The Fiat Tipo, is a compact car. A three-box sedan version was unveiled at the 2015 Istanbul Motor Show in May 2015, and commenced sales in Turkey in October 2015. In 2016, it was followed by a hatchback and a station wagon version, for the European market and the United Kingdom. The Tipo is assembled at the Tofaş plant in Bursa, Turkey, by the Italian automaker Fiat and is built on the Fiat Small Wide LWB platform. It replaced the Bravo and Linea in the C-segment range. The Tipo was designed by Centro Stile Fiat in Mirafiori, Turin, and co-developed by Tofaş, a joint venture between the Fiat Group and Koç Holding. In December 2015, the car won the 2016 Best Buy Car of Europe Award, from the Autobest jury made up of Europe's twenty-six leading journalists, from twenty-six different European countries. In February 2019, the 500,000th Fiat Tipo was produced at the Bursa plant, in Turkey.
History
The Project Ægea
The development of the Tipo family began in 2014 when Fiat announced the Ægea project developed in a joint venture between Fiat and Tofaş. Specifically, the Italian manufacturer was building a family of C-segment cars to be marketed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to replace both the old Fiat Bravo hatchback and the Linea sedan. The production site chosen was the Turkish Bursa plant, which already produced the previous Linea. Alfredo Altavilla, at the time director of the EMEA area of the FCA Italy group, and Olivier François, director of Fiat brand, declared that the Ægea family had been built according to the Fiat "Rational" range vehicles characterized by functional solution, low running costs, spacious interior and low price list. The first version to be presented was the three-volume saloon at the Istanbul Motor Show in May 2015; called Fiat Egea, the car went into production in November of the same year, replacing the Linea in the Fiat range of products in Turkey. The name Egea is used only on the Turkish market because the term is a very well-known term among the Turkish population as it identifies both the Aegean Sea that bathes the coasts of Turkey and the ancient medieval town of Yumurtalık. Production started in October of the same year for the Turkish market. Later the hatchback 5 door and station wagon versions were announced for spring 2016 with a different name on the European markets. In October 2015 Alfredo Altavilla announced that the official name of the cars for the European market would be Fiat Tipo, taking the historical name of the Fiat model of the 80s known for its spacious interior and low running costs. Fiat and Tofaş have invested a total of 1.5 billion dollars for the development and production of the Tipo.
The Tipo in the European market
In November 2015 sales of the Fiat Tipo sedan start in Italy, Spain and France. The 5-door hatchback and station wagon versions are presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016. In 2016, the Tipo is officially on sale in all three of its variants throughout Europe, to the exception of the United Kingdom where the sedan three volumes it is not imported due to the low demand for this type of vehicle. At the debut the engine range consisted of the 1.4 Fire 16V petrol delivering 95 hp, the 1.6 E.torQ 16V with 110 hp, the 1.3 Multijet II 16V diesel with 95 hp and 1.6 Multijet II diesel with 120 hp. In 2017 the Tipo range is enlarged with the entry of the Van station wagon variant available in the countries of southern Europe with a two-seater cabin. Also in 2017 are introduced the dual-fuel variants powered by petrol and LPG.
The Tipo in other markets
In addition to the European market, the Tipo is also sold in 2016 in Africa in hatchback and sedan version. Originally the Tipo had been developed to be sold in 40 world markets. In 2016 FCA decided to also sell it in Mexico, albeit under the Dodge Neon name, as the Dodge brand has a much larger sales network in Mexico than that Fiat does. Moreover the name Neon takes the name of the homonymous Dodge model produced by the Chrysler Group in the nineties and two-thousands, a model that was very successful in Mexico. The Mexican market only receives the three-volume saloon variant. From 2017 the Tipo is sold as a Dodge Neon in the Middle East as well. In South America, the Tipo sedan is sold under the Fiat brand only in Argentina and Chile, as the South American branch of the Italian brand already offers the slightly more compact Fiat Cronos, a compact sedan produced in Córdoba, Argentina.
Overview
Design
The Fiat Tipo design was created by the Centro Stile Fiat located in the Officina 83 of the Fiat Mirafiori Plant. At the head of the style the team led by Alberto Dilillo e Roberto Giolito. Compared to the previous Linea and Bravo, the Tipo is designed first in the three-volume sedan form independent from the remaining two versions so as to create a more harmonious and elegant body. Alberto Dilillo declares that the inspiration of the designers for the front comes directly from the Maserati models with the headlights connected to the grille and the air intakes with three-dimensional chrome elements. The front has a lower shape and developed horizontally, while the previous Linea and Bravo had a much more inclined snout and connected with the windshield. In the rear, the trunk lid has a shape that simulates a spoiler. The hatchback and station wagon versions have the same front, the hatchback also inherits the same side of the four-door sedan including the doors, the station wagon instead has specific rear doors. The Fiat Tipo sedan is 4532 mm long, 1497 mm tall and 1792 mm wide with a wheelbase of 2638 mm and a five-seat passenger compartment with a 520-litre trunk. The hatchback has the same wheelbase but the bodywork is 4368 mm long, 1495 mm tall and 1792 mm wide. The trunk has a capacity of 440 litres. The station wagon is 4571 mm long, 1792 mm wide and 1514 mm tall and has the same wheelbase as the sedan and hatchback versions. The minimum luggage capacity is 550 litres. The interior of the Tipo has two different dashboards depending on the trim level. The base models have the upper part that integrates the radio or the Uconnect 5-inch infotainment system connected to the instrumentation, while the top models have the upper part with the tablet-style 7-inch Uconnect HD infotainment system. The lower part of the dashboard is identical for all versions and is inherited from the Fiat Punto. The right-hand drive models have a single dashboard for all trim levels, the same as the LHD models in the basic version with the upper dashboard connected to the instrumentation and which integrates the various 5-inch and 7-inch Uconnect infotainment systems.
The test for Euro NCAP was changed for 2016, so that every car would be tested with standard equipment and additionally with "safety pack" if safety equipment is considered as optional extra. The Tipo had only three stars in the Euro NCAP test with standard equipment, and four stars with speed limiter and brake assistance.
