[RavenAvi]

Specifications and variants leaked by IAB ahead of the official launch:

- a 1.4L T-Jet petrol engine that produces 140 PS/210 Nm of torque,
- a 1.3L Multijet turbo-diesel engine with 93 PS/209 Nm of torque,
- 5-speed manual transmission standard across all variants,
- Single petrol variant - Emotion,
- Two diesel variants - Active & Dynamic,
- 16-inch alloys as standard across all variants,
- other confirmed features include touch screen AVN (Audio, Video & Navigation) system, automatic climate control, steering mounted audio controls, dual Airbags and ABS with EBD.

(Source)

[silverado]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just give the market a product they can't refuse.

Fiat Panda could be that product.
Normal Panda, Panda Cross and the AWD Panda.

I am not sure why they are reluctant to bring it in India, in spite of our liking for Tall boys.

[highwaypatrol]

Sick and tired of seeing the same chick in different clothes. Come on fiat, lets bring in your international beuties so that atleast you will stay in race.

[PrasannaDhana]

Pre-launch bookings for a car that is not even going to sell in triple digits! Are they clearing away their existing inventory?

It would make sense if they can price it a little lesser (by 50k). We enthusiasts are hypocrites, we love abarth but we seldom have it even in our options, let alone put our money on it.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Pre-launch bookings for a car that is not even going to sell in triple digits! Are they clearing away their existing inventory?

It would make sense if they can price it a little lesser (by 50k). We enthusiasts are hypocrites, we love abarth but we seldom have it even in our options, let alone put our money on it.

Hypocrisy is quite a strong word Prasanna and we both know there is a lot more to the story than meets the eye

In my own family, many of my cousins are petrol heads and have an above average knowledge in cars. I bought my GT is 2014 and everybody who either sat/drove my car were in love with the build, premiumness, power, sturdiness, etc.
But ever since, 3 of my cousins have picked up new cars and nobody really wanted to take a chance with VW !!

So FIAT as a product may be good, but they seem to be the case of "Too Little, Too Late and Too Outdated" sorts. When you have an established product like Swift/I20, offering various guises can really propel the consumer desire levels. Punto Aventura was a Dud in comparison to I20 Active, so Urban-Cross may not even hold a candle here.

Enthusiast's Dream = YES, Mass Market Product = MAY BE NOT

Also, seems like as a company, even they are not really sure where they are headed. Recent rumours about the FIAT pulling the plug on their Indian operations is not helping them either.

As they say, History & Fashion usually repeat, and I hope the former does not hold true to FIAT.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Bookings for the Urban Cross are now being accepted at all Fiat dealerships for an amount of Rs 21,000. (link)

The Urban Cross is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this month.

Don't understand why they charge a booking amount, especially, after looking at the numbers of cars they have sold over the past few months. A customer coming to the showroom with an intention to book a car should be good enough for them to place a order with the factory

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Don't understand why they charge a booking amount, especially, after looking at the numbers of cars they have sold over the past few months. A customer coming to the showroom with an intention to book a car should be good enough for them to place a order with the factory

I would assume you posted that as a serious note and respond. Fiat has all the more reasons to be wary. Two reasons:

1. Because of the lower of number of sales, if the person backs off, then they are in trouble as prospective customers are few and far between.
2. There are quite a lot of people (I know a few) who go take test rides again and again for the fun of it, and book some other car. This is probably the case with VW products too.

[manishkapadia]

Originally Posted by GTO

. But Sergio Marchionne is slowing down the development of compact cars in favour of bigger vehicles.

And if that is what Fiat wants to do then why not go all guns blazing in that direction ?. I do not think anything named Punto or Linea is going to sell in India any more. Its already dead. People buying these can almost be counted on fingertips.

While they are selling engines to the big boys like Maruti and Tata to keep their cash flows running, what I feel is they should have an altogether different set of products. Get the more expensive and bigger cars. Get the Tipo, Spider roadster and maybe a 500 suv edition. They need not even be present in all cities and towns . Just Metros and Bigger cities where there is enough purchasing power is fine.

Trying to sell cheap hatchbacks is not easy any more. Its ruthlessly competitive. Best is to do a complete change in strategy. If that means getting out of a particular segment. Then so be it.

[vivekgk]

The second reason I scratched out the Avventura during my car purchase decision was because it had a very impractical boot mounted spare wheel. The first reason was that they had no service center at Trivandrum. Otherwise it has the ground clearance, the power and handling package and other goodies.

Urban Cross looks like a great idea. Hopefully it will attract some Fiat enthusiasts who found the Avventura a bit too much "form over function". Hope they get the pricing right first time around. There is no justification for pricing this cosmetic makeover higher than more "dedicated" crossovers like the Brezza or Ecosport. It's basically the Avventura without the ridiculous spare.

[Mad Max]

What bugs me is the body shell. I maybe wrong but it looks like the same shell across their entire range. Gorgeous as it maybe, it still doesn't make any difference when you see it for the first time. It's almost like the Tata Indica shell that they kept using again and again until the market totally rejected it.

I am not sure why Fiat (and possibly others) don't have at least a few different body shell designs to work with. Maybe it's just manufacturing costs and the shared platform logic.

BTW, has Fiat forgotten to bring automatics across it's range or am I being ignorant?

[sidindica]

Some pics out, its avventura minus rear tyre

http://overdrive.in/reviews/fiat-avv...-drive-review/

[RavenAvi]

First drive report is out, courtesy Overdrive.

Excerpts:

Under the hood, the Fiat Avventura Urban Cross is powered by the same 1.4-litre T-Jet petrol that is offered in the Avventura Abarth. Get the motor to the boil and it idles with a gentle note, though it doesn’t sound as coarse as the Avventura Abarth since the Urban Cross doesn’t get a sporty silencer. Our drive started from Viman nagar in Pune where we were greeted with dense Monday morning traffic. The petrol motor felt as refined and smooth as on the Avventura and the Punto Evo, since the overall characteristics of the motor have been retained. Once the tacho needle crosses the 2,000rpm mark, there is ample power to play around with. Push the throttle further and it is then you realise that the motor makes a meaty 140PS and 210 Nm of torque. There is negligible turbo lag as the motor builds momentum from lower speeds. As soon you enter the peak mid-range, there is a sudden rush of power that makes the front wheel sprint and squeal. At times, it gets a bit too much for the steering to handle. My favourite bit is when the motor crosses the 4,000rpm mark as the engine makes a sweet note as well as feels at its element. Even cruising on highways is impressive with this motor as it can reach triple digit speeds and hold it confidently at 2,500 rpm.

Coming to the option that might be the more popular choice, the diesel Aventura Urban Cross uses the same 1.3-litre Multijet engine that has been doing the duty in the other derivatives of Punto as well as in cars from other manufacturers. The diesel motor too feels refined and smooth. At lower range, one has to wait till the turbo spools up making the motor cross the 2,000rpm, wherein it feels in its comfort zone. The NVH levels are impressive as the cabin is properly insulated from redundant ambient noise. The diesel motor with its torquey nature is more suited for the highways where it can comfortably cruise at higher speeds with great ease while doing so.

Both the engines are mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The unit does a decent job, however, the spongy feel and the long throws of the gearbox along with the long travel of the clutch pedal makes the shifts feel a tad rubbery. This also hinders squeezing out the maximum out of the 140PS motor, which is a big drawback. While driving uphill in the diesel Urban Cross, even though the number of shifts were less, we believe with a smoother shifting experience, the overall drive feel could have been better. Ride and handling is Fiat’s forte and the Urban Cross too retains this character. The suspensions in the Urban Cross have been tweaked to offer a softer ride compared to the Avventura stated the Fiat team. However, like the Avventura, the Urban Cross too rides really well on bad roads. At normal speeds in the city, the setup comfortably absorbs the disturbances caused by potholes and speed breakers. Even on highways, the suspensions manage to keep the cabin completely inert from the uneven undulations of the surface.

[BeantownThinker]

The strategy adopted by Fiat is extremely confusing to say the least. First you had the Punto (which was plain vanilla). Then you have the Avventura (which was like an Urban crossover or whatever you might want to call it) and now, you have the Urban Cross placed in between the two? What are the guys at Fiat smoking?

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

- Single petrol variant - Emotion,
- Two diesel variants - Active & Dynamic,

So you are saying they do not offer a petrol in a mid variant and not diesel in the top variant.

[aditya.bhardwaj]

As a Fiat owner myself, i don't understand whats even the point of launching the urban cross. They could have just updated the Avventura and launched the urban cross as a facelift.

I really don't want this company to die down. Not because i own a car from this particular brand but the cars they make are extremely good but seeing the decisions the company is making, things are not looking good

[dark.knight]

I really don't understand the majority negative comments, yes I get that most of you like Fiat and are writing out of concern but this Urban Cross to me, with the new grille, cladding and headlamps is the most beautiful Punto yet, not as plain and simple as the first version and at the same time very conservative as well. This design makes the Polo look like a box.

Fiat has finally achieved perfection, without that useless spare-wheel clamp on the back, and having beige+black interiors unlike the total black interiors of Avventura, the engine is perfect for the car and is perhaps the greatest combination of ride+handling+power in a hatch thus far. Just hope they get their act together on the service factor though. Fiat is the tops when it comes to driving - PERIOD. This from someone who doesn't even own one.