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By
EWAN KENNEDY
14 April 2008
Fiat's rapid expansion in Australia continues, this time with
the introduction of a mid-sized car called Ritmo. Ritmo being
Italian for rhythm and a name that ties in nicely with latest in
Fiat flair from Italy.
Ritmo is bigger than the Punto, the original model in the
marque’s Australian renaissance, in turn Punto is larger than
the cute little Nuovo 500 retro machine.
At this stage we haven’t had a chance to drive the Ritmo, but
did have a good look over, under and inside a couple of examples
when the Brisbane International Motor Show was used as the venue
for the Australian unveiling in February.
We loved the styling of the Ritmo inside and out and found it
to be capable of carrying four adults with decent room to move for
them all. Three kids in the back would be a more practical load by
Australian standards.
Most of the European makers are running hot on the safety front
at the moment, so it comes as no surprise that Ritmo scored the
maximum of five stars for adult protection during independent
EuroNCAP crash testing.
To help you avoid testing the five-star crash rating for
yourself, the Ritmo has ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce
distribution and a sophisticated ESP system; not to forget a Hill
Holder function to assist in smooth hill starts without any roll
back.
Ritmo Emotion has electric windows and door mirrors, cruise
control, remote central locking, an advanced audio system, air
conditioning and 16-inch alloy wheels. To that, the Ritmo Sport
adds a rear spoiler and side skirts, red brake callipers and
17-inch sports alloys with 225/45 tyres. Inside there is
climate-controlled air conditioning; sports-design pedals; sports
seats, leather trimmed steering wheel, gear lever and handbrake
knobs.
The Sport versions also come with the innovative Blue&Me
integrated telematics system developed in a joint venture by Fiat
with Microsoft. It offers hands-free Bluetooth technology with
steering wheel controls, an instrument panel with multifunction
display, an MP3 audio file player from a USB port, and an SMS text
reader.
Fiat Ritmo is powered by either the company’s new 1.4 litre
T-Jet turbo-petrol engine with 110 kW; or the 1.9 litre JTD
MultiJet turbo-diesel.
Fiat tells us the T-Jet engine combines performance equal to or
better than a conventionally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol engine,
but with a reduction of between 10 and 20 per cent in fuel
consumption and tailpipe emissions. The engine has an ‘overboost’
button located on the centre console in Sport versions, and when
that’s pushed it will deliver an impressive 230 Nm at 3000 rpm.
That’s the sort of torque output that normally requires a
2.5-litre non-turbo engine.
The 110 kW 1.9 litre MultiJet turbo-diesel has 305 Nm torque
delivered at just 2000 rpm, allowing acceleration from 0-100 km/h
in just 9.0 seconds yet has been officially measured as having
fuel consumption of just 5.6 litres per hundred kilometres.
Prices start at $29,990 for the Fiat Ritmo Emotion T-Jet and go
up to $36,490 for the Sport MultiJet.
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Marque Publishing Company
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