Christian Figenschou
In what is likely to be one of the year’s most important new car launches, Italian car maker Fiat has marked an aggressive leap into the local market with the introduction of its 178 “world car” range, comprising the Fiat Palio hatchback, the Palio Weekend station wagon and the Siena sedan.
Fiat, which has for the best part of a decade had a token representation in South Africa with the Uno (assembled and sold here through Nissan dealers) is now set to fight for a significant share of the local market with a R350-million investment in local production and distribution.
Although the Uno has sold very well here and achieved minor cult status, it is getting rather long in the tooth. Enter the Palio/Siena range, which is intended to provide a solid foundation for Fiat sales around the world in the 21st century. The Uno will remain in production locally, as Fiat’s offering in the under R50 000 entry level, while the Palio/Siena will compete in the R50E000 to R100 000 compact market. The precise pricing of the new models is embargoed until the day before the cars go on sale on March 6, but the competition had better brace itself for some very keen pricing.
The new cars will be assembled at the Nissan/Automakers plant at Rosslyn outside Pretoria. The intention is for South Africa to be an export base for components for the global world car project, and for complete vehicles for right-hand drive markets, initially in sub-Saharan Africa, and later possibly in other right-hand drive markets such as the United Kingdom and Australia. It is projected that some 10% of local production will be exported to other African countries.
The 178 range was first seen in Brazil in 1996, and the local launch coincided with the introduction of the new range in Italy.
Components and sub-assemblies for the new cars are sourced from around the globe. Bodyshells come from Brazil, while engines emanate from Italy. Other parts originate in Argentina and India, and South Africa will supply catalytic converters, batteries and other components.
Fiat is intending to build 13E000 cars locally in the first year, with Fiat Auto SA aiming initially to capture 6% of the local market with the Palio/Siena, Uno and imported Alfa Romeo models.
The Palio/ Siena range will kick off with four body styles and two engines. The Palio is offered in three-and five-door hatchback versions and the Weekender five-door wagon, while the Siena is a four-door sedan. Engines are a basic 1,2-litre and a 1,6- litre. Gearboxes are five-speed manuals. There are no plans at present to introduce diesel engines or automatic transmissions.
The new cars are impressively equipped, with all models except the entry-level derivatives featuring air conditioning, power steering and ABS
brakes as standard equipment. Dual front
airbags are also standard on higher spec models, and optional on the others.
The launch at Sun City last week took place in the midst of days of torrential downpour, so the CyberDrive test team got to put the little cars through some high- speed wet-road driving and braking. Unfortunately, the roads in that part are flat and straight, so we couldn’t really push the cars’ cornering abilities or pit them against steep hills.
The first impression of the interior of the Palio/Siena is how spacious the car feels despite its very compact exterior dimensions. Seats are comfortable with adequate adjustment, and all models had no problem accommodating this six-footer comfortably in the front or rear seats. Material and build quality appears good, though one or two squeaks could be heard in the launch cars.
The CyberDrive team drove three of the new models. Starting from the bottom, we found the baseline 1,2-litre five-door hatch to be a willing performer. It pulls happily through all five gears, and cruises easily at around 140km/h. Top speed is a claimed 154km/h. The 1,2-litre models are not equipped with rev counters, though in practice this is not a problem as the engine runs out of breath at higher revs and one soon picks up the optimum shifting points.
Braking on the cars is excellent. We put the baseline model, which lacks ABS brakes, through an emergency stop with the right- hand wheels on wet tar and the left side on a muddy verge. The car stopped fast and true with no lock-up or sliding about.
Next we piled into the 1,6-litre high- trim models, a nippy three-door hatch and the stylish Weekend wagon, and what fun they both are.
The 1,6 is a gem of an engine which pulls strongly from anything above 2E500rpm. The 1,6 happily revs to its 6E500rpm redline without a trace of harshness, all accompanied by a traditionally rorty Italian exhaust note. Top speed on the 1,6 is said to be 184km/h, and the CyberDrive team had no problem persuading the zooty little Palios to cruise along at a highly illegal mile ton.
Although we were not really able to put the cars’ handling to the test, the Palios are stable at high speeds. The hatchbacks turn in very fast with their light weight and short wheelbase. The slightly longer and heavier Weekend wagon was noticeably slower to respond to the steering, but a nippy little number it remains nonetheless. The interior of the Weekend wagon deserves special mention, providing a surprisingly large and usable load space.
The tailgate on the Weekend cuts into the rear bumper so that it opens at floor level, and the load floor has tough plastic strips protecting the carpet, and fold-away metal eyes for tying down loads. The rear seats fold down to make a completely flat rear load area. Clearly a lot of design thought has gone into the interiors.
Fiat’s new “world car” is bound to make waves in the local market. Good design and build quality coupled with keen pricing means Fiat is set to build substantially on the roots it has put down in the local market with the Uno.
My bet is the new cars will give the likes of the Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta and Renault Clio a run for their money.
More motoring coverage can be found at Cyberdrive: www.mg.co.za/mg/drive