2014 Fiat Avventura crossover styled hatchback continues testing on Indian roads

Fiat India is testing the Avventura crossover styled hatchback quite extensively on roads in and around its Ranjangaon factory, off Pune. CarToq recently snapped up one such on-test Avventura on Pune streets. The Avventura is a crossover styled hatchback that is based on the Grande Punto’s underpinnings.

To justify its crossover badging, the Avventura gets revised headlamps and grille design when compared to its hatchback sibling. Roof rails, taller wheels, body cladding, revised bumpers and a spare wheel mounted on the hatch lid makes the Avventure look more butch than the 2014 Grande Punto facelift, which will be launched in India next month.

The Avventura is expected to be launched during the festive season, and will be priced and positioned above the Grande Punto Facelift. A 1.4 liter-4 cylinder FIRE petrol engine (89 Bhp-115 Nm) and a 1.3 liter Fiat Multijet turbo diesel engine (91 Bhp-209 Nm) are expected to be carried over from the Punto hatchback to the Avventura.

A five speed manual gearbox will be deployed for gear shifting duties and this gearbox will drive the front wheels of the Avventura. An all wheel drive layout will not be offered on the Avventura, even as an option. Though the beefed up 200 mm+ ground clearance gives the Avventura the stance of a small SUV, the car is strictly an urban crossover.

On the inside, the Avventura is expected to borrow interiors from the Punto, including the new dashboard that considerably brightens affairs. The Avventura’s feature set too, is expected to be similar to what’s offered with the 2014 Punto Facelift.

The Avventura will be Fiat India’s third major launch for 2014, after the Linea and Punto facelifts. The final launch of the year from Fiat will be the Abarth 500 high performance hatchback. With a completely revamped product line up and a steadily increasing number of dealerships across the nation, Fiat will be hoping that its sales see a boost as well.