Fiat Linea - History

History

Linea's size is similar to saloon versions of small family cars, like the Ford Focus, Mazda 3 and Vauxhall/Opel Astra. Its wheelbase is 2,603 mm (102.5 in), i.e. 100 mm (3.9 in) longer than its sister models, and its total length is 4,560 mm (179.5 in) or 500 mm (19.7 in) longer.

The first launch, in Turkey in 2007, was initially available with a 1.4 Fire gasoline engine and 1.3 Multijet diesel engine. Then the 1.4 TurboJet engine with 120 PS and 1.6 diesel with 105 PS made available to the market. The production at Tofaş plant is mostly aimed for local Turkish, whereas CBUs are shippsed to EU market and CKD components are shipped to Tatarstan plant of Fiat joint venture in Russia.

Launched in September 2008 in Brazil, Linea was available with a 1.9 L 16v "Torque" engine with 132 PS (97 kW; 130 hp), flexible for the Brazilian market (capable of using petrol or ethanol). Also in Brazil Linea is available with a 1.4 L 16v T-Jet engine with 152 PS (112 kW; 150 hp), the same engine used in Fiat Grande Punto Abarth in Europe, capable of using only petrol, as this engine is imported.

In 2010 (2011 model) Fiat replaced the Torque engine (1.9 16v Flex) with a new 1.8 16v E.torQ, derived from old 1.6 16v SOHC Tritec engines used in Mini Cooper and Chrysler PT Cruiser. Fiat Powertrain Technologies changed the displacement from 1598 cc to 1747 cc and made it a flex fuel engine (etanol/petrol). Max power output was the same (compared with old Torque engine), but it would come earlier, and torque has increased from 183 N·m (135 lb·ft) to 185 N·m (136 lb·ft). Car performance was not so different, this was more a strategic decision for Fiat (using only E-Torq engines in Latin America).

Launched in January 2009 in India, the Linea is available with a 1.4 L Fire petrol engine 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp), 1.3 L Multijet diesel engine and 93 PS (68 kW; 92 hp). Another variant of the Fiat Linea, which includes the much acclaimed 1.4 L T-JET Engine pumping out 114 PS (84 kW; 112 hp), was released on 8 October 2010 in India.

Fiat Linea runs in a different segment and has different competition in Brazil and India. In Brazil it is positioned against Honda Civic, Chevrolet Vectra (Opel Astra), Toyota Corolla, Citroën C4 Pallas, Nissan Sentra and Ford Focus whereas in India it is positioned in the upper C segment and goes against cars like Ford Fiesta, Honda City and Hyundai Accent/Verna.

This positioning has been done to gain a foothold in the Indian market and to achieve the reduced price several features such as the TS and ESC are optional.