2016 FIAT Tipo Hatch & Estate UK Prices & Specs – costs from £12,995

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UK prices and specs  for the new Fiat Tipo Hatch and Estate – Fiat’s answer to the Ford Focus – have been revealed, with the Tipo Hatch from just £12,995.

The new Fiat Tipo – an Italian alternative to cars like the Ford Focus and VW Golf – is an important car for Fiat, giving them the chance to grab sales in the C-Segment market instead of having to rely on sales coming from the seemingly endless variants of the, still appealing, 500. And actually, the Fiat Tipo looks an attractive option.

The UK isn’t getting the Tipo saloon – which chunks of Europe do – but we will be able to buy the Tipo Hatch and Tipo Station Wagon (please – it’s an estate), and they’re both good looking with decent specs and a range of engines to suit buyers’ needs.

The new Tipo is affordable too, with the Tipo Hatch starting at £12,995 and the Tipo Estate at £13,995 – more than £3,000 less than an entry-level Focus Hatch or Estate – and the specs are far from hair shirt either.

Even the entry-level (Fiat hasn’t actually decided what to call it yet) will get Air Con, remote locking, electric windows (front), electric door mirrors, DAB, split back seats, bits of chrome and Bluetooth, with the estate version also getting electric back windows and roof bars.

Mid-range trim (no, Fiat don’t know what that’s going to be called either) adds in a 5″ Uconnect Infotainment, leather steering wheel, LED running lights, 16″ alloys, Fogs, Cruise and rear parking sensors and will cost £1k more than the entry-level trim.

The top trim level (you’ll never guess…) adds Sat Nav with TomTom Live, Climate, 17″ alloys, auto lights and wipers and rear-view camera, although there are plenty of options too like leather trim with heated seats (£750) and safety packs. The range-topping trim costs £1,000 more than the mid-range trim. Engine options for the Tipo are:

• 1.4-litre petrol – 94bhp & 92lb/ft
• 1.4-litre turbo petrol – 118bhp & 152lb/ft
• 1.6-litre e-TorQ – 109bhp & 112lb/ft
• 1.3-litre MultiJet II diesel – 94bhp & 148lb/ft
• 1.6-litre MultiJet II diesel- 118bhp & 236lb/ft

There’s nothing to frighten the horses with the initial engine options, but all the options are perfectly practical and sensible for an affordable family hatch and estate.

And it’s really that affordable family market Fiat is targeting with the Tipo, with space for three six-footers in the back, decent room for luggage and stuff and sensible equipment levels. And as long as it drives acceptably, the new Tipo could do Fiat’s UK sales the world of good.

Officially, the new Tipo doesn’t go on sale until September, by which time Fiat will have had chance to look at their Thesaurus and come up with some catchy names for their trim levels.

2016 Fiat Tipo UK Price List