It's nothing like Ford's ecoboost! The multiair engines use a single can shaft the pressurise oil filled chambers between the cam shaft and the valves; valves are then used to control the build up of pressure and therefore the valve opening. As well as variable valve timing, multiair allows total control of the valve lift which means it can be used to regulate the volume of air entering the cylinder. This allows the traditional throttle, and its associated losses, to be eliminated. The multiair technology is unique and a genuine innovation where as ecoboost is marketing nonsense for an engine with a turbo charger.
For the OP, fundamentally the two cars are the same but the newer car will have the revised interior, bumpers, lights etc and obviously the very different engine. If buying new be sure to get a huge discount as punto sales are tiny these days, there are more modern and better cars available.