2021 Fiat Tipo Facelift Might Get A Jacked-Up ‘Cross’ Version

Fiat is preparing the first mid-cycle refresh of the Tipo family, and it might add a fourth body style in Europe, after the hatchback, sedan and estate: the jacked-up Tipo Cross, if that’s the official name anyway.

Essentially a crossover variant of the five-door hatchback, the Fiat Tipo “Cross” will rival the likes of the Ford Focus Active and Kia XCeed in the European market.

We can’t tell for sure if the Tipo test car pictured here is the actual Cross variant. The car appears to have plastic cladding on the lower parts of the body, in addition to the redesigned front and rear bumpers compared to the rest of the Tipo range, and completing the design will be the elevated ground clearance and perhaps new wheels.

The new grille will be shared with the regular 2021 Tipo lineup, and so will the headlamps and taillights, which appear to have different graphics on the scooped prototype, unlike the previous test car that we saw three months ago.

We have yet to see the interior of the facelifted compact car, but in all likelihood, it might get a new infotainment system, probably with a larger display, and revised upholstery.

The engine lineup should carry over from the current iteration, yet it’s unknown whether it will suffer any changes. Thus, look for the 1.4-liter gasoline unit, in naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms, as well as the 1.3- and 1.6-liter diesels, unless Fiat decides to drop one of them.