Fiat Siena

Fiat Siena
Manufacturer:	Fiat Auto S.p.A.
Production:	1996 – present
Class:	subcompact car
Body Styles:	4 Door Sedan
Engines:	FIRE Engines 1.0 8v, 1.0 16v, 1.2 8v, 1.2 16v, 1.4 8v Fiassa Engines 1.0 8v, 1.3 8v, 1.5 8v Europa/Sevel Engines 1.4 8v SPI, 1.6 8v SPI Torque 1.6 16v Powertrain 1.8 8v Multijet Diesel 1.3 16v TurboDiesel 1.7 8v TD
Also known as:	Fiat Albea (Turkey & Eastern Europe) Fiat Petra (Middle East) Nanjing Fiat Siena
Similar models:	Chevrolet Corsa Sedan Ford Fiesta Max Renault Clio Classique Volkswagen Polo Classic
3rd Generation - Back - Brazil

The Fiat Siena is the 4 door sedan version of the Fiat's 'world car' Fiat Palio project for developing countries.

It's produced in Brazil, Argentina, India, Turkey, South Africa (was produced in Poland), China and Vietnam and also built under licence in Nampo, North Korea, as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam.

The 1996 Mk.I Series

Launched in 1996 in Brazil as the 4 door sedan of the '178 Project' Fiat Palio, the Siena was made due to the important sale's benchmark of notchback models in developing countries. The competicion in Brasil was the Chevrolet Corsa Sedán, but after the Fiat, Ford and Renault came to fight with the Fiesta Sedan and the Clio Classique (Known in Europe as Renault Thalia). The range was made from Fiassa and Fire petrol engines between 1.0L and 1.6L. Tough competion from chevrolet and poor design made the FIAT siena strugle to sell. FIAT then decided to have the car redesigned in 2001 by giogetto giugiaro, famous italian designer whom had previously designed cars for Alfa Romeo.

The 2001 Mk.II Series

In 2001 the model has the first facelift. The new design was made by the Italian design-guru Giorgetto Giugiaro. The facelift includes a new front and rear design, and a brand new interior. Also, new engines came as the 16 valve FIRE engines 1.0L 70cv and the 1.2L 82cv. In Turkey and China, the Mk.II series gain a 'SpeedGear' Gearbox. With this new design, the small car was finally able to fight for it's place in the market, becoming a success in sales. FIAT had considered changing the name to Palio Sedan, due to the lack of interest on the previous Siena, and the solid sales of it's biggest competitor, the Chevrolet Corsa Sedan. This idea was later discarded. Up to this point, the FIAT Siena was the only model belonging to the Palio family that had not been well accepted by the community. Therefore FIAT gave special attention to the design of this model in particular, having it's rear entirely redesigned.

The 2004 Mk.III Series

The new Mk.III comes in 2004. The designer was again, Giorgetto Giugiaro. It has a new front, rear and interior design. The 04' Siena was the very first Brazilian compact sedán with 4 airbags (2 at front and 2 sidebags), light and rain sensor, park assistance, etc. The engines range en SouthAmerica is now composed by a 1.4 Fire 8 valve with 80cv (the same of the latest Fiat Punto, and a 1.8 Powertrain 8 valve with 112cv, shared with the Chevrolet Corsa. In Europe, the new model features a Mk.III front and interior design and a Mk.II rear. In Mexico was sold as Palio Sedan with the 1.6 16v Torque engine.

The future

The new generation Siena (codenamed Proyect D200) is expected in late 2006. It will be based in the latest Fiat Punto platform and the development is in charge of the Turkey Fiat associate, Tofas. The New Siena is expected to be a Fiat Marea kind of sedan, and it'll be sold across Europe.

See also: Siena

External links

• Fiat do Brasil (in Portuguese)
• Fiat South Africa
• Fiat Türkiye
• Fiat China
• Fiat at Unitrans Motors (SA)
• Club Palio Chile
• Team Palio Turkey