Saturday,
August 09, 2008
Remarkable Revival of Fiat Began with the
Grande Punto, Continued with Bravo, and Switched into
Overdrive with the Fiat 500
The
ANNOTICO Report
Bravo as Sales Soar for Italians
August 5, 2008
THE remarkable
revival of Fiat began with the popularity of the Grande Punto,
continued with the new Bravo and switched into overdrive with the euphoria
surrounding the arrival a year ago of the Fiat 500 that is European Car of the
Year 2008.
The company
announced record profits and there are plans for a raft of new models.
The cute little
Fiat 500 is being hailed as the ultimate city car, with prices from just
#7,900.
At the top end of
the range a highly specified version of the Fiat 500 with a larger 1.4-litre
petrol engine or 1.3-litre diesel unit costs #10,700 including air conditioning
and alloy wheels.
There are three
trim levels of Pop, Sport and Lounge.
Standard
equipment in the entry-level Pop includes front, side and driver's knee
airbags, CD and MP3 players, power steering, colourcoded
bumpers and chrome-plated door handles.
Sport and Lounge
versions start at #9,300.
The Grande Punto range has been expanded with the 1.4 T-Jet 120
Sporting model and given a five-year warranty.
The T-Jet petrol
engine uses the latest turbo-charging technology to maximise
power and torque with relatively low emissions and fuel consumption.
Available in t hree and five-door versions, it is based on the range's
Sporting trim level and comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, spor ts seats, leather steering
wheel, chrome tailpipe, spoiler and side skirts, electronic stability control
and half a dozen air bags.
It
also featu res Fiat's voice-activated music and
communications system.
The 1,368cc
petrol power-plant is one of a new family of turbocharged T-Jet engines that
made their debut in Fiat's new Bravo range.
This engine gives
t he Grande Punto a 0-60mph
time of 8.8 seconds with economy of 40mpg and a CO2 figure of 155g/km.
Prices are
#12,395 for the three-door model and #12,995 for the five-door version.
The Bravo hatch
range comes with a wide choice of engines including 1.9-litre turbo diesel MultiJets of 120 and 150bhp and a new family of 1.4-litre
turbo-charged T-JET petrol engines of 120 and 150bhp.
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