GAC Fiat (GAC being the acronym for Guangzhou Automobile Company) unveiled the all new sedan entirely made in China, the Fiat Viaggio. Marking a key milestone in Fiat’s comeback in China, GAC Fiat also brought the Fiat 500 ‘by Gucci’, Fiat 500C, and the crossover SUV Fiat Freemont.
Fiat has pulled it off elegantly. While the teaser images had us slightly worried about the new Fiat face, we think Fiat Group’s Style Centre has pulled it off! Another Fiat to remember.
The Rear tail lamps are LED lights and look stunning. Fiat designed the Viaggio to be a world compact sedan unlike any others in its segment. Equipped with the overall dimensions which are “lower, wider, and longer” inherited from the architecture and platform upon which it is based, the CUSW (Compact US Wide) architecture. It is the most advanced within the Fiat Group, and it is also the basis of the new Dodge Dart, recently presented at the Detroit Motor Show last January. The CUSW architecture is, in turn, derived from the Compact architecture originally developed for the best-selling Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The Viaggio is the first product of collaboration between the Italian and American marques, where they share technologies and components and most of all best practices for engineering and design capabilities.
An extended C-pillar enables a sleek silhouette. The Viaggio will have an abundance of elegant chrome details, even on the base variants.
While Fiat is yet to treat us with the interior images, they say the on-board experience is “driver centric”. A unique “floating island bezel” which combines the cluster and centre stack and helps distinguish the interior from others. No films, faux woods, or imitation metals: the dashboard boasts a clean look, featuring high-quality soft-touch surfacing with tactile grains in an elegant and warm dual tone (black/beige) cabin. Premium quality materials result in premium tactility. A balanced presence of chrome details and silver-plated elements add brightness and a touch of sophistication to the elegant dashboard. On top trim levels, the presence of the 8.4 inches touchscreen radio navigation unit adds to the sophisticated environment a top high-tech feature unique to the segment.
The Fiat Viaggio will be the only car in its segment to offer exclusively sophisticated Turbo engines (1.4L T-Jet 120 HP and 150 HP) on the Chinese market. Available are Fiat’s latest generation 6 speed dual dry clutch automatic transmission, and alternatively the well-tested 5-gear manual transmission.