In October 1982, the Ritmo was reengineered and restyled to improve its competitiveness against rivals, which included the MK3 Ford Escort and the first front-wheel drive Opel Kadett (Vauxhall Astra in the UK). The chassis was lighter by and benefitted from better noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) control. Suspension mounts were altered and the spare tyre was moved from the engine bay to the boot, along with a relocation of the fuel tank to ahead of the rear axle. The fuel tank move resulted in the fuel cap being moved to the right side and under a lid instead of remaining exposed. The facelift saw the Ritmo acquire a more conventional look. For example, the round headlights no longer intersected the bumper bar but were now integrated in a separate grille, and the tail lights were similarly integrated into the body instead of inset in the rear bumper. In addition, all models now featured Fiat's new corporate five-bar emblem at the centre of the grille, with base models featuring single round headlamps and all other, double round headlights (in Britain, all models of this generation featured twin headlamps). The bonnet no longer had an air scoop and the roof was now completely flat (with the upward sweep of the first series found to cause vortices and contribute to dust and water over the rear window). The 1,049 cc "Brazil" engine was discontinued. Better aerodynamics, lower weight, and engine optimizations combined to increase fuel mileage by around ten percent on most of the range.