Test Drive FIAT MAREA 1996 - 2002 Sedan

A sharp dish of Italian cuisine

Fiat Marea will collect in Nizhny Novgorod! This hearing is already rather, and not hearing at all, but a project that acquires quite real features.

Fiat Marea Fiat Marea
Fiat Marea made his debut in July 1996. In essence, this is a sedan in the Bravo Brava family. Motors gasoline volume 1.4; 1.6; 1.8; 2.0 l. Three diesel engines - 75, 101 and 124 liters. with. Transmission - mechanical five-speed or four-stage automatic. There is an option with the body of the Universal - Marea Weekend (SM, 1997, No. 12).

The appearance of cars of the Bravo Brava Marea family is difficult not to allocate in the row of others. Nevertheless, with great similarity, each of the fiats has its own character. The longest - four-door Marea is most conservative and solid.
The interior of the sedan, the main panels of which are marked by bold crooked lines, despite the originality, does not impress the impressive and obsessively decorative. The disadvantages of the finishes at first do not find, they are manifested only on an uneven road to the embroidering of individual panels. Door locks are triggered with a solid soft sound, although it would be possible to open the door to close the doors with a smaller force.
To conveniently get a handle, you have to work a little. The point is not in the form of the chair itself - it is out of criticism, but again in increased efforts required for its longitudinal movement and tilt back. Choosing a comfortable landing, make sure the flawless reach of the levers, pedals and buttons. The visibility of devices also without comments.
But with visor from Fiat Marea, not all smoothly. With the fact that the hood and trunk are not visible, it is still possible to terms - because of this, the feeling of dimensions deteriorates, which in general it is possible to get used to, but the big dead zones behind the front racks and an insufficient viewing sector through small outer mirrors is already Seriously.
The sixteenthlylated 1.8-liter engine pleased not only with his fun character, but also unpretentious to the selection of gears. Its elasticity allows you to go to V transmission at 30 km / h (!), Not necessarily on the plain. Ideal clearly turn on. And in general, the dynamic properties of Fiat Marea will quite satisfy the requests of most adherents of active ride style.
The behavior of the Italian on the road will have to obviously to taste those who are accustomed to enjoy gambling, closing their eyes to such costs as dislikes to the irregularities of the coating. Steering has an honed sensitivity. After a more relaxed counterpart, it may seem like Marea even sharp. The reactive action on the steering wheel is quite enough if you do not reach the tire clutch limit. But to catch the moment of breakdown of controlled wheels to slip is more difficult - here a change in effort on the steering wheel, which should warn about it almost imperceptibly. In the turns of Marea, the gas pedal is visible to work. Body rolls are insignificant.
The brakes do not cause remarks, making unnecessary any comments. Only the feature noted by us is the early operation of the ABS - a considerable extent can be explained by the properties of summer tires in winter conditions.
Hard in favor of excellent controllability suspension passes through itself quite a lot of jolts from road irregularities. If on a satisfactory on Russian standards, the road with light shocks can be completed, then on the cobblestone pavement, even piled by snow, shaking becomes too noticeable. Moreover, sitting ahead vertical acceleration and vibration get stronger. Well, for a sporty character you have to pay.
Marea can be called a quiet car without reservations. Even at 6000 rpm on the tachometer, the engine sounds nice, not irritating the rumor with supervisory sounds, and in the rest of the rumble and does not bother at all.
Having traveled in the back seat, came to the conclusion that the average passenger here is clearly superfluous, he sits on a convex pillow and relies with his back on a folded armrest. The extreme is also falling out: the heads close to the body racks, shoulders are closely, and in front of the knees, the minimum clearance even with a guide of medium height. In the column, the number of seats was necessary to honestly write: 4 + 1. The trunk is not bad (430 liters), but its rear edge according to the current standards is high.
Finally, let's see what features of the design should pay attention, if we bear in mind the Russian operating conditions. Full reserve - it's good, but low-lying plastic fuel tank requires careful driving. It should be noted that the engine compartment is well protected from the bottom mud, and heating and ventilation system Marea not cast doubt on its effectiveness - a lot of heat and little noise.
Competitors Marea ($ 21 900) in the Russian market abound. Today, Fiat is not the cheapest of them: Peugeot 406 - $ 20 000, aged SEAT Toledo - $ 19 000 Korean Daewoo Espero (also not the first freshness) - total $ 17,000. But Mitsubishi Charisma - a little more expensive, as much as $ 100.

The editors thank
firm Alfa Romeo Moscow for the provided test car. Details of the sale -
see dealer price.

+ The expressive exterior, interior decoration, dynamic acceleration, engine flexibility, handling and stability.
- Ride, the capacity of the passenger compartment, visibility, relatively high price.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
General information: number of seats - 5; curb weight - 1195 kg; gross weight - 1785 kg; Maximum speed - 195 km / h; acceleration time from zero to 100 km / h - 10; fuel consumption at 90 to 120 km / h and HZ - 6 / 7,8 / 10,1 l / 100 km; fuels - petrol with an octane number 95. Size mm: length - 4390; width - 1740; height - 1420; base - 2540; Track front / rear - 1480/1455; ground clearance - 120; trunk volume - 430 l; . Turning radius - 5.35 m Engine: four-cylinder, in-line, Gasoline, located transversely in front, four valves per cylinder; working volume - 1747 SMZ; Bore and Stroke - 82h82,7 mm; compression ratio - 10.3; power - 83 kW / 113 l. with. at 5800 rev / min; maximum torque - 154 Nm at 4400 r / min. Transmission drive wheel; Transmission - five-speed manual, the gear ratios: I - 3,91; II - 2,24; III - 1,52; IV - 1,16; V - 0,95; s. NS. - 3.91; final drive - 3.56. Suspension: front - such as McPherson, rear - independent trailing arm. Brakes: with an amplifier and ABS, front - disc, rear - drum. Steering: rack and pinion steering. Tire Size: 175 / 70R14.

SUMMARY
Becoming a solid sedan, Fiat Marea does not lose its aggressiveness relative Bravo. Even in a car with a trunk Italian sypanuli pepper. And a lot.
 
Dmitry Lazo Sergey Radovskiy, Vladimir Yakovlev.
Sergey Ivanov photos

A source: Journal "Behind the wheel"