Linear Programming

Fiat has been in India for a long time. We had the Millicentos, what are commonly known as ‘dukkar’ Fiats, the ubiquitous Padmini, and the Uno. It was in 2001 that the Palio wowed the automobile-buying public, but the after-sales and service left a lot to be desired, as it did with Petra and the Palio Weekend/Adventure. Now, however, they’ve given themselves a new lease of life with the Linea, which is a sedan based on the Grande Punto, itself a car that has revived Fiat’s fortunes worldwide. Does it work for India?

Most modern cars are designed with the head, not the heart. They find novel ways to maximize interior space while using up as little space as possible on the outside. The Linea finds the sweet spot between giving up looks for practicality, and sacrificing practicality at the altar of beauty. The bluff, Maserati-like two-part grille and twin-pod lights enliven things up at the front, and flow into the wheel arches, waistline and windscreen. The only external clue that distinguishes the diesel from the petrol lies on the grille: a discreet ‘Multijet’ badge sits to the left of the Fiat badge. Door-mounted mirrors mounted on stalks instead of the window frame that made their Indian debut on the 500 are present on the Linea as well. Shutlines are impressively small and consistent, not just for a Fiat, but for any car in the class. We love the ‘V’ that the shutlines that run from the headlamps and tail lamps to the wheel arches make. This is very evident when the car is viewed from the side. The side view also brings out the staid three-box profile of the car which somehow doesn’t seem unexciting at all where the Linea is concerned. It’s probably because of those wonderful alloy rims on the top-end variants, whose multi-spoke design, as with all Fiat alloy rims, will make you want to steal them if you own a Fiat. At the rear, the Linea echoes the front with the bootlid and bumper mirroring each other, and a row of three reflectors in each tail-lamp. Given our own Linea, we’d wire them all to come on when the brakes were applied – a lot of the effect is lost in the daytime, when only the smallest, innermost lights switch on with brake application. Chrome rub strips on the doors and a chrome detail for the bottom of the windows adds a touch of class to the car. However, the effect of the chrome is quite lost when on the minimal grey version. Low-end variants get no chrome on the body – even the grille is matt black. We like the Linea best in flamenco red and hip hop black – the other options being medium grey, foxtrot azure, pearl champagne, and bossa nova white.

The interiors of the Linea have Italian styling influences. The beige and black interiors with the silver centre console is simple and most of the controls are user-friendly. The interiors have been ergonomically designed except for the power window switches on the driver’s side which we feel are placed too far ahead – all tall drivers kept lowering the rear windows when reaching for the front window switches. The mirrors are electrically adjustable, but need to be folded manually. Driving at night is never an issue with the bright twin-barrel headlamps - going faster than 80kph at night will require you to switch the high beams on, but even the low beams are more than adequate on a dark road with many oncoming vehicles.

The car has typical Italian fit and finish with many small Fiat touches like the illuminated driver and passenger vanity mirrors, the base of the needle on the speedometer has a chrome ring and metallic finish, the Fiat logo embossed on the insulation in the boot, and the steering wheel has grips for those who like to hold the wheel at the 10-to-2 position.

The Linea has a centrally integrated audio system that plays a single disc with USB connectivity in the glove box which can be slightly difficult to locate. The controls that are mounted on the steering wheel control the audio system through the Blue&Me – some sub-menus of which like hooking up your phone via Bluetooth can take a bit of time to understand. The audio quality on phone calls is fantastic and it also supports reading out of SMSes and voice commands. We found that the same song played via a USB drive offered better clarity and loudness compared to when played from a compact disc.

The seating position in the Linea is more than adequate – at the price, none of its owners will be complaining about legroom. Two six-footers will sit comfortably behind one another in the Linea, and there is enough headroom at the rear for tall passengers as well, although the rear windows don't go down all the way, which can be annoying. There are a fair number of storage spaces for knick-knacks, but there is a lack of functional cupholders in the Linea. The doors won’t hold any bottles, and keep a large-sized milkshake from McDonald’s in the cupholders ahead of the gear lever, and they will tip thanks to the protruding centre console. This brings the total number of useful cupholders in the Linea to two, both of which lie in the centre armrest at the rear. There is space for your phone in the armrest between the front seats, the glovebox is usefully large, and we found that on long drives, chocolates can be kept cool by placing them in the small space provided above the central air-con vents. (We’re sure Fiat didn’t think of that!) The boot is large enough to carry a lot of equipment (and a motorcycle tyre) as we found out when we took a week-long road-trip in the Linea.

Engine
The Fiat Linea is available with two engine variants, the the 1.4-litre FIRE petrol engine and the 1.3-litre multijet diesel engine which even powers some Maruti Suzuki and Tata cars like the Swift, Swift Dzire, Indica Vista and Indigo Manza. Both engines are transversely placed and power the front wheels through a 5-speed manual transmission.

The Linea petrol possesses a 1368cc four-pot motor that generates 90bhp and 115Nm of tprque. It is refined at low revs, but doesn’t manage to move its 1240kg bulk smartly. It isn’t slow – a 0-100kph time of 15.8 seconds is decent enough. The urgency that we’ve come to associate with Fiats is sorely missing in the petrol Linea. It is an efficient engine that sounds really very nice when revved to the redline, but a car as big and as capable as the Linea deserves more go. This is also brought sharply into focus when you consider that cars at this price point like the Verna and Fiesta usually offer 100bhp petrols with larger displacement in a lighter, smaller body. Cars of similar overall size, on the other hand, offer even more power, all of which combines to make the Linea petrol feel slow. We can’t wait to get our hands on the T-jet when that engine launches in India.

The 16-valve 1.3-litre Multijet engine used in the Fiat Linea has a variable geometric turbocharger (VGT) and the engine pumps out 85bhp of power at 4000rpm and maximum torque of 203Nm at 2500rpm. The 1.3 multijet powerplant has won many awards including “the International Engine of the Year”award in 2005. The multijet engine developed at the Fiat Research Centre uses electronic control to inject fuel many times during every combustion cycle, which reduces the combustion noise, lowers emissions and betters performance. All this is achieved with low weight in a compact and highly reliable powerplant which adds to the positives of the engine.

The turbo kicks in at about 2000rpm and keeps things going till the redline at 4500rpm, and the increase in torque can be felt at this point. However, below 2000rpm, there is very little urge from the motor. This turbo lag can be especially frustrating in slow traffic. Out on the highway, the engine is vibe-free but gets noisy above 3000rpm.. Keep the engine in the powerband, and you will rewarded with a quick, eager car. In our test, the Linea multijet took 15.3 seconds to clock 0-100kph and 20.18 seconds in the quarter mile run.

Drivetrain
The gear ratios in the Linea are well matched to the engine, making both city and highway driving convenient. However, in the diesel variant, the difference in the first and second gear ratios is felt when up shifted to second gear at a low speed, as the power drops under 2000rpm. This turbo lag is the Achille’s heel in the powertrain and we hope with the larger diesel motor (we hear it will be the 1.6 Multijet) this will be eliminated.

The gear shifts are slick and throws positive. The short throws make lightning-quick shifts possible. The sedan took 4.9 seconds and 4.5 seconds in petrol and diesel respectively in our 30-50kph test in the third gear, in the 30-50kph run in the fourth gear, the petrol took 7.5 seconds and the diesel took 8.9 seconds. In the 50-70kph run in the 5th gear, the Linea petrol took 9.7 seconds and the diesel took 9.7 seconds.

Fuel Efficiency
The diesel Linea will offer you at least 10kpl during normal driving, and on a constant high-speed highway run, we managed to achieve 14kpl without trying hard. The petrol is also quite efficient, offering between 10 and 11kpl during normal usage.

The Lineas have been designed to give occupants a comfortable ride without compromising on great handling – people who own Fiats will vouch for this. The Linea has independent helical coil springs, double acting telescopic dampers and stabiliser bar at its front and torsion beam, helical coil springs and double acting telescopic dampers and stabiliser bar at its rear. Softly-sprung suspension affects the handling of a car at high speed and stiff suspension affects the ride quality, but the double-acting telescopic dampers help to achieve better ride and handling at higher speeds. The ride at both low and high speeds is good and the dampers absorb all road shocks well.

Fiats have always been known for their precise handling. Get behind the wheel of a Linea and you won’t be disappointed. This Italian beauty outclasses most Indian cars when it comes to handling. The level of confidence the Linea gives even an average driver is fairly high we could tackle corners at higher speeds compared to other cars. The car turns in with no sign of nervousness at all and even sweeping corners are dealt with extreme ease.

The steering wheel of the Linea is light and weighs up gradually while cornering and at high speeds due to the suspension setup. If you’re in search of a car which can give you driving pleasure, the Linea should be one of the cars in your list.

The Fiat Linea has a ground clearance of 161mm, which along with a short wheelbase of 2603mm makes it easier to go through potholes and bumps. However, if the car is loaded with more than three people and a fair amount of luggage, large speedbreakers (carbreakers!) could become a problem as we discovered on our road trip. At any time, the low chin can scrape against a speedbreaker or an on-ramp if the driver isn’t careful.

Braking
The Linea has ventilated discs at the front and drum brakes at the rear. The brake pedal feels soft and has good bite. To help the driver maintain control in extreme situations and over various surfaces while braking, the Linea has an anti-lock braking system (ABS) with EBD. The brakes don’t merely offer good feel; they bite well also. In our test, the Linea petrol covered _metres and diesel covered 30.2 metres before coming to a standstill from 80kph. The diesel took 30.8 metres.

Tyres

The Linea comes equipped with 195/65R15 tyres, with the option of alloy wheels. Our test car was equipped with Goodyear GT3 tyres. They tyres gripped well and offered low tyre noise. Unlike some cars at the same price, all variants get the same tyres; the only difference is in the wheels.

Safety

The top-end Linea variant features dual front airbags and dual member side-impact beams for passive safety. For active safety, the car comes equipped with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with EBD. Other safety devices are the immobilizer, child locks and double crank prevention system to avoid damage to the engine if it’s cranked while already running, a standard Fiat system.

The Linea epitomises what a Fiat is and should be to us. It’s good looking, has good ride quality, packs in brilliant handling, is built like a rock and has a decently appointed interior with all the frills expected in the segment with the Emotion Pack Plus. Add to this equation a frugal pair of engines, and now better sales and service – there’s little wonder why we’ve been seeing so many Lineas (and Puntos) on the road. This does seem to be Fiat’s comeback car and this time around, with improved ownership experiences, there’s little stopping FIAL from becoming a household name once again.
    If you’re in the market for a stylish, contemporary sedan which looks more expensive than it costs (especially with the alloys and chrome bits on the top-end variants) with a frugal engine, a perfect blend of ride and handling, and most importantly, if you’re passionate about cars, look no further than the Linea. There’s still some soul about Italian cars that makes them stand out from the competition.