Test drive fiat albea (siena) since 2005 sedan

Fiat albea for $ 12,000 against competitors

Photo: Denis Smolyanov
Auto -journalists love to test beautiful and expensive cars - give them continuous Porsche or BMW. But personally, I like to drive cheap cars more-it is always interesting to talk about them, there are always any shortcomings, and potential buyers of these cars are ten times more than premium premium sedans. So this time the article will be more than serious - when evaluating cars applying for the title of people, not to jokes.

Fiat albea just recently entered our market. So far, the attitude towards this car for most drivers is ambiguous. The image of the Fiat brand is slightly spoiled by previous years. However, Albea acts in that class where the image does not play a special role. Like beauty. After all, this car costs only a little more expensive than the Russian dozens or Renault Logan.

The simplest Albea Base is sold in Russia for 315,000 rubles. or $ 12,000. For this money, the buyer will receive a car with a 1.4-liter engine with a capacity of 77 hp. (there is no other), a hydraulic wrap, a heated rear window, an audio training and a driver’s airbag. There will be no kondeya for 12 pieces. Therefore, the optimal configuration is a version of Classic for 346,000 rubles. or $ 13,200. There will already be an electric package (front glass + mirrors), the rear seat folding in parts (there is no important little thing in BASE), air conditioning and fog. Well, at the top of the gamma there is a version of Comfort adds two additional adjustments to the driver's seat, ABS with a system for distribution of brake force and a second airbag. Comfort costs 368,000 rubles. or $ 14,000.

The Fiat Albea sedan is a Turkish version of the Fiat Palio World Project, which took place in 1996. At the end of last year, Albea began to be collected in Russia at the ZMA factory, where the Italian little car replaced our Oka. While in Naberezhnye Chelny there is a coarse assembly, but the mass production of a car with welding and the coloring of the bodies will soon begin.

I decided not just to ride a car through the streets, but ... to direct the wheels to other car dealerships to compare Albea with its rivals in the struggle for honestly acquired and with such difficulty accumulated money.

To begin with, I will do what I have never done during the test of foreign cars I will go towards the LADA car dealership. Anticipating your indignation, I will explain. There are many people who will prefer the top ten or Lada Kalina, not Albea. And in fact, they will have their own arguments: LADA-110 is cheaper, spacious and cooler (the latter statement is very controversial) than the Italian-Turkish-Russian micro-broken. And if the top ten or Kalina produced some Hyundai or Chevrolet, then these cars would go with us with a bang, because as thought they are very good. But (there is always it but). Everyone knows the main drawback of cars assembled on AvtoVAZ. And let the representatives of the Togliatti auto giant swear that the quality of the machines has recently grown significantly, that high -paying and absolutely independent specialists from Europe are working in the purchase department of components, that the new Priora sedan for $ 11,000 will not still believe that in reliability, which is reliability. Our cars are at least equal to the same fiat.

But Renault will fight Fiat albea, and even how. Perhaps this French company is the strongest opponent of Fiat in the market of budget cars, because in the Renault clip there are two models at once that really compete with Albea is Logan and Symbol.

The cheapest and most empty Logan drum costs $ 9,699. If you compare the machine in the configuration of similar albea without air conditioning, it will turn out about $ 10,800. That is, $ 1,200 is cheaper than Italian. True, Logan also has its own but. And now it will not be about reliability, but about design. Like it or not, Logan cannot boast of beauty. And many directly call him a freak. Albea appearance is better. The car looks very good, especially in front. And the view in the profile does not make you shudder with horror.

In the salon, Albea surpasses Logan at least the Italian has normal doors with handles, and not some kind of misunderstanding like Logan. In addition, Albea, starting from the second configuration, can be folded in parts - Logan has no ability to transform the trunk at all. You can say that this is nonsense, but for the only car in the family (for most buyers Logan and Albea it will be just like that) this is a very serious drawback. Therefore, you can advise the leadership of Severstal-Avo to not be greedy and make the folding rear seat even on the cheapest Albea.

But what Logan wins with Albea (besides the price) is in smoothness. The chassis Albea allows you to confidently pass the vast majority of the holes on the road and not be afraid of our asphalt. And on the rural road this car will not shake out the soul from passengers. Moreover, on the Italian you can almost calmly pass for the bedridle police officers. And not crawling through them, but even at quite decent speed. But Logan is even more comfortable than Albea!

As for Renault Symbol, this car is very close to Albea in all respects. Symbol in the basic configuration, which is very similar to Albeyevskaya, costs $ 12,249, and the version with the air conditioner will cost $ 13,849. It turns out not much more. The design of the machines is different, but the hunchbacked Symbol has already become confused on our roads and does not cause antipathy (although Albea is still more beautiful). True, Symbol has two pluses - even for the simplest cars you can order ABS and a safety pillow for the passenger (Fiat can be obtained only in the most expensive version), and the buyer of the French car can choose a car with a machine gun ($ 14,049 ) and/or with a more powerful engine (98 hp).

Symbol has approximately the same suspension in comfort as Logan, the equivalent design of the cabin (not similar, but equivalent), 1.4 liters similar in power of engines with a volume of 1.4 liters. (77 hp in the case of fiat and 75 hp at Renault), and they are not too different in handling on the road.

Although at first Albea disappointed. And not because of the motor, thanks to the successfully selected gear rates in the box, the engine is very alive here. He does not make Albea a city lighter, but 77 horses are enough for a normal city driving, especially when only one driver sits in the car. But the handling scared! If the car is shod in winter studded rubber, then on the asphalt at a speed of more than 70-80 km/h it begins to frankly swim.

But then I happened to ride on Albea with summer tires. And the control situation has become much better. The car drove as required from a folk foreign car - without a light, but reliably and confident. Although the situation with studded tires cannot but alarm.

In the Kia and Hyundai car dealership (now cars of these companies are often sold under one roof) I am interested in two models at once - Hyundai Accent and Kia Spectra. The cost of the basic Accent with air conditioning, but without an electric drive and airbags is 323,000 rubles. And with a driver's pillow and ABS already 356,000 rubles. Prices are comparable to Albea, and the Italian machine looks preferable. Kia Spectra is more expensive, although you should not discount it, especially if you want to buy a car in expensive configuration. After all, Spectra with two pillows, kondem and an electric packet costs 381,000 rubles. That is, only 13,000 rubles. More than the maximum ALBEA equipment. KIA design, of course, is not a fountain, but it is noticeably more spacious than an Italian car. For many, this factor will be crucial.

Another strong competitor Fiat Albea is the Peugeot 206 Sedan Iranian assembly. Compared to other budget foreign cars, the French sedan is just a handsome man, and the equipment of the car is not bad. As for the price, it starts from 329,000 rubles, but the version with the air conditioner pulls 350,000 rubles. That is, 4,000 rubles. more expensive than similar albea. At the same time, there will be two pillows, a CD player, an electric drive of the front glasses and a foggy room in such a PEUGEOT 206 SEDAN.

Conclusion. Fiat Albea turned out to be a rather interesting car with a very attractive price. Thanks to the latter, Albea is already in great demand. However, the competitors of this model are very strong, so when the mass production of Albea will begin in Naberezhnye Chelny (now there is a screwdriver assembly), it would be good to reduce the price. The $ 1,000 discount will make Albea one of the most profitable offers in its class. In the meantime, Albea is no worse, but no better than most of its rivals.

Source: Auto.mail.ru