Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro restyled the model lineup, which includes the Palio hatchback, Siena sedan, Weekend station wagon and Strada pickup. The front of the car has a more rounded appearance with restyled hood and wings, headlamps with clear lenses and a new grille. The rear has been altered to produce the look of a bigger car without changing the overall lines. Revised ride and handling features include a new subframe and lower wishbones for the strut suspension, and modified rear damper and spring settings. Fiat says the system enhances reliability by reducing the number of wires and connections by almost 25 percent.
Engines are lighter and more efficient.
New features include a plastic intake manifold, electronic injection and lightweight connecting rods. Sixteen-valve engines have aluminum engine blocks. Fiat builds Palios in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Poland, Turkey, Morocco, India, Russia and South Africa. The cars are sold in 36 markets. The hatchback derivative accounts for the majority of sales.