Manufacturer Fiat | Class Small family car (C) | |
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Also called Fiat Marengo (panel van) Production 1996–2002 (Italy)
1998–2007 (Brazil) Assembly Mirafiori, Turin, Italy
Cassino, Piedimonte San Germano, Italy
Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Bursa, Turkey (Tofaş)
Tychy, Poland Body style 4-door saloon
5-door estate | ||
The Fiat Marea (Type 185) was a small family car available as a saloon and an estate, produced by the Italian automaker Fiat. Launched in 1996, the Marea models were essentially different body styles of Fiat's hatchback offerings, the Bravo and Brava. The Marea replaced the earlier Tipo-based Fiat Tempra, as well as the larger Croma. While the Fiat Stilo Multiwagon is the successor of the Marea Weekend estate, the Fiat Linea replaced the saloon version in 2007.
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Production and markets
The Marea was originally manufactured in Fiat's Cassino and Mirafiori plants in Italy. Later the Marea also superseded the Tempra in Brazilian (Betim) and Turkish (in Bursa, with Tofaş) plants, which make vehicles mostly for local and other developing markets.
In Europe, production and sales of the Marea ceased in 2002, a year after the Bravo and Brava were replaced with the Fiat Stilo. The Marea Weekend was replaced by the Stilo Multiwagon, while the saloon was dropped altogether due to relatively low popularity of compact 4-door saloons in Europe. 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. 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. Their successor, the Fiat Linea, is produced from mid-2008 on, only in saloon body style.
Engines
The Marea petrol and JTD 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 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.
Brazil
The Marea was introduced in 1998 onto the Brazilian market with only one engine: the 2.0 20v. Due to Brazilian production taxes the 2.0 20v engine had its electronic fuel injection remapped to limit the engine power to 128 bhp (95 kW) in the Marea SX and ELX models of 1999. The engine retained its full power (142 bhp) on the more expensive Marea HLX model. Simply exchanging the SX or ELX fuel injection chip with the HLX chip would bring back the original engine power. Fiat initially claimed it to be untrue explaining that other modifications had been made in the SX/ELX models for cost-savings, but this was revealed to be false.
In 2000, the 2.0 20v engine was replaced with the 2.4 20v (160 bhp) engine in the HLX model, and the SX model started using the 1.8 16v engine (130 bhp), while the ELX injection was mapped as it had originally been for the HLX to give the 2.0 20v engine the original engine power (141 bhp).
Later the 2.0 20v engine was dropped and the 1.6 16v (105 bhp) engine was introduced; this engine was the only one produced for model year 2007, when the Marea production has been discontinued. All engines for the Fiat Marea in Brazil were petrol-based, with no diesel variants. This is due to federal legislation prohibiting diesel-powered passenger vehicles, effective since 1976.
There is also the 2.0 20V Turbo (Garrett TB28/10) with 182 bhp, sold from 1999 to 2006.