Fiat Linea Classic launched; Starts from 5.99 lakh rupees

Fiat has launched the Linea Classic sedan in India. The Linea Classic is a cut-price version of the regular Linea, and is aimed at budget conscious sedan buyers whose other options include the likes of the Ford Classic, Maruti Dzire and the Honda Amaze. The Linea Classic is available with two engine options: a 1.4 liter naturally aspirated petrol motor (88 Bhp-115 Nm) and a 1.3 liter, fixed geometry turbo charger equipped (75 Bhp-197 Nm) diesel engine.

The Linea Classic, with the 1.4 liter petrol engine is priced at 5.99 lakh rupees, with the diesel engined model starting at 6.96 lakh rupees. The Linea Diesel is also available in the Classic+ variant, which is priced at 7.51 lakh rupees. All prices reflect ex-showroom Delhi figures. To lower the price of the Linea, Fiat has omitted many features and creature comforts from the Classic variants.

15 inch wheels have been replaced by 14 inch units. The base variant skimps on chromed door handles, body coloured wing mirrors, automatic climate control, and steering mounted audio controls. The Fiat Blue-and-Me Bluetooth functions are also omitted from the Classic variants. However, a factory fitted stereo is retained and this unit supports AUX-In and USB.  The all-black dashboard has been borrowed from the Punto's Active variant.

The car will be sold across all independent Fiat dealerships in the country and is the Italian car maker's entry for the Indian festive season. The regular variants of the Linea, with the 1.3 liter Multijet turbo diesel engine outputting 90 Bhp-209 Nm and the 1.4 liter T-Jet turbo petrol engine outputting 112 Bhp-207 Nm will continue to be sold in India until the facelifted model arrives.

The facelifted Linea has already begun testing in India, and is likely to feature a 1.6 liter Multijet turbo diesel engine and the 1.4 liter T-Jet turbo petrol motor. It must be noted that Fiat India has been offering sizable discounts of over 1 lakh rupees on the petrol and diesel variants of the Linea sedan. From that perspective, the Linea Classic+ seems like an exercise that makes the prevailing discounts official.