Fiat do Brasil has launched its locally-made Idea minivan after spending about about $US200 million readying its plant in Betim city, Minas Gerais state to build the new car.
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Externally, the Brazilian Idea is similar to the European-made model but has different bumpers, grille and headlights.
However, Fiat Brazil has made significant changes in areas less obvious at first glance – the model’s platform and interior.
While the European-made Idea is built on the second generation Punto platform (a model not sold in Brazil where an updated version of the 1980s-design Uno is still built), the Brazilian Idea is built on a new, locally developed architecture that shares 20% of its parts with the Brazilian-made Palio model line, to reduce production costs.
The dashboard of the Brazilian-made Idea is also based on that used in the local Palio – as a result the instrument panel is conventionally located on the driver’s side instead of in the centre console as in the European model.
“Latin American drivers do not like the cluster in the centre of the dashboard so we changed its position,” said Fiat do Brasil engineering director Appio Aguiari.
For Brazil, the Idea has two flex-fuel engine options – a ‘Fire’ 1.4-litre eight-valve unit developing 80-81hp depending on the fuel used (petrol, alcohol or a blend of the two) and a GM-built 1.8-litre eight-valver.
The use of the GM engine in Fiat models (also seen in the Palio and Stilo here) is a result of the now defunct Fiat-GM Powertrain joint-venture.
Fiat has, however, made some changes to its version of the 1.8-litre engine for the Idea, including a Bosch flex-fuel system instead of the Magneti Marelli system used in Palio/Stilo engines.
The change has boosted the power output from 106hp/110hp to 112hp/114hp along with improved, though unspecified fuel consumption figures.
Fiat Brazil is aiming its new Idea at the locally-made (largely Opel-designed) Chevrolet Meriva and Honda Fit (aka Jazz in Europe).
“We expect to sell about 2,000 units of the Idea per month,” said Fiat do Brasil president Cledorvino Belini.
In comparison, during the first seven months of this year, Honda sold 2,849 Fits a month and GM shifted 1,531 Merivas.
In November, Fiat Brazil will begin Idea exports to Argentina and shipments to other Latin American countries will follow. For these markets the little minivan will have a GM-made petrol-only 1.8-litre eight-valve engine developing 110hp.
Fiat plans to export between 4,500 and 5,000 Ideas each year.
Rogério Louro
