Maruti Ertiga needs no introduction and the response the car has received has made new success stories. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has been in demand in both rural and urban areas. Ertiga is a 7 seater MPV with flexible seating arrangement and flat folding seats. Compact exteriors, light weight and high fuel economy are some of the USPs of the Ertiga MPV. Interestingly, the Ertiga is based on extended Maruti Swift platform because of which it gets its excellent handling and drivability characteristics.
Many other automobile majors are planning and developing vehicles to take on the Ertiga like we recently reported the Honda’s Brio based MPV, Chevrolet Spin launched in Brazil and may come to India in future. Now news has arrived that Fiat is developing a Fiat 500 based micro MPV. This MPV will be based on the longer wheelbase Fiat 500 L. Fiat 500 is one of the legendry cars, in a modern package with holding its retro style and image. In India Fiat 500 has not done well, overpricing is one of the reason. As per the media reports, this new MPV will be based on the Fiat Punto platform. The image provided is inspired from the Fiat 500L which was showcased at the Geneva Motor Show.
The car sustains it metro looks, the front is a typical Fiat 500 and rear is new. This new MPV may not be muscular or spectacular to look at but surely is a cute and good for family looking vehicle. The MPV looks quite spacious with lots of Glasswork Fiat will try to give the cabin an airy feel. Fiat might give this MPV a 50 based interior with some different bits to give the car its own character and some panels to match with the body colour.
To power this MPV the Italian based automobile manufacturer may use the similar 1.3 Multijet CRDI Diesel engine, the company will surely tune the engine and make it more refined and produce more power using variable geometry turbocharger or VGT.
This new MPV might also replace the Fiat Idea in Europe and will surely hit the American Market. In India if the Fiat is able to achieve high localization of the components and could price it in Rs. 8 Lakhs to Rs. 11 lakhs price bracket then only it could give some competition to the segment king Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. A lot needs to be done in this area and the plans are at very initial stages, if this project gets a green signal from Fiat, this car maybe launched in India by 2014 or later. We will keep an eye on the updates and keep you posted. Stay tuned to Car Blog India for more details.
via – Autocar India
Updated on 17th August 2012
Fiat 500XL official patent drawings have been revealed on the web and here is how the official design of the Fiat 500XL will look like:
As per the official details, the Fiat 500XL will be 150 mm longer than the Fiat 500 car and will have seating for 7 adults. This car, if localized in India, can be produced at very competitive prices especially with Fiat’s own multijet diesel engine powertrains and can be a strong rival for popular Maruti Ertiga and Mahindra Xylo in the MPV segment.
We will keep you posted on the developments on the Fiat 500XL MPV, stay tuned.
image credits – CarScoop
