Fiat Albea

Fiat Albea
2005 Fiat Albea (post-facelift)
Overview
Manufacturer	Fiat
Also called	Fiat Siena (China)
Production	2002–2012 (Turkey) 2002–2006 (China) 2006–2011 (Russia)
Assembly	Bursa, Turkey (Tofaş) Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia (Sollers)[1] Nanjing, China (Nanjing Fiat)
Designer	Giorgetto Giugiaro
Body and chassis
Class	Subcompact car
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Related	Fiat Palio Fiat Siena Fiat Strada Fiat Perla Zotye Z200
Powertrain
Engine	1.2 L Fire I4 (petrol) 1.4 L Fire I4 (petrol) 1.6 L Sevel I4 (petrol) 1.3 L MultiJet I4 (diesel)
Transmission	5-speed manual 5-speed semi-automatic (Speedgear)[2]
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,439 mm (96.0 in)[3]
Length	4,210 mm (165.7 in) (2002–2005)[4] 4,186 mm (164.8 in) (2005–2012)[5]
Width	1,703 mm (67.0 in)
Height	1,489 mm (58.6 in)
Curb weight	1,045 kg (2,304 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Fiat Siena

The Fiat Albea is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 2002 and 2012, at the Tofaş facilities in Turkey. It is the European version of the global Fiat Siena, the sedan car derived from the Fiat Palio supermini. It is a low cost sedan, aimed at developing countries markets, and was not available in Western Europe.

It was also produced in China, where it retained the Fiat Siena nameplate and had two derived versions, the Fiat Perla and currently the Zotye Z200.

Production

2002 Fiat Albea

2005 Fiat Albea

The Albea was designed by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. It has a similar design with its South American equivalent, the Siena, but with a longer wheelbase.^[6] The extension is visible in a somewhat extended segment between the trailing edge of the rear doors and the rear wheelhouse.

A facelifted version has been available since February 2005, two months before the Palio underwent a similar restyling.^[7] This version has a new front end, no bumper moldings, and a round "Fiat" badge in the top center of the trunklid.^[8]

From 2006 to 2011, the Albea was assembled from complete knock down kits in Russia, in Naberezhnye Chelny, at the Sollers plant. The car was available in Russia with 1.4-liter petrol engine only.^[9]

Production in Turkey ended in 2012, ending altogether production of the European version of the Palio.^[10]

Expansion

Sales of the Albea have been slow over the past three years, due to the fact that the Albea is only sold in a few Eastern and Western European markets. In 2005 sales totaled 4,000 units and in 2006 sales totaled 3,500 units.

The car gradually became mainly used as a taxi in Turkey, where the "Albea Sole" version was introduced in 2007 specifically for use as a private passenger car. Turkish production came to an end in 2012.

Engines

Engine	Type	Displacement	Power	Torque
1.2 8V SOHC	I4	1,242 cc	60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp) at 5,000 rpm	102 N·m (75 lb·ft) at 2,500 rpm
1.2 16V DOHC	I4	1,242 cc	80 PS (59 kW; 79 hp) at 5,000 rpm	114 N·m (84 lb·ft) at 4,000 rpm
1.4 8V SOHC	I4	1,368 cc	77 PS (57 kW; 76 hp) at 6,000 rpm	115 N·m (85 lb·ft) at 3,000 rpm
1.6 16V DOHC	I4	1,596 cc	103 PS (76 kW; 102 hp) at 5,750 rpm	145 N·m (107 lb·ft) at 4,000 rpm
1.3 16V MultiJet	I4	1,248 cc	70 PS (51 kW; 69 hp) at 4,000 rpm	145 N·m (107 lb·ft) at 1,500 rpm

Safety rating

The Albea was tested by the Russian magazine Autoreview, according to the EuroNCAP latest regulations. It scored 8.5 points in the frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars in the EuroNCAP testings. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver airbag and regular seatbelts.^[11]

The Fiat Perla, a Chinese version of the Albea, was tested in China by the China-NCAP in three different tests: a 100% front crash test with a wall (similar to the US NTHSA test), a 40% offset test (similar to the EuroNCAP test) and a side crash test similar to the EuroNCAP.

The Perla scored 8.06 points in the 100% frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars, 12.02 points in the 40% offset crash test, equivalent to four stars, and 10,96 points in the side crash test, equivalent to three stars, with an average result of 31 points and three stars. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver and passenger airbag and regular seatbelts.^[12]

Nameplate use

In Mexico, the 2009 model of the Fiat Siena has been marketed as the Fiat Albea, replacing the Palio Sedán nameplate used on the previous series of the car.^[13]

References

1. ""Severstal-auto" JSC announces FIAT production launch in Russia". Sollers. 2006-12-01.
2. "Fiat Albea" (PDF). Fiat. 5 July 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
3. "Manual de utilizare Fiat Albea" (PDF) (in Romanian). FIAT Romania. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
4. "FIAT Albea I - Dane techniczne" (in Polish). WP.pl. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
5. "FIAT Albea II - Dane techniczne" (in Polish). WP.pl. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
6. "Fiat Albea 1.2 16V" (in Romanian). Autoshow. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
7. Mazur, Eligiusz, ed. (2006). World of Cars 2006·2007. Warsaw, Poland: Media Connection Sp. z o.o. p. 275. ISSN 1734-2945.
8. "Fiat Albea - Generatia urmatoare" (in Romanian). Autoshow. 2006-05-16.
9. "Fiat Albea". Wroom.ru.
10. Köprülü, Levent (2013-02-11). "Tofaş’tan sürpriz 2 model hazırlığı" [Tofaş plans two new surprise models]. Milliyet. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
11. "AutoReview Magazine; Russia" (in Russian). Autoreview. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
12. "China-NCAP" (in Chinese). C-NCAP. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
13. "México: Nuevo Fiat Albea 2009" (in Spanish). Autoblog Español. Retrieved 22 August 2008.

External links

• Official website (with redirects to each country's website)
• Official Russian Fiat Albea website