Latest news with #Multipla
NZ Autocar
a day ago
- Automotive
- NZ Autocar
Fiat draws on Multipla for compact SUV due in 2027
Fiat's forthcoming Panda-based SUV could prove a modern Multipla when it arrives in 2027. Only without the dare-to-be-different looks. The new SUV is one of two models that the Italian is set to launch in the next two years, alongside a raised hatchback. They were previewed by Panda-inspired SUV and Fastback concepts unveiled last year. Both will be under 4.5 metres long and sit on the same Stellantis Smart Car platform as the smaller Grande Panda. The pair will therefore be offered with electric and hybrid powertrains. Fiat has hinted that it won't take the Panda name, despite using its mechanicals. The firm is normally associated with city cars. A move to the Golf-sized segment 'will be a challenge, because we don't have the same legacy with family movers as we do with 500 and Panda. But we do with the Multipla' said Fiat Europe boss, Gaetano Thorel. Then Fiat will have a reasonably full passenger car line-up, ranging from 2.5 to 4.4m. The Multipla was a 4m compact MPV with two rows of three seats. Its styling was divisive and the model was not a commercial success. However, it won praise for its quirky design. The new model will have a more traditional SUV appearance but will maximise space in a small footprint. It will share its platform with Citroën C3 Aircross that can seat seven. The Fastback concept will likely become a crossover that will serve as a spiritual successor to the Tipo. Fiat design boss, François Leboine, said future models would use design cues from the Grande Panda and elsewhere. But he insisted the brand won't fixate on retro designs. 'There is a retro flair on the products, but if you don't know the past, the products still have to work…for a new generation.'
Auto Car
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Fiat's next SUV is giving big Multipla vibes
Fiat's forthcoming Dacia Bigster rival could channel the spirit of the cult-classic Multipla MPV when it arrives in 2027. The new SUV is one of two C-segment models that the Italian brand is set to launch in the next two years, alongside a rakish, raised hatchback. They were previewed by Panda-inspired SUV and Fastback concepts unveiled early last year. Those models will be a maximum of 4.5 metres long and sit on the same cost-conscious Stellantis Smart Car platform as the smaller Grande Panda, enabling them to be offered with electric and hybrid powertrains. While the new SUV will sit broadly as part of the Panda design family and distinct from the range inspired by the classic 500, Fiat bosses have hinted it won't necessarily feature that name. Asked about the risks of Fiat expanding beyond its core city car market into the C-segment, Fiat Europe boss Gaetano Thorel said: 'It will be a challenge, because [it seems] we don't have the same legacy with family movers as we do with [the] 500 and Panda, but in reality we have, because when you think about the Multipla, then Fiat has a story on that. 'But thanks to Stellantis, we have a possibility to offer our customers and dealers a full passengercar line-up from 2.5 metres to 4.4 metres. That is the Fiat territory.' The Multipla arrived in 1998 as a 4m-long compact MPV with two rows of three seats and a host of space-saving features. The styling was divisive and the model was not a commercial success, but it won praise for its design, with Autocar's 2000 road test calling it 'the most innovative and exciting car in its class'. The new model will have more of a traditional SUV appearance but could echo the Multipla in terms of maximising space in a small footprint. The Citroën C3 Aircross, which uses the same Smart Car platform as the Grande Panda, seats seven.
