Currently reading: 2021 Fiat Tipo facelift previewed in leaked images
Italian family hatchback will gain a restyled front end, new interior tech and Fiat's new-look logo

New images circulating online appear to show the facelifted version of the Fiat Tipo family hatchback ahead of its expected official unveiling later this year.

Turin’s answer to the Volkswagen Golf is claimed to have been caught undisguised at a Fiat factory in Turkey, and pictures posted to the Piedi Pesanti Facebook page give us an early look at its restyled front end and new-look dashboard. 

The most obvious styling tweak is the addition of Fiat’s new logo, which swaps the red and silver rounded badge found on current production models for the simpler, retro-styled design first seen on last year’s Centoventi concept

Other visible details include new LED headlights, a bold new front grille and reshaped foglight surrounds. This prototype appears to sport contrasting protective body cladding, which hints that the updated Tipo will be offered in jacked-up Cross guise, like its Fiat 500X and Fiat Panda stablemates. 

A shot of the interior gives little away, but the current car’s analogue speedometer and rev counter have made way for a digital instrument display similar to that in the new Fiat 500e

Otherwise, the dashboard appears relatively unaltered, with the current multifunction steering wheel carried over largely unchanged. 

As for mechanical changes, the facelifted Tipo will likely be offered with the new mild-hybrid powertrain that's newly available in the Panda and 500. Matching a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a 12V belt-driven electric motor and a lithium ion battery, the set-up is said to reduce emissions by up to 30%. 

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Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: News and features editor

Felix is Autocar's news editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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Emobility 11 May 2020

Never forget Tipo my first car

Tipo was my first car - was great and useful.

Old But not yet Dead 11 May 2020

Wow

That's it,  the new logo will be a winner, Tipo top of the sales chart this time next year. Thank God they found the one reason its struggled. Why am I not a top motoring exec !

LP in Brighton 11 May 2020

Just a facelift?

Surely the 2021 Fiat Tipo will be a full model change with shared Peugeot parts, not a mere facelift - or has the company given up already?  There is surely no point in tarting up a model that has already failed in the market.

Fiat has a tremendous heritage and a proud record of bold design and innovation. What's gone wrong with the company and can it be fixed.