India Cars

Fiat India introduced the its offering — the Fiat Petra EL (1.6 Petrol). The Petra with a 1.6 litre engine in C-segment. Modelled on the successful 178 platform, the Petra is an elegantly designed vehicle powered by the 1596 cc, 16-valve DOHC ‘Torque’ engine which belts out 100bhp at 5,500 revs.

The interiors are designed for comfort, with fine upholstery, power windows, power steering, central locking and a built-in powerful air conditioner cum heater. A sub-frame mounted front suspension results in impressive ride quality, plus adequate ground clearance at 170 mm has been provided, keeping in mind Indian road conditions.

Fiat Petra EL adhering to stringent international standards, the Petra has an Economic Council of Europe (ECE) standard crash-tested cabin that crumples in a controlled manner and a fire prevention system that cuts fuel supply to prevent fires during an accident. The car comes in four colour options — Silver Frost, Thunder Black, Glacier White and Hazel Grey.  Fiat Petra will have all these attributes and for the first time, a 1.6 engine would be available.

The Fiat Brava is compact automobiles produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It is effectively versions of the Brava a 5-door hatchback.  The cars came with new engines, this model using a 1370 cc 12-valve engine producing 80 bhp. Fiat Brava is available with two other petrol engines were available: the 103 bhp 1581 cc 16-valve engine and the top of the range 1998cc 20-valve R5 unit used in the HGT model, which produced 147 bhp and which could take the car to a maximum speed of 135 mph. Two turbo diesel engines were also available: both were 1910 cc four cylinder units, one producing 75 bhp and the other making 100 bhp. The Brava was voted European Car of the Year on its launch.

The Brava received a mild makeover in 1999 but there were few real changes except the addition of a 1.2 16-valve engine from the smaller Fiat Punto and a restyling of the dashboard. The 1.9 turbo-diesel was also upgraded to give even better economy and refinement. On the road, you don’t need reminding that the body structure is one of the stiffest in the class - it feels it. Not only over potholes either, when you wait in vain for the whole car to shake.

Siena’s diesel version is the cheapest diesel vehicle in the segment. The diesel version will have a 1,697-cc turbo diesel engine. This car is the three-box variant of FIAT’s 178-world car project. It is the saloon version of the magnificent Palio. The car is built around compact dimensions designed around a tall suspension and spacious interiors. The Siena is quite appealing with a distinctive silhouette. The Siena looks best from the front three-quarters angle, with squinting headlights, strong grille, stretched wheel arches and delectable slashes on the bonnet. The car also employs the latest safety technologies to protect its occupants. The car is laden with a fantastic engine, which reeks of power and smoothness. This car is going to shakeup the midsize pack with its breathtaking ride, classy looks and comfortable interiors. This is one of the better all-round automobiles around which also come quite cheap.

The car has been engineered in such a manner that crashworthiness is on par with international safety standards. The Siena is rugged, looks good and is very competitively priced. It exudes Italian aesthetics that reek of style and class. Safety standards are high. The interiors are well crafted and well packaged. The ELX model comes with a stereo integrated in the console, central locking and power windows.

The additional features of the deluxe versions are: climate control system, heated rear window, front and rear seat belts, door mirrors adjustable from inside, luggage compartment opening from inside.

Fiat launched its Economic version Fiat Siena Petrol. The car comes with a Euro II compliant, 1242cc fuel efficient MPFI engine, which develops 72bhp at 6000rpm; with its light-alloy cylinder heads, uses an electronic operating system integrated with the ignition and multi-point injection. The crankshaft has 8 counterweights, enabling it to function smoothly and silently. This car is the three-box variant of FIAT’s 178-world car project. Its suspension carefully designed is perfectly suited to Indian roads. The Siena is quite appealing with a distinctive shape. The Siena looks best from the front three-quarters angle, with squint headlights, strong grille, stretched wheel arches and delectable slashes on the bonnet. The car also has the latest safety technologies to protect its occupants. The car is loaded with a fantastic engine, which reek of power and smoothness.

The Fiat Siena has the highest overall comfort co-efficient in the Mid-sized cars segment. It can carry up to five people and offers you 500 litres of luggage room. You can fold back the rear seat to obtain even more carrying space. The Siena is exciting and enjoyable to drive. The Euro II compliant FIRE 1.2 MPI (Multi-point Injection) engine.

For maximum security against theft, every Siena comes with the option of the Fiat CODE, an electronic key that blocks the engine. Without the right key, the control unit will not recognize the code, and cannot be started. It has various other features like; Front seat belts with height adjustable rollers, EAS - Energy Absorbing Steering wheel, Anti-intrusion side impact bars in the doors, Front and rear seats with anti-submarine profile, Front structure with controlled deformation and reinforced struts, FPS - Fire Prevention System, High mounted 3rd stop light, Two speed windshield wiper with intermittent operation, Mounting for car radio, internal cable with antenna cable, Cigarette lighter, Front and rear ash tray, Glove compartment with cover, Door panel with left and right pockets, Continuous adjustable front seats,  Integrated wheel hub covers, External rear mirror adjustable from inside.

Fiat introduced its Fiat Punto Sporting Model that has the larger clear-lensed headlamps and the three-part under-bumper grille that have got mixed reviews and the rather neater treatment to the rear end. 15″ alloy wheels, side skirts, a sports front bumper and a livelier grille all put in an appearance to confirm the cars direction in life.

The 1.4-litre engine introduced with this latest version of the Punto and its official title of 1.4 16-valve FIRE should tell you that it’s designed to be on the warm side. Peak power of 95bhp shows up at 5,800rpm and the top torque comes in at 4,500rpm. The top speed of 111mph and the 9.9-second dash to 60mph represents a useful turn of speed. Perhaps of equal importance to buyers in this sector will be the 46.3mpg combined fuel consumption, proving that pace and cost-cutting don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Power is directed to the front wheels through a well-engineered 6-speed transmission system. This Punto uses a proven MacPherson strut suspension set-up at the front and a lightweight Torsion beam at the rear. Engineers have upped the cars ride height by 10mm to accommodate bigger shock absorbers making everything smoother over the bumps.

The steering’s is too good, with a power-assisted set-up tuned to react quickly to driver inputs. Inside you find leather on the steering wheel and the gear bump as well as equipment running to air-conditioning, a CD-player and electric heated door mirrors. Curtain airbags and ABS brakes are also included to addition the twin front airbags that feature on Puntos sporting. On the road is where it matters most though and the Sporting shouldn’t disappoint.  Nor do you have to struggle with it when you’re trying to park the car in a congested street: press the ‘City’ button on the console and at low speeds, the assistance becomes finger-light. There’s more space in the back than you might expect - and a decent capacity boot. Inside the car there are on user-friendliness, with useful storage compartments wherever you look. The interior also benefits from the drive to endow the Punto with a more upmarket ambiance.

Two-tone dashboards give the car an airier feel than its precursor. A fascinating piece of electronics is the Connect OBN system, an optional off-board navigation system. Rather than rely on the more usual CD-ROM of information that invariably fails to mention a newly-built motorway or terminates as you cross a national border, Connect OBN instead uses information stored centrally. Users pay a nominal fee every time they download a route and it keeps costs down.

The Punto Sporting is a class-leading ‘warm’ hatchback with more style than most of its immediate rivals.

Fiat Uno is now powered with a EuroIII compliant 1.2cc petrol engine that delivers 62 bhp and makes it one of the fastest small cars in its category. The new 1.2cc engine gives you all the power and fuel efficiency you ever wanted from a compact. You get top speeds around 155 kmph and super-rapid acceleration, with the modern 5-speed synchromesh gearbox that compliments it. And the car’s aerodynamic lines and wedge-shaped profile take you even further.

The new Uno comes with many more extras: front power windows, rear wiper and washer. The Uno 1.2 is infinitely spacious, down to its boot. It is tough and resistant, with a thicker body of galvanized steel, uniquely re-engineered suspension and excellent road holding under any condition.

A popular car all over the world, Fiat Auto, manufacturer of the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, has made India its manufacturing hub. Fitted with effective air-conditioning and tinted glass, clad in new colours and newly-upholstered, the Fiat Uno 1.2 celebrates a 100 years of Fiat Auto in the world, 5 full years of the Uno petrol in India, and the sprint ahead into a splendid new millennium. It offers several features like, Adjustable Seat Belts, Child safety locks on rear doors, Load proportionating valve for efficient braking, Front side panel moulding, Head Restraints, Day & night rear view mirrors, Engine sump protection guard, Cam profile sliding mechanism for front seats, Single blade wiper for better sweep and visibility, Air volume adjustment knobs for controlling airflow, Rear fog lamps for better visibility, Side door packets on the front door, Single Blade Wiper, Left footrest, Digital Clock, Front Power Windows, Central Locking, Body Colored Bumpers etc.

Out of the plethora of new cars invading the Indian market, the Fiat Uno is the only one that addresses the lower end of the car segment. The Fiat Uno was born in 1983 in Europe and has been a success story ever since, winning 11 international awards of which the most prestigious was the “Car of the Year” award in 1984. The Uno was revamped in 1990 when it was given a new face and new hatch. Though the Uno was superseded by the Punto in 1993, and is now a generation old, it is still being made in several countries. The car’s virtues of brilliant packaging, low-cost motoring and much value-for-money, all of which made it Europe’s best-selling car, also make it the most appropriate car for the Indian market.

The car prides itself on offering the advantages of the diesel engine as far as running costs are concerned and, at the same time, the positive characteristics associated with a petrol engine like - low vibration, better mileage and minimum noise & exhaust levels. The reason for this superior performance of the Fiat Uno is its powerful 1.7 litre Italian engine (IDI Diesel, 4 cylinder, in-line), which gives a maximum output of 57 bhp @ 4600 rpm. In fact on highways the car behaves like mid-sized sedan, and in the city doubles up as small car.

Another outstanding feature of the Uno Diesel is its generous boot-space. The car has a trunk capacity of 270 liters that can comfortably fit 5-6 normal sized suitcases.

Brakes are disc (front) and drum (rear). Suspensions are independent McPherson strut with track control arms connected to the cross member, and anti-roll torsion bar in the front. Rear suspension is torsional axle with longitudinal tubular arm and connecting cross member. Fiat Uno Diesel offers various features like, Child safety locks on rear doors, Load proportionting valve for efficient braking, Body side protection mouldings, Engine sump protection guard, Cam profile sliding mechanism for front seats, Rear parcel shelf covering the luggage boot, Single blade wiper for better sweep and visibility, Air volume adjustment knobs for controlling airflow, Left foot rest for drivers, Rear fog lamps for better visibility etc.

This aging model lives on. The Padmini is derived from the 1962 Fiat 1100 and its 1089cc engine, which evolved way before 1953, continues to be used till this day. The Padmini’s performance is quite adequate for our roads and fuel economy is not bad either. The suspension is still old fashioned, with leaf springs at the rear, while the car’s road manners are a far cry from modern standards. This car was the preferred choice before the Maruti came along. The only redeeming feature of the Padmini is that it can be serviced and repaired just about anywhere in the Indian sub-continent. Fit-and-finish and refinement is not the hallmark of this car. This car is for people who need a boot but don’t have much loot.

The car is great, but it has 2 faults: the button of the driver power window is broken, but it’s still working, and there’s much vibration in the front suspension when I pass in a bump.

The suspension is soft, as well as the gearbox, the power steering and the pedals. The engine and exterior noises are quite silenced in the cabin. Is a very “roomy” car, even considering that is one of the cars with less wheelbase measures (2.370m); the trunk is also spacious with 290 lts. And the possibility to extend to a total of 660lts with the rear seat folded.

The fuel consumption is (14.5 km/Lt - 6.9 l/100 in city traffic and 18 km/Lt - 5.5 l/100 en highways) and the autonomy is great with the 48 Lt fuel tank. The brakes are smooth and with a very fine line (but the cars tends to “sink” in the road).

The car has 5 door version- has a 14″ alloy wheels with Pirelli P4 tires, power steering, power windows, central lock with alarm and fiat code system, trip computer, etc.

Fiat India drawn customers to its showrooms in hordes, Fiat is launching the new Palio Weekend to replace the existing Siena Weekend. These new models are essentially face-lifts of the original Siena Weekend but also come with a host of other improvements.

The new Weekends sport the Palio’s frontal treatment and are instantly recognizable with those exquisite clear lens headlights and slot grille which carries the new Fiat centenary logo. Like the Palio, the Weekends were given a fresh set of clothes by Guigiaro of ItalDesign fame, which has some of the most exquisite designs of the century to his credit. The tail-lights too are new as in the location of the rear number plate up from the tail-gate. This breaks up the mass at the rear and makes the tailgate look less heavy. Built on Fiat’s famous 178 ‘World Car’ platforms that have been over engineered for harsh driving conditions, the Weekend have an extremely tough and rigid chassis that makes them feel like a battle tank. They are excessively heavy and each tips the scales at more than 1200kg, the

The Weekend is re-engineered with the wheelbase stretched by 63mm more than the Palio and the rear suspension too was changed to a compact independent set-up with short springs that do not intrude into the all-important luggage area. The interiors of the Weekends cars are identical even to the Palio and the earlier Siena Weekend. This is one area where things haven’t changed much. You get the same familiar asymmetrical dashboard with the seam above the glove box that looks like a makeshift add-on. The central console though seems friendlier and features a brushed aluminium look. Also updated on the central console is the music system that gets softer-touch buttons and a chrome finish. It’s surprising how few manufacturers get the air-vent-to-stereo positioning correct like Fiat has - it’s much safer for the driver at this height. Weekends come with sporty leather-clad steering wheels, metal pedals.

The front seats are generous and blessed with enough travel but are placed low in relation to the dashboard. As a result, short drivers tend to peer over the high steering wheel. The extra length of the Weekend’s wheelbase also means that rear seat passengers don’t pull the short straw as far as comfort is concerned, though under-thigh support is still not as good as it could have been due to a short bench.

The clever use of luggage space reflects the thought and attention to detail that has gone into this estate. The luggage area is large and flat with a minimum of intrusions to maximize load-carrying capacity. The suspension is tucked under the floor pan and out of the way and the tailgate opens from below-bumper level. The spare wheel too is placed under the body, which is more convenient to access in a fully-laden car. Topping it off is a solid and well-built rear parcel shelf which doubles up as an effective security cover. The air-con blower at higher speeds is too noisy but thankfully the heavy duty compressor pumps out chilled air to keep occupants sufficiently cool even with the rear parcel tray removed.

The Weekend comes with only one engine option - 1.6- litre petrol. Fiat Weekends cars accelerate from rest to 100kph in less than 13 seconds which is pretty good for a car weighing 1.2 tons. The Weekend is a touch quicker off the line. The Weekend still remain amongst the best riding cars around. At low speeds, bumps and thumps filter through and they don’t feel absorbent.

The sense of stability you get in this car is difficult to beat. You can blast across virtually any surface. It takes a lot to unsettle these estates which makes them so reassuring and safe to drive. This sure-footed behavior is the Weekend’s strongest asset which is why they make such good long-distance cars.

In city conditions, the figure hovers around 9kpl and on the highway you get a mediocre 12-odd kpl. Tank capacity of 51 litres is adequate and translates to a 500km range between fill-ups.