It's all about cars

Want to know more about Nowcars, email to ask!Add to favouritesHome

It's all about cars!

 

Fiat 500 Under £8,000!

Fiat 500 Priced Below £8,000 – Again!

Fiat’s award-winning 500 city car starts at an on-the-road price of less than £8,000 again – thanks to the Chancellor’s recent cut in the VAT rate.

The 500 range stunned customers and industry commentators alike when it was launched with an entry-level price of just £7,900 for the 1.2-litre Pop in January. The list price rose to £8,100 in the summer. However the new VAT tariff of 15 per cent means that the price has dropped again, to £7,929.

All the other cars in Fiat’s range have also benefitted from the 2.5 percentage point cut in VAT. For example, the Panda range now starts at just £6,859 for the 1.1 Active, the Grande Punto range opens at £9,056 for the 1.4 Active, while the Multipla people carrier now begins at £13,751 for the 1.6 16v Dynamic Family.

"It has been praised for its style, eco-friendliness, road manners and economy," says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat UK. "Now the Fiat 500 has re-affirmed its terrific value for money with this latest list price."

 

Fiat 500byDiesel

500byDiesel Now Availability Exclusively Online

A special edition version of Fiat’s popular 500 city car has just gone on sale exclusively through the Internet.

The 500byDIESEL, a global limited edition run of just 10,000 examples, is the result of a collaboration between Fiat’s Style Centre in Turin and fashion label DIESEL’s design team. The idea was to create an ‘Urban Survival Vehicle’, perfect for town traffic, yet expressing the personality of its alternative young brand lovers.

500byDiesel represents Fiat’s first venture into selling vehicles via the web and follows the success of the Abarth 500 on-line deposit offer, which allowed customers to pre-order 200 of the performance supermini six months in advance of UK availability. All of these cars were allocated three months ahead of schedule.

Now, a new fully automated process allows customers to configure a 500byDIESEL, pay a deposit, order it direct from the factory, track the car’s progress, make a final payment and liaise with a geographically appropriate dealer about collecting the new vehicle – all on-line.

The 500byDIESEL Internet campaign is thus Fiat’s next step into e-commerce and purchasing, exclusively online through www.fiat.co.uk.

“This new route to market is an exciting and futuristic development for Fiat,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat UK. “The Fiat 500 is also a perfect fit for DIESEL and we are pleased to have this fantastic association with them.”

Based on a Fiat 500 Sport version, the 500byDIESEL comes in metallic green, black or brown. The exterior features 16-inch alloy wheels with the DIESEL logo, brake callipers painted yellow (an option only on the 100 bhp 1.4 version), unique side trim with DIESEL wording, and special door mirror fairings.

Inside, there’s special upholstery in denim fabric. The label logo also appears on the instrument panel and gear knob, while a special pouch, reminiscent of the fifth pocket on DIESEL jeans, appears on the side of the front seats. In-car entertainment comes courtesy of Fiat’s Blue&Me hands-free telecommunications and entertainment technology, which means the car is eco:Drive compatible.

The 500byDIESEL will be available with all three Euro 5-ready power units in the Fiat 500 range – the 69 bhp 1.2 unit, 75 bhp 1.3 MultiJet with DPF, and a 100 bhp 1.4 16v engine. Prices start at £11,150.

 

Fiat Bravo 2.0 Multijet

More Power, Less Fuel, Lower Emissions

Fiat has just extended its popular Bravo mid-size hatchback range with the introduction of a more powerful yet more economical and lower emissions engine, demonstrating the Group’s commitment to the production of increasingly environmentally-friendly cars.

The 5-door Bravo range will now benefit from a new 165 bhp 2.0 MultiJet unit which features a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and is type-approved to Euro 5 standards, ahead of the 2009 deadline.

The new version, available in Sport and Dynamic specification, is not just ‘greener’ – it further underscores the liveliness, flexibility and driving pleasure that have always been features of the Bravo. Fiat’s new 2.0 MultiJet is a logical evolution of the 1.9 MultiJet, which it will progressively replace. Main benefits are greater performance (torque increased to 360 Nm, and power up to 165 bhp), reduced emissions (down to just 139 g/km) and lower fuel consumption (53 mpg over the combined cycle).

Compared with the 1.9 MultiJet, an increase in cubic capacity has been achieved by increasing the cylinder bore; while a reduction in compression ratio has made it possible to achieve a substantial reduction in NOx levels. A new type of low voltage spark plug allows starting with the minimum pre-heating time.

Compliance with Euro 5 is guaranteed by the use of a close-coupled DPF that is standard on both versions, and by an advanced exhaust gas recirculation system (EGR) with all its sub-components packaged into one small element (EGR module).

Despite a significant reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, the Bravo 2.0 MultiJet boasts category-topping performance: top speed is 134 mph and acceleration from 0-62 mph takes just 8.2 seconds. Economy is further improved with long service intervals that confirm the impressive reliability achieved by Fiat’s MultiJet engines.

The new 2.0 MultiJet is another example of class-leading products that have been introduced since the Bravo’s launch, which make the model a benchmark in its category in terms of style, substance and state-of-the-art technology. Others include the introduction of the powerful T-Jet turbocharged petrol engine range, the remarkable 1.6 MultiJet diesel engine, and the introduction of the innovative Dualogic sequential gearbox.

Leading safety credentials for driver and passengers are offered on the Euro NCAP 5-star-rated Bravo courtesy of a standard ESP (Electronic Stability Program), the option of the ‘Blue&Me’ hands-free communication, information and entertainment system, and Blue&Me Nav, an ultra-efficient pictogram navigation system.

The new Bravo 2.0 MultiJet starts at £16,855 OTR for the Dynamic, rising to £17,155 OTR for the Sport

 

Fiat 500 Arbath

ABARTH 500 ROARS AWAY WITH TOP GEAR.COM AWARD

It’s not even on sale in the UK yet, but the eagerly-awaited Abarth 500 is already picking up top industry awards. The 135 bhp turbocharged supermini has just roared off with Top Gear magazine’s Best Hot Hatch prize.

Due into Abarth’s UK dealer network next February, the potent 500 version has already stirred up excitement among British customers – 200 examples of the car, which were set aside for sale exclusively via the Internet, have already been snapped up, three months ahead of plan, while Abarth UK showrooms have been inundated with inquiries and deposits for cars.

Described by Top Gear as “frisky and fun” and “an irresistible piece of Italian tailoring”, the Abarth 500 is praised by the magazine’s judges for its retro styling, sports looks, turbo-boost acceleration, grip and handling.

“This is a good start for the Abarth 500,” says Ivan Gibson, manager, Abarth brand UK. “We have had considerable success already with the Grande Punto version, and now we are looking forward to launching the 500 in the UK. Endorsements from important and influential media such as Top Gear magazine are great news and show us that we are doing things absolutely right with this exciting Abarth brand.”

Powered by a 1.4-litre 16-valve turbocharged engine similar to the one in the Abarth Grande Punto, the Abarth 500 delivers a maximum 135 bhp at 5500 rpm and has a peak torque of 206 Nm (152 lb ft) at 3000 rpm, when ‘Sport’ mode is deployed.

Built to Euro 5 environmental standards, the Abarth 500 returns 43.4 mpg on the combined cycle and has CO2 emissions of just 155 g/km.

It goes on sale in the UK in February priced at under £14,000 OTR. An uprated esseesse version, boosting power to 160 bhp, will also become available here.