Fiat Palio (Progetto 178). 1996 to date (prod. 2,500,000 sold Brazil only). 3- and 5-door sedan, 5-door wagon. F/F, 999, 1108, 1242, 1372, 1581 cm³ petrol, 1698, 1910 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC), 1242, 1248, 1581, 1596, 1598, 1747 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Fiat’s “world car” created for developing countries, originally styled by I.DE.A., and based around the Punto platform. Four-door sedan badged Siena. Facelifts in 2001, 2004 and 2007. Very successful in South America; less so in India due to indifferent quality. Good ride given the price, especially later models as Fiat constantly improved the Palio, though some engines’ performance, especially the smaller OHC units, left something to be desired. Fuel economy not that remarkable from the smaller units; a lot more acceptable from the 1·6 petrol OHC and some DOHC ones. After it left production in China in 2008, it was revived by Zotye in 2010. New five-door sedan for South America from the end of 2011.

Manufacturing locations: Betim, Brazil; Córdoba, Argentina; Bursa, Turkey; La Victoria, Aragua, Venezuela; Nanjing, China; Casablanca, Morocco; Rosslyn, South Africa; Pune, India

Marque: Fiat | Model: Fiat Palio | Successor: Fiat Palio (326)

q.v. Fiat Siena, Fiat Albea, Fiat Perla, Zotye Z200