Fiat’s crossover spotted in India for the first time

It has been speculated since long that Fiat was to launch a crossover version of its Punto hatchback and the same had been spotted undergoing trials in Italy. For the first time though, this test mule of the crossover has been caught on camera, in India. Fueled by the rise in interest in crossovers, created by the Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport, Fiat is set to debut the crossover at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, next month.

The car will carry forward the architecture of the Grande Punto hatchback. The car will carry plastic cladding all around to give it a rugged look and set it apart from the hatchback. A closer look at the previous spy shots showed the absence of a rear differential, so we can expect it to be a front-wheel-drive urban car, rather than an off-roader. We can expect the car to be offered with an option of a 1.4-litre petrol engine or the 1.3-litre Multijet diesel. The petrol will produce 89bhp and 115Nm of torque and the diesel will either be available in the 90bhp or the 75bhp guise. The former is most likely to make it to the production model. The interiors of the car will borrow quite a few parts and be designed along the lines of the hatchback.

The Fiat Avventure, as it is now speculated to be called, will be a sub-four metre car, and will go up against crossovers like Volkswagen Polo Cross and Toyota’s upcoming Liva Cross. Apart from the Avventure, we can expect to see the Linea facelift and Abarth Punto, the souped-up version of Grande Punto at the Auto Expo.

Source: AnythingOnWheels