2014 Fiat Linea Facelift Test Drive & Review

Design and Styling:

On the cosmetic front, it is very much sophisticated and speaks Italian from every bit. Chrome on front grille, fog lamps enclosures and lip spoiler with air dam are easily spotted. Must say, the black inserts on the backdrop of chrome structures is working impeccably, which can be only thought by Italians.
On the outer crust at rear, the big change is of number plate fixture – shifted from bumper to bootlid. With the minute tweaking, Fiat managed to slap a one more chrome strip on the rear bumper.

And if we aren’t wrong, then the tail lamp clusters are also new; it was found fitted with one more diode for highway driving. Boot space remained generous, received hydraulic suspension for the opening.

Interiors:

Moving inside, cabin is completely revamped. It is refreshed, and airy. Beige and black colored dashboard, nifty audio system, soft plastic feel, new console are the things to talk about. The most remarkable change that this new car got is the ‘ambient lighting’, which makes customers feels special during night. Number of cubby holes all around is worth of maximum utility. The knee room at front isn’t that generous to tall persons. Meanwhile, at the rear, seats were bolstered with great comfort and central armrest embedded cup holders. The top end variant is loaded with a sun-down cover for rear wind-shield.

Drive and handling:

Drive and handling experience is tried and tested throughout the time for 1.3L Multijet Linea. It sticks like a leech on curves, fails to deliver turbo till 2000rpm, and even further. Steering gives a bulky feel. Well, those good old folks on suspension ease up bumps-jumps. The potholes-filled tarmacs don’t bother either, because the ground clearance is notched to a massive “190mm”. The top player in the list remains that “Cruise Control”, which is the first in segment. City driving needs keep shifting the cogs, whereas the highways either don’t feels better at all. Lack of sixth gear is but obviously a missing component!

Safety:

ABS with EBD, passenger and driver airbag, reverse parking sensor, and more importantly the safety-belt alarm are the ones to be named in the list of safety features for top-end variant.

Conclusion:

Overall, the 2014 Fiat Linea is a good product for the money value. Oodles of chrome, Italian style and end number of features complete it all. An added feature of Cruise Control manages to sail it swiftly despite facing the turbo lag. All said and done, the 2014 Linea is a good effort by Fiat that had changed the world of its sedan at a very minimal input cost. So our rating for it stands tall at 7 out of 10.