The story of Linea-r progress

The Italians know how to design a car, and the Fiat Linea is one such beauty that continues to be one of the most gorgeous looking sedans on Indian roads. This, despite the fact that the car is actually three years old in the country.

Highlights:

- The ground clearance of the Linea has been increased from 161mm to 185mm.

- All the variants on the Linea get auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers as a part of the standard fitment.

- The kit offered on the Linea T-Jet remains the same and Fiat will introduce changes on the T-Jet at a latter stage in this year.

The Linea however had started to look a little outdated compared to its competitors when one started looking at the features list. Most new sedans had a longer more comprehensive list of equipment they offer their owners. But Fiat seems to have done its homework well on the 2012 model of the Linea. The interiors on the 2012 car feel plusher but haven't changed in the way they look.

The 2012 Fiat Linea doesn’t get any cosmetic changes externally. The Emotion version of the diesel now comes shod with gorgeous looking 16-spoke alloys and 16in tyres that came with the T-Jet Plus. Apart from this, the rest of the kit remains identical to the previous car.

Fiat has tweaked the engine too, for better fuel economy and the 1.3-litre now returns around 20.4kmpl in the ARAI cycle instead of the previous 19.9kmpl. There is not much of a difference in the ride and handling characteristics of the Linea. However due to the raised suspension, the Italian beauty feels a bit wallowy on bad patches, but not nervous.

Step inside and you will notice the interiors feel more premium. Now even the mid-variant (Dynamic) gets the soft-touch feel and chrome strips just like the flagship T-Jet Plus. The older Emotion Pack is now the new Dynamic version and the new range topper Emotion is loaded with features of the T-Jet Plus.

Fiat has added a lot of features to the range topper, but what is noticeable is that now, even the entry-level model comes loaded with many frills, making it a great value proposition. Meanwhile people planning to buy a top-of-the-line C segment car, can upgrade to an Active Linea.