2014 Auto Expo: Fiat India unveils New Linea sedan facelift and Abarth 500 high-performance hatchback

Snapshot: Apart from unveiling the Grande Punto-based crossover-styled hatchback, the Avventura, at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, Fiat India also unveiled the facelifted version of the New Linea sedan and the Abarth 500 high-performance hatchback. 

The New Linea will go on sale in the next month or so while the Abarth 500 hatchback will go on sale later this year. While the New Linea will be sold through Fiat’s newly established range of independent dealerships, Fiat is mulling the setting up of exclusive dealerships for the Abarth range of high performance cars.

Coming to the facelifted New Linea in itself, the car gets a revised front end with a new grille, bumper and chrome bits. The rear of the car sees the number plate getting re-positioned with a chrome strip prominently emblazoned on the boot lid. On the inside, the car gets a new dashboard and slight changes in the texture of the materials used.

Enthusiasts will be disappointed to know that Fiat has missed a trick by not endowing the diesel powered New Linea with a 1.6 litre Multijet turbo diesel motor. The 1.3 litre variable geometry turbo equipped diesel engine outputs 91 Bhp-209 Nm. The petrol engines remain the naturally aspirated and turbocharged 1.4 litre motors. All engines get a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard.

The Fiat 500 Abarth will be imported through the completely built unit (CBU) route. The car gets an uprated version of the 1.4 litre turbo petrol engine, one that outputs 133 Bhp-206 Nm. The engine will be paired with a manual gearbox driving the front wheels of the car. The 3-door Fiat 500 Abarth will compete with the Mini Cooper. Expect the Abarth 500 to be priced close to the Rs 20 lakh mark.