Think about Italy and no doubt your mind will conjure up scenes that reflect a passionate people and a country of immense style panache and beauty. Whether you've experienced it or not, Italy's promise excites - from that Mona Lisa Smile to the awesome Sistine Chapel; from Vivaldi to Versace; Boticelli to Baldinelli; the splendours of Rome and Florence's beauty to the mystery of Venice and the catwalks of Milan and so very much more; Italy comes at you as mystifying and marvellous as Wonderland must have seemed to Alice.

And I won't even bother to mention that country's gastronomic delights, the food, the drink and the wine...

Everyone has an Italian machine dream, too - be that powering a wooden Riva speedboat across the waters of Lake Como, a Ducati into the Alps or a Ferrari along Tuscany's tight and twisting roads, Italy's cars, bikes, boats and machines inspire awe like little else on earth - machines of obsession built with fervour by passionate people. They're winners too, the Italians - look no further than Ferrari and Ducati if you reckon I'm smoking my socks - I promise, I'm not.

So what about Fiat then? Italy's mass-market carmaker has made some special cars from time to time - legends like the 8V Zagato Mille Miglia racer and WRC-winning 131. But in the recent past, I for one have not been too convinced that the Turinese giant's cars for the people really met that Italian promise when it comes to chic, style and flair...

See, while anyone you talk to will mention Ferraris, Maseratis and Alfa Romeos as though they were Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Leonardo's Last Supper, Fiat's offerings are more often than not often regarded as devices not unlike a Candy washing machine or an Olivetti typewriter - damn good products in their own right, but not quite the stuff you'd flaunt along those little avenues around Milan's Duomo as you would indeed a Ferrari, a Maserati or an Alfa...

Which is all kind of odd, isn't it? You may ask what I'm trying to do comparing an appliance to the thing that Michael Schumacher blew the world away with again last weekend, but have you ever noticed that FIAT badge on the nose and sides of Schu's F1 Ferrari?

What I've never understood was how exactly Fiat, which indeed owns Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, could not draw some sort of benefit from those pedigreed brands - like a few genes to make the latest Fiat a bit more Ferrari or Maserati-like?

Well, at last I have nothing more to worry about in that respect. See the two cars on these pages - the blue one and the red one? They both look a million bucks, don't they? The red Maserati GranSport is indeed a million buck motorcar and clearly worth all that dough, but hey, the blue one isn't - no sir, that's the new Fiat Grande Punto - the latest in a long, long line of brilliant Fiat minicars that costs not much nigh of a hundred grand, but this time it comes with a huge dose of genuine Italian flair you can park in your very own garage...

This one challenges you to differentiate it from the latest new Maserati. Eureka! Fiat's found it at last!

The good news is that Grande Punto is waiting for you in a Fiat dealership near you right now. And everything I mention above about an Italian car, well, needing to be Italian, has been borne out by European car buyers who have voted for this little Ferrari-like beauty with their wallets. Fiat's new Grande Punto is currently the biggest selling car in Europe - proving beyond doubt that by making it look, feel and shout Italian, Fiat has finally found the magic formula to ensure this little gem has also blown the company straight out of the financial doldrums it found itself in, in the recent past.

Grande Punto is a critical model for Fiat Auto South Africa too - it's the car Fiat expects will return the brand to its halcyon heights here for once and for all. And it is primarily its Maserati style that Fiat is pinning its Grande Punto hopes on. The Grande bit of this newcomer's name, too, is significant. This baby may sell itself as an entry-level car, but its size, equipment and characteristics ensure it'll happily box a good few divisions above its intended fighting weight.

Developed by Italdesign-Giugiaro in collaboration with Fiat's Centro Stile, or Style Centre, Punto was conceived to a distinctly Italian, even Mediterranean design language inspired by Italy's finest sports cars of the 'fifties and 'sixties. Clearly Fiat never had to look too far to find inspiration - just look at the images on these pages to figure that one out. Clearly, it's worked too - European car buyers are rarely wrong...

Punto's Grande style continues inside the car, where its cabin maintains that evocative expression of Italian flair. Unlike some dodgy half jobs in certain more recent Fiats, this one matches allcomers in material quality and attention to detail - it may be a little much for the more demure, but this baby Fiat's cabin certainly does represent a quantum shift forward.

And there's another aspect this new Punto is Grande, and it's one for which Fiat hasn't exactly been famous for - until now that is. And that's safety. Punto Grande boasts nothing less than a full 5-star Euro NCAP Safety Rating - a whole two or three stars more than previous offerings from the company - and that's great news indeed.

The new Punto is Grande on comfort, space and luxury, too - significantly increased dimensions take its class lead, while the team charged with its development had to surpass a quality specification more akin to an executive car than an entry level offering. Grande Punto draws on a highly a stringent engineering process, its chassis forms an immensely tough and strong platform to ensure as ideal basis for the most advanced and innovative methodology to ensure optimum reliability, safest and, of course, dynamics.

That all serves to ensure Grande Punto matches its Italian image in every respect - not just in terms of style, chic and panache, safety, security and comfort, but it's also a thrilling car to drive, too. Agile and enjoyable to pedal passionately, it's also a pleasure to drive in any other manner. Grande Punto is well balanced, poised and most pleasing to drive.

That has much to do with another pair of Grande Punto advantages - a relatively light kerb weight to ensure competitive power to weight ratios, and an initial line-up of a trio of spunky Euro 4 emissions-compliant engines offering great performance and frugal fuel consumption.

The range kicks off with a 48kW 102Nm1.2-litre 8-valve OHC petrol mill capable of a 14.5-second 0-100km/h dash, a 155km/h top end and an overall combined cycle fuel consumption of 6.1 litres per 100km. Next up is the all-new 57kW 115Nm1.4-litre 8-valve OHC good for 165km/h, 13.2-seconds 0-100 and fuel consumption to match its 1,2-litre sibling.

The interim Grande Punto flagship boasts Fiat's brilliant 55kW 190Nm 1.3-litre 16-valve Multijet turbodiesel and is capable of a 13.6-second 0-100 sprint and a mighty miserly 4.7l/100km overall fuel consumption. And if that is still not good enough, a barnstorming 88kW 1.9-litre 16-valve Multijet will follow later. All three launch-models feature 5-speed manual transmissions, while braking is aided and abetted by ABS with Electronic Brake force Distribution. An Electronic Stability Program, Hill Holder and Anti Slip Regulation system complements Grande Punto's independent MacPherson front suspension with telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar and spherical joint links, and torsion axle and crossbeam rear end.

Peace of Mind is also part of the Fiat Grande Punto deal and the full range boasts nothing less than 30 000 km service intervals backed up by full after-sales network of Fiat dealerships countrywide. Grande Punto is covered by a 12-month unlimited distance warranty backed up by a 100 000km / 3-year Extended Dealer Warranty with 5 years on rust, plus a 12 month 24-7-365 AA Fleetcare roadside assistance plan. But big news is Grande Punto's 5-year / 90 000km service plan - another first in its class.

So, Fiat has finally rediscovered Italian style as traditionally dispensed by the bucket load in its Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo divisions and at last applied it to its own cars. That Grande Punto has shot to prominence in Europe's new car charts is proof enough that Torino has got it right on the button this time - it's building Fiats that match up to the expectations of Vivaldi, Michelangelo and Versace...

So if it's Italian style you're after, better you rush down to your local Fiat dealer right now, because if there isn't a waiting list on Grande Punto by the time you get there, there certainly will be as soon as it starts appearing on the road. Yes, it's that good...

FIAT GRANDE PUNTO PRICING
Punto 1.2 Active 5-door
R108 000
Punto 1.4 Active 5-door
R108 000
Punto 1.4Active 5-door AC
R116 000
Punto 1.4 Dynamic 5-door
R 129 000
Punto 1.3 Multijet Dynamic 5-door
R 137 320
Punto 1.9 Multijet Emotion 3-dr
R 168 000*
* Not available at launch