Indian Autos blog

The 2012 Fiat Palio (codenamed Project 326) has been under testing since ages. We got you a spy video of the Palio way back in October 2010. Countless renderings later, we have some more spy pics for you straight from Brazil. The new Palio is a little larger than the current one and gets more sophisticated styling. The guy who took the spyshots tells us that up front, the headlights  [ Read More ]

Chinese manufacturer Zotye Auto, which had tied up with Premier India to launch the Premier Rio in India, has acquired rights for Fiat cars in China and they have started producing remodeled Fiat Palios and Sienas with ‘Zotye’ badging.

These car gets a thoroughly revised styling and don’t look similar to the Fiat Palio and Siena at all. The cars features two petrol engines, a 1.3 liter producing 99 hp and 126 Nm of torque and a 1.5 liter producing 119 hp and 147 Nm of torque. The cars come with three transmission options, a 5-speed manual, 5-speed automatic and 4-speed sequential shift tranny.

Zotye Palio’s exterior looks refreshing. The cars interiors get a huge makeover and draw inspiration from the European Ford Fiesta. The Chinese Palio is loaded with safety features like Dual-airbags, ABS with EBD.

The Zotye Siena’s exterior is a ‘sad’ interpretation of the Volkswagen Polo at the front and an Audi at the back. The side profile looks like a disfigured form of a Ford Crown Victoria (the cop cars that we see in Hollywood).

The Premier Rio mini-SUV is nothing but a rebadged Zotye 2008 which again is nothing but a rebadged Daihatsu Terios. Then would these Zotye Fiat cars come to India as a Premier then? Chance-less! Zotye is licensed only to sell these modified Fiats in the Chinese market. That comes a huge sigh of relief for us.

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After numerous spyshots, leaked drawings and design renderings, here comes another rendering of Fiat’s 2012 Palio. The car in the sketch has the now familiar split radiator grille. The headlamps are inspired by the Fiat Punto and the car is muscular and well-proportioned.

The 2012 Fiat Palio will be based on the Fiat Novo Uno’s platform. The 2012 Palio, which has been given the internal codename of Project 326, would be borrowing a lot of design and styling cues from its elder sibling, the Fiat Punto. The car will be one size smaller to the Punto and will therefore be priced lower as well.

The engine options in the car could range from a 1.0 litre Multiair petrol engine, with advanced variable valve timing to the now familiar 1.3 litre Multijet oil burner.

Fiat could consider re-launching the car in India, given that the erstwhile Palio did reasonably well enough in the Indian market, before Fiat killed the car with its awful after sales support. The car, if launched in India, will be priced in the 3-4 lakh price bracket and will also be backed up by a growing number of Tata-Fiat service stations.

If Fiat does launch this car in India, it will be betting big on it, since the Punto has not yet met the expected sales targets and Fiat after discontinuing the old Palio in metros, does not have a car in the high-potential 3-4 lakh price segment of India’s small car market.

We will undoubtedly miss India’s first hot hatch as Fiat has no BS4 plans for it

We’ve said enough about the Fiat Palio on IAB. We were eagerly anticipating the launch of the refreshed model with slightly more powerful engines. Our anticipation is a far cry from reality as Fiat dropped a bomb shell when talking to DNA India’ correspondent.

Rajeev Kapoor, chief executive officer, Fiat India -

There will be no upgrades for Palio and the current product will continue to sell.

The company spokesperson reaffirmed the decision by saying there was no plan to upgrade the engines to comply to BS4 norms. The Palio is one of the best small cars money can buy in India. However, India fails to agree. Just 50 odd Palios are sold in our country every month, beating some of the luxury cars by a hefty margin.

The Fiat Palio can be bought with a 1.1 or 1.6-liter petrol engine, or a 1.3-liter diesel engine. Fiat is aiming to convert customers looking for Palio in to buying its new bet – the Punto.

While the next generation Palio according to some reports is more than a year away, we wonder if Fiat will ever bring back the Palio name into India’s main cities.

Itaipú Binacional – the World’s largest Hydroelectric facility and Fiat Brazil have joint hands to manufacture, assemble and test electric versions of Palio Weekend called Palio Weekend Electrico which was unveiled at the Sao Paulo motor show last year.

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The Fiat Palio Stile 1.1 had been launched here in 2007, with hopes that it could bring back the glory days of Fiat and Palio’s hatchback dominance. But unfortunately for Fiat, it had been an instantaneous failure, obviously due to a recipe failure-Great looks, solid comfort, reasonable price, but a catastrophically impotent 1.1L petrol engine. IAB thinks that the Fiat Palio Stile(petrol) seriously needs an engine makeover. Read on!

The Fiat Palio has been around for, believe it or not, 12 years and facelifts are bound to happen eventually. Brazil will witness the launch of this facelifted Fiat Palio in a few weeks time.

The changes are minor with a revised grille and bumper, which now looks more like an Audi’s bumper. The headlamps are also different. Nothing is known about the interiors, but we think it should be totally revamped. Reports suggests that India will also embrace a facelifted Palio in a few months, and maybe this car is what they mean by that?

While strolling around at a nearby Tata dealership to have first-hand updates of the Tata Nano and the Limited edition Indica – release and the lot, my eyes inadvertently came across a rather strange looking red car, that demanded a second glimpse.

Got closer and walked around the car, I couldn’t help but notice its compact size and the nostalgic Italian roots for, its as Italian as Pasta. Side on, you just cant ignore the multi-spoke alloys and the way it blends into the entire car’s exterior appeal. Boy, the Italians always get it right! Somehow it had the charm and appeal, none of the other cars in the stable had.

Obviously, I just couldn’t keep staring at the car from outside, so i decided to hop in. Open the door and you are welcomed by the trademark ‘Fiat door opening thud’ noise. The entire six foot one inch of me could get into a car effortlessly.