Siena's superior/comfort design

FIAT - ONE of the world's oldest car manufacturers - is back in India to compete with the other car giants. Fiat has been among the leading players in the European market and Italians do know how to make comfortable and fast cars.

Many may probably be not aware that the Italian interests include some of the world 'marques' - 'Ferrari', 'Maserati', 'Alfa Romeo' and the 'Lancia'. Fiat has been their flagship company and its mass-produced cars are available in almost the entire range in Europe, but to start with, their re-entry into India was through their best seller - the `Uno'. Now, they are introducing the `Siena' and the `Palio' - their mid-segment cars.

Operating in India since 1905, when Bombay Motor Cars was appointed as their selling agent for passenger cars, Fiat's interests were, till recently, looked after by Premier Automobiles Limited.

Today, more is expected of a car - comfort, safety, style, fuel- efficiency, speed and last but not the least, durability and ease of maintenance. The Siena has been designed keeping in mind the above parameters. It has a multi-port fuel injection system integrated with the ignition, in keeping with the Euro norms.

Having had a chance to drive one for a short distance and subsequently take a peep at what was happening under the bonnet, I could make out the superior comfort design and the quietness of the world-class engineered vehicle. Under the bonnet it was a treat to see how most units had easy accessibility with the diagnostic plug right in the front for a quick, computer readout.

The Siena will be a 3-box car with options of petrol with 1.2 mpi (multi port injection) 'fire' petrol engine capable of delivering 72 bhp at 6,000 rpm. Or, the diesel version with a 1.7 litre turbo diesel engine capable of delivering 64 bhp at 4,500rpm. A slippery, elongated bubble looking car would have one of the lowest co-efficient of drag (0.33) to give maximum fuel- efficiency and the interior can carry five passengers comfortably. The driver has a very commanding position where he does not have to put too much effort to see what is happening around him - a very large viewing area in front and at the back with almost no obstructions at critical places. Fiat has also made sure that some of the safety norms pertaining to the year 2003 are introduced in their automobile, thereby making the vehicle safe for its occupants.

With car-lifting becoming a second hobby for some of our naughty citizens, the Siena incorporates an electronic key (code) as an option for its owners, which protects the vehicle by shutting down all operations if a wrong key is used.

Although in the '0' to 100kph test the Siena did not prove to be the fastest it was not too badly off, placed third after the Honda and the Maruti Esteem.

The `td 60' - the turbo diesel version - is also a reasonably quick machine with the turbo doing the trick. Personally, however, I would have preferred a closer gear ratio in the initial take off, for the numerous city stop-and-go traffic signals. The Siena td60 is the quickest of the mid-segment cars available in our country, having a perpetual `garrett t-15' turbo working quietly but surely under the bonnet. Diesel engines by nature are noisy to start, purely because of the very high compression ratio, but modern engineering has definitely made them quieter once they attain the ambient temperature and also more fuel efficient. Siena, with its latest technical innovations, is here to give the user the basic freedom of using the latest technology.

In spite of the fact that our roads are no compare to European highways, the Siena does take our rough roads in a not too uncomfortable stance. The air-conditioning is provided by 'Sanden' and the audio system by 'Fiat' themselves.

The additional features are a five-year warranty against corrosion, two years cosmetic corrosion, one-year unlimited warranty on mileage and an additional one year warranty, subject to a total running of one lakh kilometres in two years for an additional cost of Rs. 5,000 only. All this on a first come first serve policy with no bookings.

Tutu Dhawan

(The author can be contacted at: anything@tutudhawan.com)

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Previous : Voodoo of statistics and woes of growth rates
Next     : FEMA - control or management?