Fiat has announced a new high-end version of the Tipo family hatchback designed to offer improved styling and equipment. Priced from £20,695, the new City Sport is marked out by its sportier exterior design and a matching array of interior upgrades.

Sitting between the Life and Cross models in the Tipo range, the City Sport comes with glossy black grilles in the front bumper, as well as gloss black door handles and door mirror caps. Full LED headlights are also included, along with LED tail lights and 18-inch machined alloy wheels that have a two-tone colour effect.

Inside, the Golf-rivalling hatchback comes with a chrome steering wheel bezel and a leather-wrapped steering wheel rim, as well as leather trim on the gear knob. There are also some subtle chrome accent features on the air vents and the electronic parking brake switch.

Fiat Tipo City Sport

As standard, the City Sport comes with all the usual features of the lowlier Life model, including a digital instrument cluster, seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system and automatic climate control. You also get cruise control and the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration systems thrown in.

But more specific to the City Sport model are the Sport badges that adorn the exterior, the keyless entry and the ParkView rear parking camera, which is paired with front and rear parking sensors. The car also gets automatic lights and windscreen wipers, as well as automatic high beam technology that dips the headlights when it detects another vehicle to prevent dazzle.

Fiat Tipo City Sport

All that is powered by the 1-litre petrol engine that’s now standard across the Tipo range. With 99 bhp and a manual gearbox, the engine takes the Tipo from 0-62 mph in a leisurely 11.8 seconds and it’ll keep accelerating to a nondescript 118 mph – where it’s safe and legal to do so.

Fiat is yet to confirm official fuel economy figures, but the company says its new model will emit carbon dioxide at a rate of 130 grams per kilometre. That makes it only marginally less efficient than the cheaper Life model, and very slightly more frugal than the rugged-looking Cross version.

Prices for the new Tipo City Sport start at £20,695, making it £1,000 more expensive than the mid-range Life version and £3,000 more expensive than the entry-level model. The range-topping Cross, however, costs £1,000 more.

Customers will only be able to order the City Sport in five-door hatchback form, with the more spacious Estate model limited to the standard Tipo and Life trims. Other markets including Germany, however, will get the City Sport model in big-booted forms.

Gallery: Fiat Tipo City Sport