4 x 4 = 16 and 16 in Italian is sedici hence the name Fiat has given to their urban 4×4. The new five door on-off roader is their first entry in the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) sector. The Fiat Sedici goes on sale in the UK from 22 April priced from £12,495.

Speaking at the UK media product launch Giulio Salomone, managing director of Fiat Auto UK Limited said, “With Sedici we want to continue the same brilliant success story in the UK as we are experiencing with the new Grande Punto supermini. ”

I promised our dealers that Fiat would be one of the fastest growing brands in the UK in March and I’m pleased to say that my forecast was correct. Our 06 new registration plate sales were 64 per cent up on March 2005. We sold a total of 10,700 vehicles in March, 6,000 of them being the new Grande Punto.”

Fiat sales year to date also show a significant increase of 44.5 per cent over the same period last year whilst the overall UK new car market is down 4.6 per cent.

Salomone continued, “I want to repeat our sales success with Sedici and there is every reason to be optimistic. In Italy in the first 10 days Sedici went on sale we sold 7,000 units and our objective for the whole year is only 12,000. We plan to sell just 1,500 Sedici vehicles in the UK in the remainder of this year and that will be a supply restricted number for right hand drive vehicles rather than the volume we could really achieve.”

The Sedici is designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in conjunction with Fiat’s own central styling facility and it is the end product of collaboration between Fiat and Suzuki. The Sedici, and the similar Suzuki SX4, are built and Suzuki’s new production facility in Hungary where a combined total of 60,000 units will be built this year, 40,000 for Suzuki and 20,000 for Fiat.

Salomone added, “Although built in a Suzuki factory, Sedici is a real Italian Fiat, it’s really stylish, solid with the best 4×4 technology. We already have great experience in this area with our Panda 4×4. The other great strengths of this car is the class leading fuel consumption, the best in comparison with other 4×4s and even compared with C segment cars such as the Peugeot 307. Sedici is the most versatile car because it is a compact 4×4 which is great in the city and the countryside with petrol and diesel; versions with Dynamic and Eleganza trim levels. When we look at Sedici against its SUV competitors, the Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, Nissan X-Trail, Toyota Tav4 and Honda CR-V we see big opportunities in this sector and there is also the opportunity to compete in the C-segment of medium sized cars against the Peugeot 307 and Renault Megane.”

Fiat UK said the segment Sedici will sell in is still growing rapidly and it is already worth 200,000 sales a year in the UK and shows no signs of abating.

Brane Bosancic, Fiat UK’s product marketing manager said, “Sedici stands out front the usual off-road crowd because of its styling. It is not difficult to handle and park and this matters, especially to our main target audience, women customers. These factors are very important especially in urban areas and for school runs where parking can be difficult. The new car is perfect for customers who have young families, it is compact but it has five doors. The comparatively low height makes the vehicle look like a compact saloon, trimmer and more stylish which enables improved performance, reduced fuel consumption and critically reduced emissions. So it’s leaner, greener as well as stylish. The on demand four wheel drive system makes it ideal for use in bad weather conditions because real life is a real adventure.”

Fiat expects 80 per cent of Sedici sales in the UK to be for the Eleganza trim specification with an equal split between petrol and diesel engines.

At launch the Sedici will be available with a Suzuki designed 1.6-litre, 107bhp petrol engine mated with a five-speed manual gearbox. In June a Fiat 1.9-litre MultiJet 120bhp turbodiesel engine with a six-speed manual transmission will be added to the range priced at £15,495. This is a significant £3,000 price premium over petrol models due to the higher cost diesel power unit and the use of a six speed transmission. At this stage Fiat are unable to confirm at what stage an automatic transmission for the petrol Sedici model will become an option but Suzuki have indicated their current SX4 models, initially only two wheel drive vehicles, will offer an automatic gearbox option this summer.

The Sedici’s on demand four wheel drive system allows for the vehicle to be used most of the time with front wheel drive. Four wheel drive is via an electronically controlled centre differential with a clutch system engaging the rear axle. In four wheel drive Auto mode the power is varied between the front and rear wheels automatically depending on which wheels have the most grip. The third transmission mode is Lock when power is provided 50-50 between the front and rear axles for maximum grip. This mode is used at speeds up to 37mph and then transfers automatically to the Auto setting for higher speeds. When the engine is switched off the four wheel drive system automatically reverts to front wheel drive.

The 1.6-litre, four cylinder, 107bhp petrol engine gives the Sedici a top speed of 106mph, 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds, a combined fuel economy cycle of 39.8mpg with 173 g/km CO2 emissions.

The 1.9-litre, four cylinder, 120bhp, MultiJet, turbodiesel diesel engine gives the Sedici a top speed of 112mph, 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds with 42.8mpg in the combined cycle with 174 g/km CO2 emissions.

Driving the new Sedici at the end of last week both on and off road, the lasting impression was - what a pretty and useful car it is. It has the same road footprint of a compact family car but with four wheel drive and it is as fuel efficient as a the best of the modern five-door hatchbacks so the anti 4×4 brigade have nothing to moan about.

With five doors passenger and load access is easy and the 50/40 split folding rear seats make it a very versatile family car. Mum’s are just going to love taking the children to school in one of these and I rather suspect quiet a number of older couples would like to be seen driving a Sedici to and from the garden centre.

We media people could only drive the 1.6 petrol Eleganza model last week, as diesel power will not be with us for a few months. I have two issues though. Number one there is no sign of an automatic transmission option for the Sedici although Suzuki will be offering that option later in the year. The second point is, I feel the £3,000 price premium for diesel versions over petrol models is too high. When you look at the fuel economy figures at this stage there seems to be very little extra fuel economy from the diesel unit but in real life motoring conditions this may not be the case. I rather suspect the turbodiesel engine will provide a better overall drive, more torque, better flexibility and response than the 1.6 petrol engine which needs to be revved hard to get the best from it.

On the road the petrol Sedici model coped more or less as well as any 1.6-litre family hatchback. Of road because it is a lightweight car it impressed with its on demand four wheel drive system. Providing the engine was revved hard it scrambled up quite steep hills and came down them in a controlled manner. The real benefit of this on demand four wheel drive system will be experienced in the winter with mud, ice and snow on the roads both in the country and in the town. For those who need to venture off-road on muddy tracks and in car parks situated in fields, the selectable all wheel drive system will be a bonus.

In short the Sedici is a very pretty, compact family sized five door hatchback will two or four wheel drive, it is clean to run and at least the petrol models are very competitively priced.

Fiat Sedici 1.6 1V Eleganza.
Price: £13,495 (prices start at £12,495).
Engine: 1.6-litre, variable valve timing, 107bhp, 145Nm of torque at 4,000rpm.
Performance: 106mph, 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds, 39.8mpg, 173 g/km.
Transmission: 5-speed manual with two or four wheel drive. VED: £150. BIK taxation: 21%.
Insurance Group: 9E.
For: A pretty compact, fuel efficient 4×4, versatile family and load carrying space, attractive pricing for petrol models.
Against: High price premium of diesel models, no automatic transmission option.

(this article was taken from askaprice.com)

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