Goodbye IT city and hello rural India. The ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ pan India odyssey today pulled out of Bangalore on its second leg, leaving India’s happening Silicon Valley behind for the peaceful Keralan backwaters and temple-dotted roads of Tamil Nadu. A team of journalists from Car India and New Indian Express are the drivers behind the wheels of the four Fiat MULTIJET diesel cars
The opportunity of pushing the four diesel Fiats through their paces along such a scenic route created a lot of excitement among the group of drivers. Their stint as drivers in the second leg of the ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ runs from October 31st to November 3rd and takes them from Bangalore to Coimbatore and then to Kochi and Chennai.
Speaking at the Bangalore event, Mr. Ravi Bhatia, Vice President Commercial Fiat India, said, “It’s a great thrill to flag-off the second leg of our ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ from Bangalore. This has been a great market for our company as the versatility, stylish looks and economical performance of our diesel hatches have been a great match with the young professional workforce of this city. Now our hatches continue on their journey through some of India’s most scenic roads as they continue to demonstrate the reliability and performance of our pioneering diesel engines. I am confident that our participating drivers will enjoy the trip.”
The ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ takes Fiat’s 4 MULTIJET diesel offerings- the Linea, Grande Punto, Palio and the Fiat 500 through a wide range of testing Indian terrains over a period of a month and a half. This one-of-a-kind journey will traverse through diverse terrains within 16 states of India, clocking over 10,000 kilometers in total. The drive has been aimed at generating awareness about Fiat’s rich history in connection with diesel technology as well as their longstanding success in rolling out endurance driven, yet stylish and classy automobiles.
The drive involves auto journalists from India’s top auto magazines, namely, Zigwheels, Car India, Overdrive, Auto India, BS Motoring, Autocar India, AutoBild, Top Gear, Auto Exchange, Automotive Product Finder and a special team of auto experts. In addition to this, the drive will also involve electronic channels like ET Now, NDTV 24X7, CNBC TV 18, NDTV India, Zee Business, UTVi, Aaj Tak, IBN7, Times Now, online portals such as Carwale.com, teambhp.com and publications such as New Indian Express. Through the course of the drive, these esteemed experts will take Fiat’s diesel engines to the extreme by taking the 4 cars through a stern test of power, performance and engine finesse. With this drive, Fiat, the inventor and pioneer of the high tech MULTIJET diesel engines, aims to stamp its authority on the diesel scenario in India as well as create further awareness about their engine’s presence in majority of the cars in India.
Through the extensive drive, Fiat will also look to reinforce the presence of their strong and ever growing network across India. Today, Tata-Fiat network comprises of 99 dealerships and 6 point of sales spanning across 77 cities in the country. All these dealerships have a separate identity for Fiat and offer an international experience for customers.
‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ promises to be an exhilarating and novel drive that experiences India and all its cultural flavours.
ABOUT THE MULTIJET ENGINE
The words that best describe Fiat’s MULTIJET Diesel engines are ‘breakthrough technology’. With the introduction of the state-of-the-art MULTIJET engines, Fiat paved the way for refined, more efficient diesel cars across the world. Until the introduction of these engines, diesel automobiles were seen as non eco-friendly and low on power. The MULTIJET engines helped change customer perception and increase the penetration of diesel vehicles in automobile markets worldwide. Customers now see diesel cars as powerful yet low on consumption. In some cases they are even considered to be more powerful than some gasoline (petrol) automobiles.
The MULTIJET engine’s significance is further apparent in the fact that these engines have been fitted into world renowned and historically important cars of the world, the Lancia Ypsilon, Lancia Delta, Alfa Romeo 147 and Alfa Romeo 159 to name a few . Fiat’s MULTIJET engines have also been used by international automakers like Opel (in the Opel Agila Corsa, Meriva, and Astra amongst others) and Saab (9-5, 9-3X) to great effect. Similarly, the Multijet technology is used by car makers other than Fiat in India as well.
With the 1.3 MULTIJET diesel engine being the smallest common rail diesel engine being produced internationally, Fiat has been instrumental in giving the diesel auto segment a significant presence in markets worldwide. The engine is also the frontrunner in engine power/ displacement ratio, making the Multijet engine one of the best that diesel technology has to offer today.
In India, the MULTIJET engine is manufactured at Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility. The engines are assembled on state of the art assembly lines which have a high level of automation for all critical operations to guarantee world class quality. Testing of the engines and transmissions is carried out on Cold Test benches which, besides performing in depth checks are also environmentally friendly.
Machining of critical components like cylinder block, crankshaft, cylinder head, cam carrier, transmission shafts and gears is done on the latest CNC machines with a very high degree of accuracy and automation. Sophisticated inspection equipment ensures that the quality of the components is of the highest level.
