2018 Fiat Cronos (Linea replacement) sedan: This is IT

Fiat has revealed the Cronos C-Segment sedan, which will replace the Linea in international markets. The Italian automaker has not revealed if the Cronos will replace the Linea in India as well. The Linea, first launched in 2009 in India, is 8 years old now and most of the cars that it competes with have seen multiple generation changes. So, there is an urgent need for Fiat to replace the Linea with the Cronos in India as well. However, the company is now focusing on building the Jeep brand in India. So, the Linea may simply be retired without no replacement here.

Coming to the new model – the Cronos – it is based on the Argo hatchback. The Argo hatchback is the Grande Punto’s replacement in international markets. Even this car is not likely to come to India. The Cronos is basically an Argo in a sedan form factor.

It gets a similar front end. At the rear, the boot integration is quite seamless and the rear has some hints of Audi and Hyundai in terms of design. Overall, the Cronos is quite a good looking car. It will be first launched in South American country Brazil, which is a big market for Fiat.

The Cronos will be offered with a 109 Bhp, 1.3 liter flex fuel engine for the cheaper models with the costlier ones getting the 139 Bhp, 1.8 liter flex fuel engine. Flex fuel refers to the ability of an engine to run on both petrol and petrol blended with ethanol.

Both engines get 5 speed manual transmissions as standard. The bigger engine is also offered with a 6 speed automatic gearbox. Since Brazil does not prefer diesel engines on smaller cars, a diesel engine option in missing for the Brazilian market. However, other international markets that favour diesel engines are likely to get diesel variants of the Cronos.