The Fiat Albea is a

subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...

produced by the Italian manufacturer

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

between 2002 and 2012, at the

Tofaş TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...

facilities in Turkey. It is the European version of the global

Fiat Siena The Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. It was introduced for the first ...

, the sedan car derived from the hatch compact

Fiat Palio The Fiat Palio is a supermini car released by the Italian manufacturer Fiat in April 1996. It was produced until 2018 as hatchback, and 2020 as a wagon. The Palio is a world car and was developed by Fiat Automóveis with an aim at developing ...

. It is a low cost sedan, aimed at developing global markets, and was not sold in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. It was also produced in China, where it retained the Fiat Siena nameplate and had two derived versions, the Fiat Perla and currently the

Zotye Z200 The Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. It was introduced for the first t ...

Production

The Albea was designed by the Italian designer

Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002. He w ...

. It has a similar design with its South American equivalent, the

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, but with a longer wheelbase. The extension is visible in a somewhat extended segment between the trailing edge of the rear doors and the rear wheelhouse. A facelifted version has been available since February 2005, two months before the Palio underwent a similar restyling. This version has a new front end, no bumper moldings, and a round "Fiat" badge in the top center of the trunklid. From 2006 to 2011, the Albea was assembled from

complete knock down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...

kits in Russia, in Naberezhnye Chelny, at the

Fiat-Sollers Fiat-Sollers () was a joint venture between Fiat S.p.A. and Sollers JSC (formerly Severstal Avto). Each company had a 50% share in the venture, and the product range was determined by Fiat. Overview It had its origins in January 2006, when a l ...

plant. The car was available in Russia with 1.4-liter petrol engine only. Production in Turkey ended in 2012, ending altogether production of the European version of the Palio.

Engines

Safety rating

The Albea was tested by

ARCAP ARCAP (Autoreview Car Assessment Program) is an automobile safety assessment program founded by the Russian car magazine Autoreview. It was Russia's first independent rating for the passive safety of a car, presenting itself as the local edition ...

, according to the

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven, Belgium. Formed in 1996, the first results were released in February ...

latest regulations. It scored 8.5 points in the frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars in the Euro NCAP testings. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver airbag and regular seatbelts. The Fiat Perla, a Chinese version of the Albea, was tested in China by the China-NCAP in three different tests: a 100% front crash test with a wall (similar to the US NTHSA test), a 40% offset test (similar to the Euro NCAP test) and a side crash test similar to the Euro NCAP. The Perla scored 8.06 points in the 100% frontal crash test, equivalent to three stars, 12.02 points in the 40% offset crash test, equivalent to four stars, and 10,96 points in the side crash test, equivalent to three stars, with an average result of 31 points and three stars. The tested vehicle was equipped with standard driver and passenger airbag and regular seatbelts.

Nameplate use

In Mexico, the 2009 model of the

has been marketed as the Fiat Albea, replacing the Palio Sedán nameplate used on the previous series of the car.

References

External links

Official website
(with redirects to each country's website)
Official Russian Fiat Albea website
{{Modern European Fiat vehicles Albea Front-wheel-drive vehicles ARCAP superminis Sedans Cars introduced in 2002 2010s cars Cars of Turkey Vehicles with CVT transmission