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When the all-new Fiat Uno Flex was unveiled at the Durban Motor Show it caused
quite a stir. Not only was this the first public outing for the ubiquitous Uno,
it was also the first opportunity South Africans had to get ‘up close and
personal’ to an alternative fueled vehicle.
Reconfirming its commitment to biofuels, Fiat Auto South Africa
has shown yet another of
its products in Flex guise – the all-new Strada Flex X-Space. This model has
been on display at NAMPO in the Free State, one of the
country’s foremost agricultural shows, from the 15th till
the 18th May 2007.
Visually, there’s very little to distinguish the Strada Flex X-Space from its
petrol-powered siblings save for the Flex logo on the petrol cap and the
tailgate. And, this is in essence the beauty of Flex technology. Even although
the vehicle has the ability to run on ethanol (also referred to as biofuel as
it’s produced from a renewable crop source) or petrol or indeed any combination
of the two, the modifications required are minimal.
This would explain why in Brazil, where Fiat enjoys a leading market share of
25%, over 95% of new Fiat vehicles sold there are Flex models – this translates
into more than 400,000 vehicles annually. In South Africa, a fossil-fuel
dependant country, the situation could potentially mimic
that of Brazil.
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Visually, there’s very little to distinguish the
Fiat Strada Flex X-Space from its petrol-powered
siblings save for the Flex logo on the petrol cap
and the tailgate. |
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Reconfirming its commitment to biofuels,
Fiat Auto South Africa will present another product
in Flex guise – the Strada X-Space, which will be at NAMPO,
one of the country’s foremost agricultural shows. |
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And,
when that happens, Fiat Auto South Africa will immediately be in a position to supply
Brazilian-sourced Flex vehicles as has been demonstrated with both the Uno Flex
and the Strada Flex.
The Strada X-Space model on display at NAMPO was very similar in spec to its
petrol/diesel brothers. Here is a brief rundown:
Extended cabin configuration; 1.4-litre 8-valve FIRE engine (similar to the one
in the current Strada X-Space with similar outputs)
featuring multi-point fuel injection, but with Flex
technology; five-speed manual transmission;
60 kW power output at 5500rpm; and
120Nm of torque at 2250rpm
In South Africa Fiat will use the
Brazilian market expertise and technical knowledge and leap-frog over the first
step of alcohol-only cars, thus alleviating the potential risk consumers might
have to bear either from an alcohol shortage or increased prices. Fiat will,
therefore, provide them total freedom to choose the most convenient fuel at any
time.
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