The Fiat Albea is a

subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the U.S. Environmental Pr ...

produced by the Italian manufacturer

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 subsidiar ...

between 2002 and 2012, at the

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 ...

facilities in Turkey. It is the European version of the global

Fiat Siena The Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. It was introduced for the first t ...

, the sedan car derived from the hatch compact

Fiat Palio The Fiat Palio is a supermini car which was produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 until 2018. It is a world car, developed by Fiat Automóveis and aimed at developing countries. It has been produced in various countries worldwid ...

. It is a low cost sedan, aimed at developing global markets, and was not sold in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. It was also produced in China, where it retained the Fiat Siena nameplate and had two derived versions, the Fiat Perla and currently the

Zotye Z200 The Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. It was introduced for the first t ...

Production

The Albea was designed by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. It has a similar design with its South American equivalent, the

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, but with a longer wheelbase. The extension is visible in a somewhat extended segment between the trailing edge of the rear doors and the rear wheelhouse. A facelifted version has been available since February 2005, two months before the Palio underwent a similar restyling. This version has a new front end, no bumper moldings, and a round "Fiat" badge in the top center of the trunklid. From 2006 to 2011, the Albea was assembled from complete knock down kits in Russia, in Naberezhnye Chelny, at the Fiat-Sollers plant. The car was available in Russia with 1.4-liter petrol engine only. Production in Turkey ended in 2012, ending altogether production of the European version of the Palio.

Engines

Safety rating

The Albea was tested by ARCAP, according to the

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in Februa ...

latest regulations. It scored 8.5 points in the frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars in the Euro NCAP testings. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver airbag and regular seatbelts. The Fiat Perla, a Chinese version of the Albea, was tested in China by the China-NCAP in three different tests: a 100% front crash test with a wall (similar to the US NTHSA test), a 40% offset test (similar to the Euro NCAP test) and a side crash test similar to the Euro NCAP. The Perla scored 8.06 points in the 100% frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars, 12.02 points in the 40% offset crash test, equivalent to four stars, and 10,96 points in the side crash test, equivalent to three stars, with an average result of 31 points and three stars. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver and passenger airbag and regular seatbelts.

Nameplate use

In Mexico, the 2009 model of the

has been marketed as the Fiat Albea, replacing the Palio Sedán nameplate used on the previous series of the car.

References

External links

Official website
(with redirects to each country's website)
Official Russian Fiat Albea website
{{Modern European Fiat vehicles Albea Front-wheel-drive vehicles ARCAP superminis Sedans Cars introduced in 2002 2010s cars Cars of Turkey Vehicles with CVT transmission