Fiat India introduced the new Fiat Adventure. The 1596 cc 100 bhp petrol engine. The 1.6 comes as a shot in the arm, and though it’s not manna from heaven for petrol heads, a 100 bhp puddle is adequate for them to play around in. This new model is essentially face-lifts of the original Siena Weekend but also come with a host of other improvements. Though differences between the Palio Weekend and Adventure are largely cosmetic, the two cars are pretty disparate in character. The regular Weekend is aimed at the utility conscious whilst the Adventure is more a lifestyle vehicle for the outdoors.

 

The Fiat Adventure looks like a Weekend on steroids. It is wrapped up in non-scratch, matt-black plastic that extends from the heavy bumpers to the wheel arch cladding and a tough-looking running board. Double ski racks, a bull bar, a pair of ellipsoidal auxiliary lights and much taller and chunky high-profile tyres give the Adventure attitude that gets you all those looks and glances.

 

The Adventure has 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 Adventure being slightly heavier due to the extra cladding. Long travel suspensions too make these cars well suited to our roads, with the Adventure having even taller and harder springs. The Adventure’s significantly taller 175/80 R14 tyres give it more ground clearance than the Weekend by 20mm, a useful benefit especially since the Weekend’s clearance has been one of its weak points.

 

The interiors of the Fiat Adventure are too good. This is one area where things haven’t changed much. You get the same familiar irregular dashboard with the seam above the glove box that looks like a makeshift add-on. The central comfort 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. Both cars come with sporty leather-clad steering wheels, metal pedals. Meaty-feeling stalks and electrically-operated mirrors are standard on the Adventure.

 

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 Adventure’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 Adventure comes with a longer stroke and the latest engine management system which includes a 32-bit microprocessor. As a result peak power is higher (100bhp) and the engine feels stronger in the lower part of the rev range. The cable-operated gearshift is light and smooth and does a good job of isolating engine vibrations through the gear lever. It, however, just doesn’t have that crisp feel of conventional linkages.

 

The Adventure’s suspension set-up is aimed at serious off-road application with a spring/damper combo that is even stiffer than the new Weekend. Standing on those chunky Pirellis, the Adventure is 190mm clear at its lowest point - that’s better ground clearance than a Sumo or a Qualis.

 

The Adventure’s tall stance to be a big advantage on narrow country roads. With such high clearance you don’t have to think twice before dropping two wheels into a pothole, hitting unmarked speed breakers or moving onto the earthern shoulder every time you’re shoved off the road by an overtaking truck or bus from the opposite direction right in front of you.

 

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.

Filed under: Fiat Cars in India