Fiat debuts Freemont For those out of the picture regarding who’s who in the automotive zoo, we don’t blame you. Many firms, small and large alike, have seen themselves as owners or under the ownership of new brands, especially in the US. One of these lesser known exchanges was that of Fiat taking over the troubled Dodge brand from Chrysler, in a deal to save the one and grow the other. Under this new stewardship, the Fiat Freemont, built on the base of the Dodge Journey, will be the first Fiat vehicle to come out of the partnership. It will be produced in the Mexican plant of Toluca, where the Fiat 500 is produced for the US market, and will be shown at the 2011 Geneva motor show.
The Fiat Freemont, to add to your literary arsenal, is dubbed a ‘factotum vehicle’ designed to meet the diverse needs of families and those seeking a spacious, comfortable and versatile vehicle to cater for the frenetic pace of everyday life or weekend leisure time. The name does conjure up a sense of freedom, the pleasure of life in the open air, of adventure and the possibility of facing any situation that arises in daily life with equanimity. The vehicle combines flexibility and practicality with its own distinctive and original style. The dimensions 489omm long, 1880mm wide and 1720mm tall) provide good interior roominess, aided by the best wheelbase in its category of 2890mm. The Fiat Freemont provides its promised roominess, comfort and versatility via seven standard seats, with a third row that is easily accessible thanks largely to doors which open to 90°. The seats of the third row may be folded down with one movement to disappear completely below the floor and create a regular load platform. The seats of the second row are fitted higher than those at the front while the third row is raised in relation to the second allowing all occupants maximum visibility. The second row can also be fitted with the innovative child booster system: booster seats are used to make sure that children on board are sitting
correctly, optimizing the seatbelt geometry and guaranteeing greater protection, practicality and comfort. Onboard comfort is also assured by a high driving position, ergonomic seats, a host of storage compartments, a generous luggage area with two compartments and a flat load platform for an overall capacity of up to 1461 litres.
The vehicle’s design includes muscular, decisive lines perhaps not seen on many Fiats, expressed in the heavily sculpted front end bumpers and grille. The rear end has been redesigned with the adoption of a new bumper and LED tail lights. The all-new passenger compartment features an up-to-date design and soft touch materials. Features include a wrap-around dashboard with chrome elements, a brand-new instrument panel, a strikingly good-looking central console and an innovative infotainment system with a large colour touchscreen. Two Freemont spec levels (aimed at different customer types) will be provided. The equipment level for both outfits is extremely comprehensive and all the main content items comply with the ‘Fiat fair price’ strategy. This means both outfits will offer seven seats, triple-zone automatic climate control system, keyless entry system, cruise control, trip computer, tyre pressure monitoring system, fog lights and a touchscreen radio with colour screen and controls on the steering wheel. The higher spec model will include 17” alloys, touchscreen radio with 8.4” screen, SD card and DVD reader, Bluetooth system, rear parking sensors, fold-down door mirrors, automatic headlight activation, darkened rear windows and roof rails. The Freemont will have a front wheel drive engine configuration with turbo diesel power units first, offering 104kW or a 126kW 2.0 MultiJet version, combined with a manual gearbox. Later, the vehicle will also be available in 4×4 versions with the 126kW 2.0 MultiJet or 205kW 3.6 petrol V6 engines, both with automatic transmissions. With the exception of the petrol unit (from the Chrysler Group Pentastar family and its automatic transmission),
all power units are produced and developed by Fiat PowerTrain. The vehicle’s dynamic performances have also been improved with the aid of Fiat engineering, which has developed and introduced a special suspension and steering configuration for greater accuracy and directness. Driving comfort is further guaranteed by significant improvements to passenger compartment soundproofing.
Safety is top level with seven airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with Hill-Holder and electronic roll mitigation (ERM) as standard on all vehicles. No word as yet as to when the Freemont will go on sale and what prices are being discussed, but it is imminent in Europe, and we wait to see if it will make it to South Africa (which probably will not happen while the Dodge Journey is still on sale here). I think the Freemont could become the yardstick against which the Dodge/Fiat marriage is measured, so I am sure they will do whatever they can to make it a commercial success. - Kevin Willemse