Fiat Marea


The Fiat Marea was a small family car available as a saloon and an estate, produced by the Italian automaker Fiat. Launched in September 1996, the Marea models were essentially different body styles of Fiat's hatchback offerings, the Bravo and Brava. The Marea replaced the earlier Tipo based Fiat Tempra, as well as the larger Croma.
While the Fiat Stilo Multiwagon was the successor of the wagon version, the Marea Weekend, the Fiat Linea replaced the saloon version in 2007. The car became officially available from 11 September 1996.

Production and markets

The Marea was originally manufactured in Fiat's Cassino and Mirafiori plants in Italy. Later the Marea also superseded the Tempra in Brazilian and Turkish plants, which make vehicles mostly for local and other developing markets.
In Europe, production and sales of the Marea ceased in August 2002, one year after the Bravo and Brava were replaced with the Fiat Stilo. The Marea Weekend was replaced by the Stilo Multiwagon unveiled in January 2003, while the saloon's successor, the Fiat Linea, was unveiled in 2007.
Nevertheless, the Marea was still manufactured in Turkey and Brazil for local markets. The Brazilian version was facelifted in 2001, when it gained a redesigned rear end with taillights taken from the Lancia Lybra.
For 2006, the Marea was mildly revised again, gaining a new rear end, and a new grille, similar in style to other current Fiat models. In mid 2007, Brazilian production of the Marea and Marea Weekend ceased.

Engines

The Marea petrol and JTD engines 1.6 L, 1.8 L and 2.0 L petrol and 1.9 L were sourced from the Brava and Bravo, and a 2.0 20v turbo option from the Fiat Coupé was also available. For a short time there was also a 2.4 turbodiesel available, dropped in 2001, which has become sought after. A BiPower 1.6 L dual fuel engine was later added to the range. It can run on either petrol or compressed natural gas.
The Marea was introduced in 1998 onto the Brazilian market with only one engine: the 2.0 20v. Due to Brazilian production taxes the 2.0 20v engine had its electronic fuel injection remapped to limit the engine power to in the Marea SX and ELX models of 1999.
The engine retained its full power on the more expensive Marea HLX model.
Simply exchanging the SX or ELX fuel injection chip with the HLX chip would bring back the original engine power. Fiat initially claimed it to be untrue explaining that other modifications had been made in the SX/ELX models for cost savings, but this was revealed to be false.
In 2000, the 2.0 20v engine was replaced with the 2.4 20v engine in the ELX and HLX model, and the SX model started using the 1.8 16v engine.
Later the 2.0 20v engine was dropped and the 1.6 16v engine was introduced; this engine was the only one produced for model year 2007, when the Marea production has been discontinued. All engines for the Fiat Marea in Brazil were petrol based, with no diesel variants. This is due to federal legislation prohibiting diesel powered passenger vehicles, effective since 1976.
There is also a 2.0 20V Turbo with 182 bhp, sold from 1999 to 2006.