Dear Fiat, get us the Aegea please!

What's common between the Panda, 500 X, Viaggio and Doblo? Well, most of you would have guessed it but for those who didn't, these are successful Fiat cars that never made it to India. Its a pity as each of them could have made it really big in the Indian market, if priced, positioned and marketed right.

The Aegea, Fiat's latest model that was unveiled in Turkey a few weeks back, might unfortunately be heading in the same direction already. Fiat India, as usual, would take ages to get this here by which time the competition would have taken the game far ahead. That would be a shame as the Aegea is all that Fiat needs to turn its fortunes around in the Indian market and much more. Just look at it, we are not getting carried over here! As they often do, the Italians have got the design, styling and proportions spot on yet again. Here is a mid-size sedan that not just adds a boot onto a hatchback or has its boot chopped off to get to a certain length. Designed to be a sedan from grounds up, the Aegea looks striking and elegant at the same time.

Look at the grille, for instance. Featuring details that appear to be inspired by a German luxury hatchback we know, it adds a lot of drama to the Aegea's front. The drama continues all the way to the rear where the unique taillights are sure to carve an identity of their own. The silhouette is amongst the most beautiful to have come out in recent times. The interiors are stylish and appear to be well-made with flowing contours that blend well with Aegea's external design. An array of buttons underlining the center air vents and the climate control buttons stacked in a triple circular layout just below them look particularly nice. With a wheelbase of 2640 mm, the Aegea can be expected to be more spacious than the Linea that we have in India. 

A design as appealing as this, powered by a combination of punchy T-Jet and frugal Multijet engines, with that near-perfect ride and handling balance that Fiats are known for is the perfect base using which Fiat could stage a comeback of sorts. All it has to do is bring the Aegea here as soon as it goes on sale internationally and, crucially, tidy up its sales and servicing operations. But then, who are we to plan all that? Is the powers that be at Fiat even trying to read our minds? They better do, for their own sake!

Alfa Romeo Giulia is an Italian with Germans in sight

One of the most anticipated cars of recent times, the Alfa Romeo Giulia, was unveiled at a special event in Italy earlier this week. In what could be termed as yet another attempt of challenging the supremacy of compact executive sedans from Germany, the Giulia would rival the likes of Audi A4, BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class when it goes on sale in 2016.

Featuring Alfa Romeo’s legendary trefoil nose characterized by the triangular grille, the Giulia looks menacing when viewed up front. Adding further to the ‘aggression quotient’ are the large air dams flanking the grille on either sides and the sculpted hood with functional air intakes. The silhouette, with the long bonnet and the stubby boot encompassing a classic angular glasshouse, is curvaceous and beautiful. The prominent shoulder line that boomerangs out of the fender air duct is sexy as are the stunning petal-shaped rims shod with thin rubber. The split taillights appear to have been heavily influenced by those found in Maserati Ghibli, which isn’t a bad thing at all. More hints on the performance on tap could be found in the rear bumper diffuser with integrated quad exhaust pipes.

The Giulia is stylish no doubt, but its predecessor 159 looked sexier, we think.

Under the hood of this range-topping ‘Quadrifoglio’ trim is a V6 turbo petrol engine delivering an impressive 510 horsepower, enough to propel the car from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. Available in both rear wheel and all wheel drive layouts, the Giulia boasts a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Offering sophisticated ‘Alfalink’ multilink suspension setup at the rear, electronically-controlled adaptive dampers, double-clutch ‘Torque Vectoring’ system that controls torque delivery to each driven wheel and a new Alfa DNA system that lets the driver choose from one of the four driving modes available – Dynamic, Natural, Advanced Efficient and Racing, the Giulia promises an entertaining drive. What’s more, this new Alfa sedan uses light-weight materials like carbon fiber, aluminium and composites extensively in its construction like some more expensive cars we know. 

Well, all we can say is be prepared for a really big smile when you get a chance to sit behind the wheel of this new Alfa. 

With Fiat Chrysler Automobiles charting out major growth plans for Alfa Romeo, the Giulia has got a significant role to play to make that happen. Let’s hope the Giulia succeeds in its mission. With Jaguar lining up its XE and Alfa Romeo coming up with this red hot sedan, we bet the German trio would be watching this space closely than ever before.