Fiat Seicento – compact car expertise

Fiat Seicento

August 2001 Fiat Seicento – compact car expertise
Fiat’s Seicento is a small car – barely 3,3 metres long and 1,5 metres wide – yet it is an approved 5-seater. In terms of its market targeting, it is smaller than an Uno, but more expensive, being thoroughly more modern and safer and brimming with the latest technology. As such, price-wise it slots in between the Uno and the Palio. According to Fiat, the primary target market of the Fiat Seicento are both male and female buyers aged between 20 and 30. Its local competitors are the Daewoo Matiz, the Hyundai Atoz Prime and the Daihatsu Cuore.
Fiat believes buyers within the compact car segment are a heterogeneous group: young students, pensioners, housewives, working women and professionals who use their car to commute around town. Despite their different needs, tastes and lifestyles, all these customers have something in common: the desire for a compact yet real, comprehensive and utterly satisfactory car. The Seicento is a tangible response to cater for different needs and individual lifestyles, a car able to reconcile opposites and overcome constraints of income, age, mileage and situation. The Seicento comes imported fully built up, with two versions available in eight fun colours. The entry-level model is called S and the other, with revised gearing for more gutsy performance, is called Sporting. The latter is easily distinguishable by its sporty body-coloured bumpers, spoilers and door mirrors, black bump side strips and alloy wheels. The bumpers and door mirrors on the S are black and the wheels are steel.
Due to its compact size, the Seicento’s strong points are its ease of handling and high standard of visibility. Occupant safety is assured by front seatbelts with inertia reel and pretensioners, an energy absorbing steering wheel with a collapsible steering column and anti-submarining seats. Both Seicento versions are powered by the Fiat’s 1108 cc FIRE engine with electronic multi-point injection which develops 40 kW at 5 000 rpm and 88 Nm of torque at 2 750 rpm.
According to Fiat, the S consumes 4.7 l/100 km and the Sporting 5.2 l/100 km. To aid in the safety department, the Seicento is fitted with a dual crossover hydraulic braking system, while the suspension layouts have classic independent configurations to ensure superlative comfort and excellent roadholding. The front suspension is of the MacPherson type with lower wishbones and coil springs and the suspensions at the rear has tension arms that are anchored to a subframe which is secured to the body. The Sporting is fitted with a new-generation electrical power assisted steering (EPAS) for maximum driver comfort and driving pleasure. On both models, the grille is blended into the bumper and is located beneath the licence plate. The halogen headlights add a pleasant ‘smiling’ look to the front end. They are complemented by two small half-moon shaped turn indicators (both are enclosed within the same shape). Indicators and repeaters on the side of the car have a clear lens colouring.
The door handles are black on both versions while the door mirrors, adjustable from the inside, are black on the S and body-coloured on the 'Sporting'. On both mirrors, the ends are covered by a black patch that serves both as a means of protection against scratches as well as an additional styling touch. The rear of the Fiat Seicento is very distinctive where the focus is concentrated on the big rear window designed to ensure maximum visibility while giving the model an understated, yet up-to-date appearance.
Inside, great attention has been paid to detail on all the elements of the Seicento to offer an excellent standard of user-friendliness, acoustics and air conditioning. Instruments and controls feature screen printing. The background is black with white numbers and the lighting is orange, the same shade as the interior control LEDs. A digital clock and trip meter are standard on both versions. Features include easy-opening rounded door handles, easily-identified, user-friendly controls, highly legible instruments and an original facia. The facia, grey in colour, is treated to achieve a satin finish on the outside and a scratch-resistant finish inside the open compartments on either side of the dashboard. The seats are comfortable, user-friendly and trimmed with top-quality cloth. Adjustable front headrests, seat slide mechanisms and reclining seat backs allow individual comfort to front occupants. An effective front seat tilt allows easy access for rear occupants. Seats on the Sporting are anatomical for added comfort.
Standard equipment on the S includes air conditioning, inertia reel and pretensioners on height adjustable front seatbelts, three-point inertia reel rear seatbelts and centre lap belt, Fiat CODE anti-theft immobiliser, halogen headlights with adjustment control, a rear wash/wipe and steel rims (155/65 R 13). The Sporting boasts body-coloured bumpers, electrical power steering, tinted windows, front electric windows, a rev counter, side panels with black rubber strips, alloy wheels and wider tyres (165/55 R 13).
Eight exerior colours are available. These are Bloom Yellow, Titian Red and Steel Grey, the latter being the only metallic colour to dress the Sporting. Four metallic shades are available on the S - Scilla Red, Athena Blue, Arianne Green and Calypso Orange, joined by one pastel shade in Black. Like all other models of the local Fiat range, the Seicento enjoys the full after-sales backing in South Africa thanks to a comprehensive parts inventory and to trained technicians at Fiat dealerships countrywide. Fiat Auto South Africa offers owners of the Seicento a 36-month/100 000 km mechanical warranty, three years on paintwork and five years on anti-perforation. The new models are also covered by the ‘Fiat Care’ policy in conjunction with the AA Fleetcare roadside assistance. The service, which is active 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, is available by calling the dedicated toll-free number 0800 223 727. Services are required at 20 000 km intervals.