Fiat Launching Linea 1.6 Soon!

[raghavv]

Fiat has launched the Linea with much fanfare and the results have been good too. The car has been selling in decent numbers but the more performance oriented amongst us are asking for better engines for both petrol and diesel.

Lineas have been spotted undergoing testing by our readers in Pune alongwith Grand Punto on a regular basis and for a car that has already been launched it could only mean one thing, a new engine. According to our reliable sources, Fiat is indeed testing the 1.6 Litre Turbodiesel Common Rail engine in the engine bay of the Linea. The new 1.6 Litre, 4 Cylinder 16 valve engine is a very high tech unit and comes in two varities, a turbocharged 105 bhp unit and a 120 bhp with VGT and more than 300 nm of torque! The new engine is very low on maintenance too with a service interval of 35000 kms in Europe! The fuel efficiency is also said to equal or better then 1.3 JTD already present in the Linea.

We really hope Fiat launches the Linea with this new diesel engine which will make this already very desirable car to an irresistible one. Over to you Fiat!

Source:Cubic Capacity

[aseem]

Guys,
This just in on a fairly decent automotive site in India, Fiat it seems is testing Linea 1.6 Diesel in India. Linea has been caught testing along with Punto at Fiats Pune facility. According to our reliable sources, Fiat is indeed testing the 1.6 Litre Turbodiesel Common Rail engine in the engine bay of the Linea. The new 1.6 Litre, 4 Cylinder 16 valve engine is a very high tech unit and comes in two varities, a turbocharged 105 bhp unit and a 120 bhp with VGT and more than 300 nm of torque! The new engine is very low on maintenance too with a service interval of 35000 kms in Europe! The fuel efficiency is also said to equal or better then 1.3 JTD already present in the Linea.

It is more likely that they will be briging the 105 bhp variant in India keeping in mind our road conditions and FE concious buyers. However this is simply superb news if indeed true. If Fiat can quickly turn around and bring this engine say at a 50k premium to the existing line up of Linea 1.3 MJD, it will sure have many takers and really ruffle some serious feathers. If only Fiat could listen and add the following:

1) Improve the quality of interiors (plastics used)
2) Modernize the central console
3) Fix the annoying dead pedal
4) Provide better noise insulation inside the cabin
5) Provide an auto tranny with paddle shifts (wishful thinking )

Even if they dont provide the above features, the egine itself would add quite a spark to Linea which I think is lil underpowered in its existing avtaar. I am glad if Fiat is really this fast to market, this can only mean good things to come....

Source: Its on cobic capacity webpage.

[MalluDude]

That's good news. But I don't think it will be at a 50K premium. That'll kill the 1.3 sales, unless they plan to discontinue it. Probably it will be in Optra Magnum/ Octavia territory.

I can't see the URL you posted. Only *'s appear.

[tazmaan]

If this is true and 1.6 is indeed coming then I think they should discontinue the 1.3 in linea and launch the punto with 1.3MJD. All lineas can have 1.6 with say 35 to 50k increase in price and punto can have the 1.3 with aggressive pricing

[anurag_p80]

No way is the current Linea going to be discontinued!!! I am more inclined toward MalluDude's thinking. The 1.6 will be the premium model. Hope Fiat does bring it in.....and quickly. Aseem, please quote the source properly, will ya?

[finneyp]

Good news if this is true!
The prayers of enthusiasts looking for a Powerful Linea will be answered.
What will happen to ANHC?

Fiat should continue with 1.3 MJD 90 BHP Linea for the majority FE conscious public.

[sukrit7]

gr8 news, i too don't feel they'll discontinue the current model. It would be quite a set back to the current owners.
source
http://www.******************/tag/fiat-linea/

[SkyWalker]

great news!
If they can bring the 120 bhp VGT at 1L more, this car will have absolutely no competition!

[Rahulkool]

bah what 1.6 .... launch the 1.9

hehe just kidding i guess 50-75k premium will be ok if they are not going to add any extra feature in it. also they should bring it in only the top end model in 1.6 as even in 1.3 i haven't seen much low end lineas around, most of them are emotion. haven't seen any active on road, just a dynamic few days back .....

[revhappy]

Linea 1.3 will be discontinued if 1.6 engine comes in otherwise the move wouldn't make sense unless there is a price difference of 2-3 lacs in which case the numbers of 1.6 that are sold will be too small as the car will be in civic/laura/corolla territory. And Linea is already got the image of being in the fiesta/Verna/SX4 territory hence people wont accept the huge price just for the engine.

Cheers,
Nitin

[sukrit7]

Does anyone have more information on this engine, performance, power output etc. I couldn't get any information from there world site. Thanks

[SAMUDRA]

with 1.6 JTD the Linea could easily compete with the likes of Skoda, Optra Magnum & Jetta

[madhukar_n]

i highly doubt it to be 50K-1L.. it will be a little more.. and will compete with optra, corolla and civic. that would be great.
if only fiat had done all this a couple of years back !

[breezydrive]

Along with the new engine, they should improve the ground clearance, dash & rear seat comfort

[aseem]

Originally Posted by revhappy

Linea 1.3 will be discontinued if 1.6 engine comes in otherwise the move wouldn't make sense unless there is a price difference of 2-3 lacs in which case the numbers of 1.6 that are sold will be too small as the car will be in civic/laura/corolla territory. And Linea is already got the image of being in the fiesta/Verna/SX4 territory hence people wont accept the huge price just for the engine.

Cheers,
Nitin

2-3 lakhs premium

Well I think often we believe that T-BHP is representation of all walks of Indian motorists, which is quite often not the case. Our forum is mostly represented by upper middle class, tech savy, young proffesionals, and our opinion dont neccesarily hold true for all Indian commuters.

Like in the case of Linea most at T-BHP have booked the Emotion Plus pack, but I know many fleet operators would go for the Active/Dynamic pack. They would get a car that they can charge same rate as Corrolla, but at a Deisel heart at 3-4 lakhs cheaper. They wouldnt be bothered with a 1.6 ltr engine as their main aim is FE, not the fun to drive factor for a hired driver. I know many of my collegues dont even care/or know the bhp of the car they drive, leave alone differentiating between a 1.6 and 1.3 ltr motor.

So there is indeed market of selling both cars parallely, just like Chevy did with Optra, Aveo, and Ford did with Fiesta initially. I think a 50k premium is ideal and anything more would have to be substantiated with better features, interior quality, etc.