Display

Sport - Features include:

• Visibility Pack: Dusk Sensors, Rain Sensors, Electrochromatic Dipping Rearview Mirror
• Dark Tinted Rear Windows
• 18" Alloy Wheels

Fiat Tipo Test Drive Review

Pretty much everything about the Tipo is new, apart from the name. Last seen on a boxy hatchback of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the Italian nameplate we thought had vanished is back on the tailgate of a practical Fiat.

This Tipo is here to take on the likes of the Kia Cee’d and Hyundai i30 at the budget end of a market led by the ever-popular Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. It’s a no-nonsense, no-frills family car, and comes with a simple engine range, a simple model line-up and a simple, if fairly stylish, design.

Looks and image

Although the Tipo is supposed to be one of Fiat’s budget offerings, it’s actually a pretty good-looking car. There’s certainly no betrayal of its asking price in the hexagonal grille, the squinting headlights and the curvaceous bonnet.

No, it doesn’t jump out at you in the way cars like the Ford Focus do, but there’s something appealing about its understated handsomeness.

Inside, the cabin is made up of various bits and bobs nabbed straight from the Fiat-Chrysler group’s parts bin. The five-inch touchscreen found on better-equipped variants is identical to the one found in high-spec Fiat 500s, while the steering wheel is shared with the Jeep Renegade, and the gear lever appears to be the same as the one found in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

All these parts feel relatively well put together, and though it’s a bit dark in there, the cabin – small touchscreen aside – even looks quite stylish.

Space and practicality

The Tipo is monstrously practical, offering a sizeable 440-litre boot that’s competitive in the segment.

Although both the Honda Civic and the Peugeot 308 are more capacious, the Fiat makes the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus look cramped.

It’s the same story in the cabin, where there’s plenty of room for passengers front and rear, with decent headroom and plenty of legroom all round.

A plethora of cubbyholes should also mean there’s always somewhere readily available storing sundry items.

Behind the wheel

The Tipo’s cabin is well suited to long distances, but the driving dynamics are even better suited to touring. It’s comfortable even over poor surfaces, and the 1.6-litre diesel engines are punchy enough to cope with in-gear acceleration during arduous motorway miles, while the refinement is decent without being exemplary.

As a result of this, the Tipo is no driver’s car. The steering is numb and the ‘dead zone’ around the straight-ahead position is a little too large, meaning small corrections on motorways and fast A-roads are occasionally difficult to judge.

On the plus side, though, driving around town is made simple by the lightweight low-speed steering and the commendable visibility.

It’s economical, too, thanks to the frugal diesel engines that make up the most popular engines in the range. Officially, the 118bhp diesel mated to a manual gearbox is capable of 76.3mpg and 99g/km CO2 emissions, but this can be improved by going for the business-focused Elite version, which manages 89g/km emissions – handy for company car drivers looking to reduce their tax bills.

If you don’t need that efficiency, though, there’s a healthy engine range to choose from. The standard engine is a 1.4-litre petrol with 94bhp, but you can also have a 1.6-litre with 108bhp or a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine with 118bhp. There’s a smaller 1.3-litre diesel, too, but its 94bhp output is far behind that of the 1.6 and it isn’t noticeably more efficient.

Value for money

The starting price is an attractive one. Sure, you get air conditioning, but it’s the manual variety that doesn’t seem to differ all that much from the average heater/fan arrangement. You also get 15-inch wheels with plastic hub covers and the basic 94bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine.

Of course, it’s a lot of car for the price of a mid-range Ford Fiesta, but most customers are going to want a few of the home comforts you’ll find in the mid-range Easy Plus model. It’s more expensive than the basic Easy variant and it offers 16-inch alloy wheels, a wider choice of engines and the five-inch Uconnect touchscreen infotainment system.

At the top of the Tipo range is the Lounge trim. Although that asking price only gets you the basic engine, it does buy you an awful lot of kit. Satellite navigation, climate control and 17-inch alloys are just the start, with automatic lights and wipers, a rear-view camera and chrome trim also included.

There’s a business-focused Elite trim level, too which offers the five-inch touchscreen, satellite navigation and a safety pack, as well as an environmental upgrade that improves the efficiency of the diesel powertrain.

Optional extras include leather seats with heaters, and safety packs that incorporate gadgets such as lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.

Who would buy one?

Anyone looking for a practical, comfortable and well-priced family hatchback will find the Tipo fits their needs perfectly.

Like the Panda, it’s an honest workhorse that focuses more on family life than on Nurburgring lap times, and it’s all the better for it.

Test Drive Model Facts:

Model: Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet II 120

Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel producing 118bhp and 236lb/ft of torque

Transmission: Six-speed manual, driving front wheels

Performance: Top speed 124mph, 0-62mph in 9.8 seconds

Economy: 76.3mpg

Emissions: 98g/km