The Fiat Marea (Type 185) is a

small family car The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

available as a saloon and an estate, produced by the Italian automaker

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

. Launched in September 1996, the Marea models were essentially different

body style Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Types ...

s of Fiat's

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

offerings, the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

and

Brava Brava or La Brava may refer to: Geography *Brava, Cape Verde, a volcanic island * Brava, Costa Rica, an island of Costa Rica (Isla Brava) *Costa Brava, a coastal area Mediterranean of northeast Spain *Barawa, a town in Somalia commonly known as ' ...

. The Marea replaced the earlier Tipo based

Fiat Tempra The Fiat Tempra (Type 159) is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1990 to 1996 in Italy. The Tempra was intended as a replacement for the Fiat Regata. The original project was called ''Tipo 3'', being a mid size car be ...

, as well as the larger Croma. While the

Fiat Stilo The Fiat Stilo (Type 192) is a small family car available as a three- and a five-door hatchback, as well as an estate (Fiat Stilo Multi Wagon), produced by Italian automaker Fiat. The Stilo hatchbacks were presented in March 2001, at the Bologna ...

Multiwagon was the successor of the wagon version, the ''Marea Weekend'', the

Fiat Linea The Fiat Linea (Type 323) is a compact sedan released on 26 March 2007 at the Tofaş plant in Bursa, Turkey, by the Italian automaker Fiat as a world car in developing countries. It is based on the current Fiat Grande Punto platform. The 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 Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri rive ...

and

Mirafiori The Stabilimento di Mirafiori (in English, the Mirafiori Factory) is the headquarters and industrial district of the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat, a subsidiary of FCA Italy, which is part of Stellantis, and is the headquarters of CNH I ...

plants in Italy. Later the Marea also superseded the Tempra in Brazilian (

Betim Betim is a town in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located at around . The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte (BH) and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte. It is the fifth largest city in Minas Gerais and one of the 50 larg ...

) and Turkish (in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, with

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...

) 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

. 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 (in both body styles) was still manufactured in Turkey and Brazil for local (and other Latin American) markets. The Brazilian version was facelifted in 2001, when it gained a redesigned rear end with taillights taken from the

Lancia Lybra The Lancia Lybra (Type 839) is a compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Fiat's premium division, Lancia between 1998-2005, based on the Alfa Romeo 156 floorpan, and replacing the Dedra in Lancia's range. Like the Dedra, the Lybra wa ...

. 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 Multijet is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range. Most of the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia range as well as certain Chrysler, RAM Trucks, Jeep and Maserati vehicles are equipped with Mu ...

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 The Fiat Coupé, internally designated as the type 175, is a two-door, four-seat coupé manufactured and marketed by Fiat between 1993 and 2000 across a single generation. The Coupé was introduced at the Bologna Motor Show in December 1993 and ...

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 Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...

. *1.2 L

straight-4 A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

16v 1,242 cc *1.4 L

12v 1,370 cc *1.6 L

16v 1,581 cc *1.6 L

16v 1,581 cc *1.8 L

16v 1,747 cc *2.0 L

straight-5 The straight-five engine (also referred to as an inline-five engine; abbreviated I5 or L5) is a piston engine with five cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankshaft. Although less common than straight-four engines and straight-six eng ...

20v 1,998 cc *2.0 L

20v turbo 1,998 cc *1.9 turbodiesel

8v *1.9 turbodiesel

8v *1.9 common rail (

) turbodiesel

8v *1.9 common rail (

) turbodiesel

8v *2.4 turbodiesel 2,387 cc

10v *2.4 common rail (

) turbodiesel 2,387 cc

10v

Brazil

The Brazilian-built Fiat Marea was available in sedan and estate body styles and arrived at dealerships in June 1998. It was originally launched with two trim levels: the mid-level ELX and the high-level HLX. The Marea Weekend estate was imported from Italy in small numbers until local production commenced in September 1998. A 2.0L petrol engine was standard, although a lower output version producing was launched later the same year for the base-trim SX model. This was done to reduce Brazilian excise taxes on industrial products (IPI) from 30% to 25% for that model. A sporty Turbo trim with a 2.0L petrol engine producing was also made available. Retail prices went from 27.582 BRL for a base SX model up to 41.748 BRL for a Turbo model. No diesel engines were available for the Brazilian markets, as local legislation prohibits diesel-powered cars. In 2000, the 2.0L engine was replaced with a 2.4L engine for the ELX and HLX trims, and with a 1.8L engine for the SX trim. The following year, the Brazilian-market Marea received a facelift, with a new front grille and new tail lights borrowed from the

. A four-speed automatic transmission also became available. For the 2005 model year, in an attempt to address declining sales, the Marea received a minor facelift and a new entry-level engine option was offered, an Argentine-built 1.6L engine producing , being the only engine that was not manufactured in Italy. A total of 54,781 units were built in Brazil until the end of its production in November 2007.

Production and markets

Engines

Brazil

References

External links

See also