Fiat Linea , the car which carries the responsibility of establishing a new image for Fiat India has finally arrived after years of speculation and doubts. Fiat , always had good sound cars like Uno , Palio , Siena and Petra but they failed because the poor after sales service and the non existent spares. They made all the wrong moves with the right cars .But, Fiat plans to wipe all that out with the new Fiat Linea in the same way it turned around its fortunes in Europe with Grande Punto. It was followed by two other highly successful cars Bravo and Fiat 500 , which was launched as a CBU in India.it plans to do it again, this time in the subcontinent with Fiat Linea which is acting as its flagship, which will be followed by Grande Punto in the second quarter.
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Design
Fiat Linea is love at first sight, it has a very chic styling which is augmented by the arched roof and intimidating front. Front is dominated by the huge head lamp cluster which is best complemented by the big characteristic grill studded with the big Fiat logo.The arches have been done very elegantly and go well with the overall styling, the quarter glasses near the A- Pillar and C-Pillar gives the car a very airy feel.
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The 500 litre Boot’s appeal lies in the Large Tail lamp cluster and with the Big Fiat Logo makes a statement altogether, although it’s high sill does make it difficult to load in. While in the extreme right corner it marks the variant of the car i.e. Active, Dynamic, Emotion. The overall styling especially the nose screams Italian.
The Interior
The show of class is carried forward with the interior. As one steps in the car, the black and beige interiors has been done very tastefully with each and every detailing has been done very artistically. The standout on the dashboard is the Multi-function steering wheel, through which one can control cell phones as well as the audio controls. The best and unique feature of the steering wheel is the marked out grips which gives a solid grip. When you look up, one notices the Chrome Ringed White background instrument cluster which comes as a vintage rip off. The functional display has CD Track info, distance to empty, average fuel consumption along with Microsoft’s Blue-Me Technology which allows you to have your phonebook transferred to the car memory and one can make calls through the car music system with voice command system and one can even have the SMS read out. But this feature comes with the top variant which is fully loaded with ABS and dual front airbags.
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The driver seat offers generous thigh and back support , but the people having height less than 5 feet nine Inches might have to stretch out their legs to reach out to the pedals. The rear has great feel, with the perfect recline angle, but it looses out the head room especially when one reclines back completely. In the top variant, it provides a rear air-con vent which is first in this class. Linea provides certain features which were unheard of , especially in this segment if one goes through them one needs to be reminded that this is not a luxury saloon.
Engine
Its the same 1.3 Litre Multijet diesel which is doing the duty on Swift , DZire , Palio and Indica Vista. That does raise a question of it being underpowered, considering its large dimensions. But this engine has been added with the Variable geometry turbo that gives the power boost but unlike the kick that one experiences with Swift and Palio in Linea the power transfer is subtle and well distributed. The fiat has played safe with coming with this engine although there are rumors of it coming later on with 1.6 and 1.9 diesel engines. But with this engine, it was able to price it very competitively and moreover they had to build the brand all over again so with less price tag would make it a lot easier for Linea to gain a strong foothold. And once it’s established they can upgrade with 1.6 or 1.9 diesel. The gear throw is short and precise and NVH levels also have been maintained low.
Ride and Handling
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The pickup is not electric but decent enough, its when it cruises along the highways that it gets into its own. But it satisfies the objective it set out that was good fuel economy. The drive is smooth it exudes confidence even when pushed over sharp corners thanks to the 15” 195/60 Goodyear’s. It absorbs potholes with aplomb with the two McPherson struts at the front and torsion beam setup at the rear. But the turning radius is larger than its competitors and the thick A-pillar often irritates with it obstructing the driver’s view.