Fiat - small cars, big business. Fiat is on a roll in the UK. Even its new small car, the Punto, has had “Grande” added to its name to reflect not just a few extra inches in length, but ambitions for its sales. Anyone watching television recently will also have noticed Fiat throwing cash at adverts for the car — all part of a huge, £18 million marketing spend.

The plan, Fiat says, is to boost Punto sales in the United Kingdom from 17,000 in 2005 to 35,000 a year. The first Punto went on sale 13 years ago. Since then, more than 12 million have been sold across Europe, more than half a million of those in the UK.

And with weeny city cars now one of the most bitterly fought sectors, as motorists seek cars that are easy to park, cheap to run and sip at fuel, the Punto is up against it. Rivals such as the Renault Clio, Suzuki Swift, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and Vauxhall Corsa are among those consumers can now choose from. Fiat says: “Grande Punto is one of the most important vehicles in Fiat’s 107-year history because it is the latest in a long line of advanced, stylish small cars that have created and built Fiat’s legendary heritage.”

No pressure, then, for a small car with some big expectations on its shoulders. Can it deliver?What instantly gives the Grande Punto the edge is its looks. Fiat drafted in Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Maserati designer, to style it and the result is a small car with big-car looks: bold and dramatic.

Fiat has also cheated slightly to get another edge. Simply, it has stretched the car so that it is about six inches longer than the Punto it replaces, improving space inside.

The three and five-door hatchback Grande Punto range is priced from £7,594 to £12,295, with engines including 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol, and 1.3 and 1.9litre diesels. The petrol cars come with a five-speed manual gearbox and the diesels get six gears.

All cars are well equipped, with standard kit including ABS anti-lock braking, front airbags, electric front windows, CD player, power steering and remote central locking.

The 1.4 petrol Dynamic (middle of the range — above the Active and Active Sport but less well equipped than Eleganza or Sporting models) is an eight-valve engine good for 77bhp, taking a leisurely 13 seconds to go from a standing start to 62mph and on to a top speed of just over 100mph.

Inside you get a hi-tech look, black and grey seat material, excellent headroom and, useful for a driver with long legs and arms, a steering wheel that adjusts up, down, in and out. Rear legroom is best suited for small children and the rear seatbacks only reach halfway up a tall person’s shoulder blades.

Fiat has clearly thought about some aspects of the car, like the A pillar with a triangular glazed area cut into it to aid forward vision. Yet the thick B pillar hinders drivers trying to check the blind spot over their shoulder to the right.

The 1.3 diesel has a six-speed gearbox, which makes sense, especially when it comes to motorway cruising. For all it is small, the Grande Punto does well on longer journeys, surprisingly quiet and relaxed. On poor quality, rutted roads, the Punto struggles to cope and the ride gets a bit more lively.

In town, as you would expect from a car with its genes firmly fixed amid the Rome traffic mayhem, it is nippy.

Power steering makes traffic-queue dodging easy and it is a delight to park, though the view to the rear, with thick pillars housing the rear light clusters, could be better. Such quibbles are minor, though, for a car range that for the most part is firmly priced below £10,000, with models that look good and are surprisingly roomy for what is, after all, still a supermini.