The Hindu Business Line : Fiat discontinues ‘Adventure’

Fiat India has discontinued the Fiat Adventure (sport estate). Based on the global 178 (Palio) platform, the estate model has been discontinued for the last two months said the official spokesperson of the company.

The company posted sales of 38 units in July as they were the remaining units that were pending with various dealers nationwide. The vehicle was then available at Rs 5.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai). For the present year (January–July), the company clocked 181 units of the sport estate model while in 2006, it clocked 595 units.

It’s the second model from the 178 platform that has been discontinued. Recently, the Petra or the former Sienna (mid-size sedan) was the first model that was discontinued by the company.

The Fiat Adventure was a sporty estate and the last model from the 178 platform derived to cater to the all weather performance of an SUV (sports utility vehicle), refinement of a car and the versatility of an MPV (multi purpose vehicle). It was a first of its kind for the Indian market. The petrol variant with its 1.6-litre 100bhp engine could not pull in the numbers as required while the diesel variant with its 1.9-litre turbo diesel engine was an excellent weekend vehicle but priced too high.

The design of the vehicle was very captivating that prompted Indian companies such as Tata Motors to showcase concept vehicles such as the ‘Xover’ and the ‘Cliffrider’. It had similar design cues from the ‘Adventure’ said experts. The design cues have prompted various auto majors such as Daimler Benz to come out with their own models such as the R- class.

The crossover design was a stepping stone to the estate (station wagon) design in India. The estate design then primarily dominated by the likes of Baleno Altura, Corsa Swing, Sienna Weekend, etc; making a mark in the hearts of certain die-hard fans of estates!

Now this segment is primarily dominated by the Skoda Octavia Combi as the sole contender of this niche but cult segment.