Fiat has, if you'll forgive the worst pun of the week, sharpened its Punto for 2012 with some neat styling tweaks, new interior fabrics and, more importantly, one revised engine and one new one.
All of which will be seen for the first time in Frankfurt in two weeks' time and in South Africa in the second quarter of 2012.
The Punto now has entirely body-coloured bumpers at both ends, with the front indicators outboard of the air intakes on a slightly raised area that makes them part of the grille complex, visually widening and flattening the front of the car without actually changing any of its dimensions.
The rear bumper now has a relieved area that frames the number-plate recess and separates it from the lower section containing the rear foglight and reversing light.
The 2012 Punto runs on new 15" alloy rims and inside, there are new, more upmarket upholstery fabrics and new dashboard trim inserts.
Now, let's get serious.
The new engine is, of course, the award-winning 900cc TwinAir turbo which, sadly, won't be coming to South Africa (Fiat Auto SA says more testing under local conditions and with SA fuel is needed).
In this application Fiat quotes 62kW at 5500rpm and 145Nm at 2000, fed to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
An "ECO" button on the centre console sacrifices some top-end power in favour of reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (down to 98 grams per kilometre, says Fiat).
The 62kW/200Nm, 1.3-litre, 16V Multijet turbodiesel has been uprated with an "intelligent" alternator that converts excess kinetic energy to amps on the overrun and doesn't charge at all under acceleration, a variable-displacement oilpump to minimise pumping losses and optimised coolant flow to reduce the work doen (and energy consumed) by the waterpump.
Fiat has even specified thinner oil for the gearbox, to help reduce CO2 emissions to a creditable 90 grams per kilometre.
The 77kW, 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol engine is unchanged.
Fiat has also simplified the Grande Punto and Punto Evo derivatives into a single range, with three trim levels - Pop, Easy and Lounge.
The Pop entry-level trim is described as "accessible, essential, simple and functional", while the Easy spec is the "feature model" of the range, available in three combinations of interior fabrics (red, blue and grey), with lots of features aimed at younger customers.
The top-end Lounge trim level is intended to project comfort and elegance, with a sporty personality.