#01#It has not been that long since I reported on the
Suzuki SX4, so I was hardly surprised to be given its sister car, the Fiat Sedici, to review.
Where our Suzuki had been supplied with 1.6-litre petrol engine, and part-time selectable four-wheel drive, the Fiat Sedici tested featured a 1.9-litre JTD diesel engine combined with full-time four-wheel drive. This makes for an interesting comparison. My first thoughts were that the Fiat looked smaller than the Suzuki, but in the end I put this down to the larger 'off-roader' plastic body cladding which somewhat gives the game away that the Sedici is one of those 'to-be-hated' 4x4s rather than the tall hatchback/estate its appearance might suggest.
Sitting inside the Fiat Sedici, it's obvious that the basic architecture is identical to the Suzuki's; same dashboard layout, etc, although the Suzuki somehow looks the more expensive of the two with more bright-work breaking up the blackness that the Fiat suffers from. However, looks can be deceiving, as our Suzuki had suffered from one or two minor rattles and so the Fiat did appear to be better put together.
The main difference here is of course in the engine compartment. The Fiat 1.9 JTD was at the forefront of diesel technology when first installed in Fiat Group vehicles; indeed it was one of the high points that tempted General Motors into their aborted liaison with Fiat, and one they kept the licensing for when that arrangement fell by the wayside. So it was quite a surprise to see how things have moved on and how old-school the JTD engine felt in the Sedici. It's noisy on start up and always audible enough to remind you it's a diesel. The power band isn't quite what you might expect either. Although the 1.9 engine develops 120bhp at 4000rpm, and 207lb.ft of torque at 2050rpm, when driving, it doesn't really feel like it pulls much below 2300rpm. And that's quite high for a diesel. On top of that, you need to change up by 4500rpm so consequently there's a lot of gearchanging involved.
This was both the best and the worst thing about driving the Fiat Sedici! When you are in the mood, travelling alone and when the B-roads are clear, you can drive the Sedici like a little sports car. The slick gearchange on the six-speed gearbox meant that changing gears up and down was fun and you could simply whiz cross-country. Drive this Sedici on the right day and in the right conditions and you wouldn't be able to write the cheque to the salesman quick enough.
#p##02#
So how can it also be the worst thing? It's all down to driving conditions. For me the more enjoyable conditions came later in my week with the Fiat and it's a credit to the Sedici that my earlier impressions could be turned around at all. When you're stuck behind slow traffic down twisty, hilly roads; when you've got the family on board and smooth is more important than fast; or when you just can't be bothered and you want to get home, that's when I found the Sedici to not work. The lack of perceived pull below 2300rpm meant you are forever changing down just to maintain speed in normal and busy traffic conditions, sometimes more than one gear even. If you can't rev the engine, it becomes a chore where many other diesel engines with more low down torque would simply keep up. Sixth gear is so high it is all but useless below 50mph unless you are on the flat.
The diesel payback of course is fuel economy. Our petrol-engined Suzuki had struggled to average much better than 30mpg, where as the diesel-fuelled Fiat was doing an easy 40-45mpg. Performance-wise, the paper figures show the diesel Fiat does 0-60mph in 11.2 seconds and has a top speed of 112mph, against the petrol Suzuki's 11.5 seconds and 106mph. So the diesel is quicker, but there's not a great deal in it in real-world driving; just the character of the fuel source that achieves those figures in different ways.
The full-time four-wheel drive certainly paid off the first day of our test period. The south east of England had been lashed with torrential downpours. The motorway was awash to the extent you could barely see tarmac and the traffic kept slowing as drivers panicked going through standing water. The Fiat Sedici reigned supreme in these conditions; the four-wheel drive providing a sure-footedness that nobody else had. Off the motorway to the cross country B-road home and it was more of the same, only the roads were worse. Water was collecting everywhere (everywhere but the drains of course); conditions were abysmal. And the driver in the Sedici was totally relaxed as the four-wheel drive just cut through the water providing traction where there shouldn't have been much. This would have been an education to the anti-4x4 squad.
Surprisingly, our test car was not as well specified as the Suzuki had been; the keyless entry being a noticeable absentee. Fiat and Suzuki have cleverly kept their ranges as diverse as possible. For instance, all Fiat Sedicis are four-wheel drive and Suzukis are two-wheel drive or part-time four-wheel drive. This Fiat was priced at £14,495 in Dynamic form; the better specced Eleganza is another £1000, and so is placed some way up market from the Suzuki offerings.
#p##04#
As with the Suzuki, the Fiat Sedici is made in a factory in Hungary, so build quality should be identical even if prejudices and outdated stereotypes might suggest the Japanese option may be better than the Italian.
2006 Fiat Sedici UK range overview
- Fiat Sedici 1.6 16-valve Dynamic: £12,495
- Fiat Sedici 1.6 16-valve Eleganza: £13,495
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Fiat Sedici 1.9 MultiJet Dynamic: £14,495
- Fiat Sedici 1.9 MultiJet Eleganza: £15,495
