Fiat took the wraps off their all-new compact saloon at the 2015 Istanbul Motor Show. At the time, the car was called the Aegea, but looks like that name won’t be making its presence on the production car. The new compact saloon had its design penned at the FIAT-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Centro Stile in Italy. The development of the car took place in Turkey, at one of the carmaker’s largest R&D centres, and will be produced at the Bursa facility.
Fiat’s new compact saloon is set to replace the now aging Linea saloon and sales of the car will begin in Turkey from November 2015. Eventually, the compact saloon will make its way to Europe, Middle East and Africa. Olivier Francois, Fiat brand chief, stated that the Aegea concept will result in the birth of a compact saloon, hatchback and estate. However, none of the production cars will wear the ‘Aegea’ name, but all three will be produced at the Bursa facility.
The compact saloon from Fiat will measure 4.5 metres in length (still compact by international standards), 1.78 metres in width, 1.48 metres in height and will get a 2.64 metre long wheelbase. Under the bonnet, Fiat will offer the car with a choice of two turbo diesel engines – one making 95 hp and the other 120 hp. The compact saloon will come with a choice of a manual or automatic gearboxes.
Features include a 5-inch touchscreen infotainment system, hands-free Bluetooth calling with audio streaming, SMS text reader and voice recognition, AUX-in and USB ports with iPod compatibility, steering wheel controls and, a rear parking camera and TomTom satellite navigation are available as optional extras. An India launch isn’t very likely anytime soon, but fingers crossed!
Looks really nice..But in India, will even this sell?
Looks really good, but 95bhp for 4.5m long sedan?