The Fiat Croma name was used for two distinct large family cars by Fiat, one a five door liftback manufactured and marketed from 1985 to 1996, and after a nine-year hiatus, a crossover station wagon manufactured and marketed from 2004 to 2010.
Released in December 1985, it was marketed in the large family car segment, replacing the Argenta in the Fiat lineup. The Croma was the first large car produced by Fiat to feature a transverse mounted engine and front wheel drive.[3]
Facelift
Fiat Croma (after the facelift of 1991).Rear view (post-facelift model)
The Croma received a light facelift for 1988, first shown in Frankfurt in September 1987. The black plastic between the rear lamps was now ridged rather than smooth, the lower portion of the bumpers were body coloured, and the turn signals received clear glass rather than amber.[4]
The front appearance received some other light modifications to bring its appearance in line with that of the recently introduced Tipo.[5]
A more significant facelift was released in January 1991, with a new front design, including changes to the lights, bumpers, grille and sheet metal changes to wings and bonnet. Also in 1991, the direct injected diesel engine was equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger ("VNT").[6] Another facelift was released in June 1993.
The Croma was available with a variety of petrol and diesel engines, most of the petrol units coming from Fiat's Twin Cam engine family.
Base models had a single cam 1,585 cc four-cylinder engine rated at 83 hp (61 kW) and the larger 1,995 cc, "Controlled High Turbulence" (CHT) engine rated at 90 hp (66 kW), followed by two fuel injected 2.0 litre twin cam powerplants, one with 120 hp (88 kW) and the other a turbocharged and intercooled version rated at 155 hp (114 kW).
The later 2.5 L V6 petrol unit was from Alfa Romeo, but as with the 1.6 L engine it was not available in all markets. The 2.0 CHT model was designed specifically to provide low fuel consumption under light and medium loads thanks to two separate inlet manifolds of different diameters.[7]
The Fiat Croma was the first passenger car in the world to have a direct injection Diesel (Turbo D i.d.) engine, going on sale in 1988.[5][8] The 1.9 L fitted with a turbocharger with direct injection produces 92 hp (68 kW). It joined the 2,499 cc unit supplied by Iveco, with a normally aspirated version giving 75 hp (55 kW) and a turbocharged one with 115 hp (85 kW). The latter version replaced the original 2,445 cc with 100 hp (74 kW).
Diesel engined variants of the Croma were not marketed in the United Kingdom.
In March 2005, Fiat introduced the second generation Croma: a large high-roof, six passenger, crossover wagon with an upright tailgate, with styling byItaldesign.
Reflecting Fiat's short term joint venture with [[General Motors, the new Croma, internally designated the Type 194, used an extended variant of the GM Epsilon platform sharing components with the Opel Vectra, Opel Signum and Saab 9-3. It was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in spring 2005 and went on sale in Italy in June of that year.
Aware of its lack of image in the upper market segments, Fiat opted for developing a "Comfort Wagon",[11] an automobile with design elements of both estates and large MPVs, instead of developing a standard large family car like the previous model.
Its height of 1,600 mm (63.0 in) falls between that of the Mitsubishi Grandis and Ford S-Max large MPVs (1,655 mm (65.2 in) and 1,660 mm (65.4 in) respectively) and SEAT Altea XL (1,525 mm (60.0 in)). In February 2007, Fiat UK announced that the Croma would no longer be generally available in the United Kingdom, after less than 900 were sold in 2005.
The car was still offered, but only on special order, with RHD models manufactured to customer specifications. Production of the second generation Croma ended at the end of 2010 and the car was replaced by the Dodge-based Fiat Freemont.
The Croma received a facelift in November 2007, and was termed the Nuova Croma, featuring a revised grille, headlights, rear bumper, as well as interior changes, now designated a "Station Wagon" rather than "Comfort Wagon".[12] The Nuova Croma was only sold in mainland Europe, excluding the United Kingdom.
Engines
The Croma ws manufactured at Fiat's Cassino factory with three trim levels and five engine options. As with the chassis, petrol engines were supplied by Opel, beginning with the brand new evolution of the Family 1 Ecotec 1.8 L with 140 hp (103 kW), followed by the torquier L850 Ecotec 2.2 L with 147 hp (108 kW).
Most examples featured Fiat's own Multijet engine, available in three variants 1.9 L with 8 valves and 120 hp (88 kW), 1.9 L with 16 valves and 150 hp (110 kW), and the range topping, five-cylinder 2.4 L 20V with 200 hp (147 kW). The diesel engines were fitted with a standard six-speed manual gearbox, a six-speed automatic was also available and was standard on the 2.4 engines.
^Baghetti, Giancarlo (17 December 1987). "Che diesel volete?" [Which diesel do you want?]. Auto Oggi (in Italian). 2 (54). Verona, Italy: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore: 19.
^ abMastrostefano, Raffaele, ed. (January 1989). "Le nostre "stelle"" [Our "stars"]. Quattroruote (in Italian). Vol. 34, no. 399. Milan, Italy: Editoriale Domus. pp. 90–91.
^Letrou, Jean-Claude (January 1986). "Fiat Croma: En quête d'image" [On a quest for image]. L'Automobile Magazine (in French). Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: Societé des Editions Techniques et Touristiques de France: 34. ISSN0758-6957.
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