Even though it wasn't sold in whole Europe, probably most of you already know this car.



I don't get why don't Fiat Linea wasn't (and still not being) a sales success despite it's a very good option. What about an affordable car with Punto's dynamics, italian design and more room?



As nearly 100% of the cars sold in Brazil came from the USA back in the 1940's, it's a national preference since them the sedan body. That's why our Civic and Corolla are the USDM ones and the Marea was sold here until the MY08 for example. Fiat couldn't keep on without a medium-sized (in Brazilian standards) sedan so in the MY09 Linea made it's début and brought a very interesting trim-level...



... The T-JET, sold from the launch through mid-2012. VL36 (Abarth) turbocharger is fitted instead of VL37 and the engine outputs 152 bhp and 206 nm. The gearbox isn't the Vauxhall/Opel M32 found on GPA but the genuinely-Fiat C510 (found on A500): as diesel-powered engines are allowed only on cars able to load at least 1 ton, it wouldn't be clever import the M32/C544 gearbox to be used only on Punto's and Linea's T-JET trim. Except for the more refined interior, the rest is pretty much the same as found in GPA: 17x6.5" wheels, 205/50 R17 tyres etc.



The Linea T-JET sprinted from 0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds (versus GPA's 8.2 seconds) with a top speed of 129 mph (versus 130 mph). Not a tornado, but enough to scare some Ford and VAG guys used to subjugate Fiat.



Affordable, plenty of room, well-finished, (kind of) fast, sleeper, sharp to steer, accurate to brake and executive-looking: that's the recipe used by Fiat to create the Linea T-JET wich we all miss. Now expectations are high for Fiat's next fast sedan: a FGA-based car with a Multilink rear suspension, the C636 TCT and the 1750 TBi? All we can do now is wait...

kinda reminds me of the VW passats

Looks okay - but the Punto front end does look a little garish with the sedan body....

Ziggy

While all other manufactures look at ways to unify there brand across many markets fiat seem to be doing the exact opposite.

20 years ago a ford contour in the USA was the first ford brand car to share a platform with the European models, now the usa have the focus the mondeo and the fiesta, vw, Mercedes, bmw don't make special one off models for different countries, yet fiat seem to make a different car for every country. The avventura in India is a prime example. The Palio as well cars we never saw in the UK I think the Palio made it to some parts of Europe, they carried on making the mk2 Punto till 2012 for most of the world except the UK. Yet in the UK and Europe we get the abarth models and panda which the rest of the world don't get,

Why do fiat make it so complicated, they're building the cars anyway just make them available to the world and let the customer decide what they want.

Its far from the worst car I've ever seen but I can't see Fiat ever attempting to take on the Focus/Astra/Golf again in the UK.

Gavv8 said:

Its far from the worst car I've ever seen but I can't see Fiat ever attempting to take on the Focus/Astra/Golf again in the UK.

Click to expand...

If they had made the linea as a long hatchback then it would have made a very worthy alternative to the Renault Megan, Citron C4, Peugeot 307 etc.

Other makers like to diversify the line up fiat seem to want it as narrow as possible, then wonder why they struggle to compete, when they have no choices or options

AndyRKett said:

While all other manufactures look at ways to unify there brand across many markets fiat seem to be doing the exact opposite.

20 years ago a ford contour in the USA was the first ford brand car to share a platform with the European models, now the usa have the focus the mondeo and the fiesta, vw, Mercedes, bmw don't make special one off models for different countries, yet fiat seem to make a different car for every country. The avventura in India is a prime example. The Palio as well cars we never saw in the UK I think the Palio made it to some parts of Europe, they carried on making the mk2 Punto till 2012 for most of the world except the UK. Yet in the UK and Europe we get the abarth models and panda which the rest of the world don't get,

Why do fiat make it so complicated, they're building the cars anyway just make them available to the world and let the customer decide what they want.

Click to expand...

I think exactly the same. In 1982, Chevrolet came up with the Monza here (a badge engineered Opel Ascona C). In 1983, was time to Ford launch it's Mark III Escort. Then in 1984 Fiat unveiled the Uno (146). That would be the right way to do it...



Instead of producing the Punto (176) all over the world, Fiat decided to launch the Palio (178) as a development of Punto's chassis (early 1996). Ok, it's right that this chassis had to be stronger to face rougher roads as Brazilian ones, but that doesn't mean that Fiat had to build another car. Then they launched the rest of Palio's family: in the beginning of 1997, the Palio Weekend (the wagon, sold in early 00's there in Europe). Late in the same year, the Siena (the saloon version, marketed in some Eastern European markets) and in 1998 the last 178 car, the Strada (marketed today under the Fiat Professional brand in most of Europe). Now Palio and Siena are in an entirely new generation (under 326 internal code sold AFAIK only on Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay) while Palio Weekend and Strada are still built over 178 platform (in their fourth facelift)...



This is only ONE example. What's the problem in keeping the products up to date and globally sold? The Panda, for example, if properly adapted to each enviroment, could be the perfect entry-level car for Fiat all over the globe.



Sometimes italians make themselves hard to understand!

Ziggy122 said:

kinda reminds me of the VW passats

Looks okay - but the Punto front end does look a little garish with the sedan body....

Ziggy

Click to expand...

Kinda impressive... The design at least was well-accepted here (they use to find it much more harmonic than Focus Sedan and far more beautiful than the Corolla).

Gavv8 said:

Its far from the worst car I've ever seen but I can't see Fiat ever attempting to take on the Focus/Astra/Golf again in the UK.

Click to expand...

Now that was realy impressive. The Fiat Linea is a very good car (sharp ride, great room, well finished etc.), but people don't get it well (even in Brazil). They'd rather buy a dull 4-speed automatic Toyota Corolla or a expensive Honda Civic instead of rely in an upper-class Fiat saloon.

AndyRKett said:

If they had made the linea as a long hatchback then it would have made a very worthy alternative to the Renault Megan, Citron C4, Peugeot 307 etc.

Other makers like to diversify the line up fiat seem to want it as narrow as possible, then wonder why they struggle to compete, when they have no choices or options

Click to expand...

I don't think so... If they already had the Bravo as a hatchback in the C-Segment, why would Linea be a great option alongside. Furthermore, Fiat would still need a C-Segment saloon for markets as Brazil, Turkey, Spain etc.

Barcellos said:

I don't think so... If they already had the Bravo as a hatchback in the C-Segment, why would Linea be a great option alongside. Furthermore, Fiat would still need a C-Segment saloon for markets as Brazil, Turkey, Spain etc.

Click to expand...

The brava really didn't sell well in the UK, it never really had a place, or pitched it's self against the other manufacturers

If you look at the UK 2001My Marea and Marea weekend you'll see they are basically the same model cars as the palio and sienna, so we did at least get a version of them

AndyRKett said:

The brava really didn't sell well in the UK, it never really had a place, or pitched it's self against the other manufacturers

If you look at the UK 2001My Marea and Marea weekend you'll see they are basically the same model cars as the palio and sienna, so we did at least get a version of them

Click to expand...

So didn't it in Brazil. The only one upper-class Fiat hatchback that was a selling success here is the Tipo. Them some cases of fire wreck Fiat's reputation in the C-Segment, and that means that Marea, Marea Weekend, Brava, Stilo and Bravo had never had great sells here. But I wasn't talking about the vecchia Bravo (Type 182) but about the nuova (Type 198). I don't know how could a notchback Linea and the current Bravo live together.



In another point I disagree with you: I could never compare a Marea to a Siena or a Marea Weekend to a Palio Weekend. Entirely different propoeses, powertrain, finish and so on.



Talking about Marea and Marea Weekend, we had some interesting options of powertrain here. From early 1999, we received the inline-5 from the Coupé 20V Turbo (a detuned option, 182 bhp and 265 nm). In mid-2000 we received the N/A inline-5 2.4 20V from the Lancia Kappa to replace the N/A inline-5 2.0 20V. I still plan to buy a Turbo and a HLX 2.4 20V...

Linea was sold in Finland with some limited success. It did not sell like Punto but you do seem them on the road occasionally.

In metal it looks a bit clumsy, Punto front end with ok'ish hatch but a bit too narrow, so not a real looker.

Drove one briefly when they came out, very Puntoish. I think there were some rust issues with the first ones.

All in all, probably a decent car but does not float my boat like say Strada pick-up would

-Tazio

I still think the marea weekend in a nice colour with nice alloys is a really good looking car.

^
Fully agree with you. Our Marea STW was replaced by AR 156 almost a decade ago and I still occasionally miss it!

-Tazio

Tazio said:

Linea was sold in Finland with some limited success. It did not sell like Punto but you do seem them on the road occasionally.

In metal it looks a bit clumsy, Punto front end with ok'ish hatch but a bit too narrow, so not a real looker.

Drove one briefly when they came out, very Puntoish. I think there were some rust issues with the first ones.

All in all, probably a decent car but does not float my boat like say Strada pick-up would

-Tazio

Click to expand...

After owning a Grande Punto, I owned two Lineas (not the T-JET) in a row and I can say properly that it's a good car.

IMO it has a beautiful design although it's kind of narrow. Obviously it doesn't snows very often here in Brazil (only in the extreme South) and when it does they don't throw salt on the roads. Nevertheless, there are cities here wich's air is very salty (e.g Vitória) and there never were rust issues here.

Yes, it's very Puntoish what IMO is a quality. The following excerpts are from a respected magazine that compared in late 2008 the Linea to the Mark II Focus Sedan:

"With regard to handling, the two cars have everything to please the segment drivers. The Linea has more sporting behavior, with a suspension a little more sensitive than the Focus, delivering more floor vibrations. In turn, the Focus is slightly more comfortable. [...] The driving position of the Linea also reflects his sporting vein. The driver fits better in the seat and is more aligned to the panel. In this respect, it resembles the Punto. The Focus does not care to offer this position to the driver. For those traveling on the rear seat, the space is similar in both, but the Linea is cozier."



What we can take from this is that the Linea is greater than the Focus, a segment's reference in quality and handling. In the occasion, Linea also had more equipment, was cheaper and they said that it was better finished.



Strada's platform is kind of obsolete, but it still the best-in-class. Great handling, performance and consumption beside it's praticity and bravery. Another very good Fiat, the third best-selling car in Brazil (Palio comes first and Volkswagen Gol comes behind).

^
Thanks for informative post/s!

Strada Pick-up has this Euro El Camino vibe that I just love One in red and with Adventure Locker would be the perfect mate for my Chevy truck

-Tazio

Gavv8 said:

I still think the marea weekend in a nice colour with nice alloys is a really good looking car.

Click to expand...

Yes it is! And very sporting as well. Look at the Weekend Turbo: 182 bhp, 265 nm... We can do bad thing to a car that goes from 0-62 mph in 7,9 seconds and can get to 140 mph. Want a quieter one to use in the city? Look at the HLX Automatic 2.4 20V: 160 bhp, 206 nm (95% of which available from 1,500 rpm). Goes from 0-62 mph in 10,2 seconds and goes through 125 mph. And remember that both could be fitted to power sunroof, sidebags, electric adjustable seats etc.

So yes, despite it's and old car and kind of expensive to maintain, the Fiat Marea is still a very, very good vehicle.

Tazio said:

^
Fully agree with you. Our Marea STW was replaced by AR 156 almost a decade ago and I still occasionally miss it!

-Tazio

Click to expand...

Agreed! There are almost seven years since they stopped selling Marea in Brazil and I still miss it!

Tazio said:

^
Thanks for informative post/s!

Strada Pick-up has this Euro El Camino vibe that I just love One in red and with Adventure Locker would be the perfect mate for my Chevy truck

-Tazio

Click to expand...

You all are always welcome, thank you.

My uncle owns a Crew Cab Adventure Locker. What a great car! For sure your Chevy needs a Strada to match!

^
I wish. Guess the closest place to hunt for one would be Germany

Now hang on, there's a Crew Cab as well? I've only ever seen regular ones

-Tazio