Fiat introduced the Tipo lineup in 1988 as a replacement for the Ritmo, and five years later, the Italian carmaker brought a refreshed version.
The Tipo was a huge success right from the start. It offered more than its main rivals, and it was priced lower. Moreover, it came after the Ritmo, which was another successful vehicle built by Fiat. Fiat introduced a three-door version along with the facelifted version as well, but the main selling version was the five-door hatchback.

Designed by Ercole Espada, the Tipo surprised with its modern lines for those times. To stay ahead of the other hatchbacks, the carmaker changed some exterior details. It featured a new front fascia with slimmer headlights and a horizontal bar on top of the grille, with the four oblique Fiat brand lines. Since it was based on the 1988 model, it still featured a cubist-style design, but it was more rounded this time. On the sides, the body-colored door mirrors fitted better than the black ones from the non-facelifted version.

The Tipo offered one of the largest cabins in its class, and that was kept even after the facelift, but Fiat worked on some details. Inside, the designer followed the straight-line theme from the exterior and imagined a dashboard with long and flat surfaces. Even the instrument cluster was designed with angular lines with a grid pattern in the background. Obviously, it featured a split-folding rear bench to expand the, otherwise, small trunk.

Fiat installed a small engine choice under the hood, but good enough for the average buyers who were looking for an affordable, easy-to-run vehicle. There were three gasoline and two turbo-diesel engine options and, besides the 2.0-liter gasoline unit, all of the others were very fuel-efficient.