Fiat is planning to launch the new Avventura crossover in the Indian market in the next two months. This was revealed by the president and managing director of the Italian manufacturer’s Indian arm, Mr Nagesh Basavanhalli, at the launch event of the Fiat Punto Evo, the company’s newest product. Pegged to be the country’s first CUV or ‘Contemporary Urban Vehicle’, the Avventura will rival other sub-four metre crossovers – the Toyota Etios Cross and the Volkswagen Cross Polo.
The Fiat Avventura concept made its first public appearance at the Delhi Auto Expo, earlier this year. The Avventura is actually based on the Punto hatchback’s platform, though it gets many styling elements like bash plates, plastic cladding and roof rails to give it a rugged appeal. The front will closely resemble the new Punto Evo, though the bash plate will set the two apart.
While the concept sported LED fog lamps and DRLs, the production-spec car might ditch them in favour of regular bulbs to keep costs low. The rear spare wheel mount of the car gets a very unconventional design. While the tail gate opens upwards like a regular Punto Evo hatchback, the spare wheel has been mounted on a separate side-hinged tail gate which opens outwards.
The powertrain options for the Avventura are expected to be carried over from the Punto Evo. The car will be available with two petrol engines and a diesel engine, with the latter being available in two states of tune.
While the compact SUVs and crossovers are selling like hot cakes (read Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport), the Etios Cross and the Cross Polo haven’t made a big impact in the Indian market. As these cars share a majority of components with the hatchback they are based upon, they aren’t very expensive to develop and manufacture. With just two cars in its line-up, Fiat has a relatively small presence in the Indian market. Besides the Avventura, Fiat is also planning to launch the Abarth 500 as a completely built unit in this year.
