Fiat’s next launch in India will be the Avventura crossover, bookings for the vehicle have commenced from today across the country. One can book the Fiat Avventura for Rs. 20,000/- and the car will be launched in the second week of October. The Fiat Avventura uses the same mechanicals as the Punto but is a more rugged version of the hatchback, aimed at those who want something macho but don’t want to spend a lot of money for the same. The Avventura is a pseudo crossover, just like its competitors, the Volkswagen Cross Polo and Toyota Etios Cross.
The Fiat Avventura will be offered with two engines, a petrol and a diesel. The diesel engine is the now ubiquitous 1.3-litre Multijet unit which is offered with a VGT, producing 93 PS and 209 Nm. The petrol engine is the 1.4-litre FIRE motor which generates 90 PS and 115 Nm of torque. While the Avventura is under 4-metres in length (the tail gate mounted spare wheel isn’t included in the length) and it does get small car excise benefits, the lack of a sub 1.2-litre petrol engine on the lineup will result in the Avventura petrol not getting excise duty sops.
Fiat does need a good small capacity petrol engine for the Punto and Avventura. The company should have plonked in the 1.4-litre T-Jet mill in the Avventura which would have given it very good performance. While prices are expected to range between Rs. 6.5-8.5 lakhs (ex-showroom), the Avventura won’t be as efficient as its rivals. Like other Fiats sold in India, this Italian car won’t set benchmarks in performance either due to the average output from the powerplants. The Avventura comes with 205 mm of ground clearance which is 20 mm more than the regular Punto Evo. None of the cars in this category have managed to sell well so it remains to be seen how good a response Fiat gets for the Punto Evo based crossover.
