Visitors to the Paris Motor Show this month will be able to enjoy all the prestige of the Fiat Croma Model Year ’07. The model on display will be equipped with a 200 bhp 2.4 Multijet and clad in a brand new Ink Blue exterior colour.

The Croma Model Year ’07 is exhibited in its top specification and graced by new luxurious natural leather interiors combined with a one-coloured facia and burnished mouldings. The car is also equipped with a generous Sky Dome sunroof, a Connect NAV+ satellite navigation system and 10 spoke 18” alloys. This is the ideal car for customers who want superb performance combined with good value for money in terms of standard equipment – everything at a truly unbeatable price.

Croma Model Year 2007

This is a further development of a model that sets out to increase an already high standard of value for money to the customer. From the Dynamic specification, the Croma Model Year ’07 is also adorned with chrome inserts on the front and rear bumpers and side mouldings on the doors with a chrome insert. On the Emotion version, in addition to the features already present on the Dynamic, the Croma Model Year ’07 displays a new look front central grille and lower grilles on the Chrome Shadow effect bumpers plus new front headlights with burnished housings. The Must version benefits from the same exterior features as the Emotion plus new natural leather interiors with new inserts on the facia, panels and gearknob with burnished Chrome effect. The Croma Model Year ’07 range is also complemented by new 17” and 18” alloys and an original midnight blue exterior colour (Jazz Cool Blue) that helps to enhance the great stylistic attributes typical of the Croma.

So much for the new features introduced on the Model Year ’07. All the attributes of a model that is renowned for its substance are naturally retained: great interior roominess for outstanding comfort; technological innovation in the diesel engine sector and, lastly, superior quality for a standard production model. The new car was also recently awarded a prestigious five-star ranking by Euro NCAP.

Hence the model’s sales success: the car has conquered Europe with approximately 60,000 orders since its launch. And more. The sales mix in terms of specification level and engines is very attractive. Firstly, 50% of customers opted for one of the best-equipped versions: the Croma Emotion accounted for 40% of sales while the remaining 10% chose the top-of-the-range Must specification including 18” alloys, leather interiors and the generously-glazed Sky Dome sunroof. Customer preferences also confirmed the model’s worth and excellence as far as engines are concerned. For the Multijet turbodiesel engines in particular, 60% of customers chose the 150 bhp 1.9 Multijet 16v engine while 10% chose the powerful 200 bhp 2.4 Multijet engine. Lastly, versions with 5 or 6 speed automatic transmissions accounted for 25% of Fiat Croma orders even though the segment average is some 10%.

The Comfort Wagon is here

The new Croma was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and it introduces original styling with innovative architecture and smart features. As the designer explained: ‘In the last 20 years, technological progress and market expectations have changed rapidly. We just have to think of safety and the work involved in fitting airbags in the most effective points, the services offered by electronics in terms of individual comfort, active and passive safety, and of information. I would say that, compared to the 3-box model of 1985, the new Croma has basically taken on board the lessons learned with MPVs - tall cars in which the space can be interpreted freely according to circumstances - while it retains the image of a very comfortable saloon: in other words a Comfort Wagon’.

This premise has created a highly original car that leads its class in certain areas: for example, where access is concerned, due to the flat floor and raised H-points at front and rear. But the car fears no comparison in terms of roominess, as we can see from the generous space above the passengers' heads, the distance between the rows of seats (the best in its category) and the raised driving position that guarantees better control over the road and better external visibility.
 

In addition to the fact that the glazed area on the new model is one of the best in its segment (3254 m2) and guarantees excellent acoustic and vibration comfort, thanks to careful analysis of the passenger compartment and the special suspension setting. And finally, certain outfits offer an innovative modular system for the luggage compartment that adapts perfectly to a wide range of individual needs.

Together these features make it the roomiest car in its segment: the new Croma comes with one body type, 475 centimetres long, 177 cm wide and 160 cm high, and a wheelbase of 270 cm, measurements that translate into an extraordinary amount of interior roominess. The new model is in line with the best competition where length and width are concerned, but about 10 centimetres higher. Original outside, spacious and silent inside. The Croma Model Year ’07 is a car created to satisfy people with different needs, tastes and lifestyles, who all have something in common: the desire for a comfortable car. For those who seek outstanding performance, the Croma offers a powerful 200 bhp 2.4 Multijet engine (combined with a 6-speed automatic sequential gearbox) that sets the car at the top of its category for its specific power rating: 83 bhp/litre.

Category-topping Multijet engines

When it comes to engines, the new Croma Model Year ’07 reveals a second type of substance: in addition to the two feisty petrol engines (the 2.2 16v delivering 147 bhp, and the 1.8 16v delivering 140 bhp), the model offers three Multijet turbodiesel engines (the 120 or 150 bhp 1.9, and the new 2.4 litre unit delivering 200 bhp), yet another demonstration of Fiat Auto's technological superiority in this field. The Fiat Group has set numerous records in the field of diesel cars, starting with the Croma TDI which was the world's first direct injection diesel car back in 1986.

The Croma Model Year ’07 is offered with no fewer than 5 different gearboxes to exploit the performance of its engines in full (all the engines meet EEC phase 4 emission limits): in brief, all the petrol engines come with a 5 speed gearbox with an option to fit an automatic sequential gearbox on the 2.2 16v. All the diesel engines come with 6-speed gearboxes with an automatic sequential gearbox as an alternative to the manual unit on the 150 1.9 Multijet and as the only choice on the powerful 200 bhp 2.4 Multijet 20V.

An extensive range that offers good value for money

The new Croma offers value for money first of all, expressed by an extensive range with numerous outfits that allow a wide choice of customisation and advantages that increase progressively with the higher specification levels. For example, if you choose the second specification, the Dynamic, you can benefit from an advantage equal to 40 percent of the value of the additional features present on this version.

Every outfit has been designed with the right level of equipment, with materials chosen specifically to create an ideal, comfortable environment modelled to the customer's requirements. One example will suffice: the vast glazed surface of the double opening sunroof that is standard equipment on some versions. Each specification level is trimmed in different cloth and offers a choice between two colours (dark grey or beige) or even leather upholstery that adds a new natural shade combined with a single-colour facia and burnished mouldings to the two existing shades. You can choose your Croma Model Year ’07 from all these versions. All represent good value for money and, above all, are heirs to an automotive concept that Fiat has helped significantly to create and develop: large saloons with stylish, practical looks.

The Croma Model Year ’07 adds a host of sophisticated devices and systems to this equipment array that make it a new benchmark in its segment. Examples include: ESP, Xenon headlights, antiwhiplash front seats and as many as nine airbags (in the field of safety); an advanced satellite navigation system (CONNECT Nav Plus) and a Hi-Fi system with eight speakers and sub-woofer (in the field of entertainment and infomobility), Cruise Control and a sequential automatic transmission (for stress-free driving), special 16” and 18” alloy wheel designs which impart an individual stylistic personality to the car.