FirstDrive: Fiat Sedici Fiat's Sedici is the product of an industry marriage of convenience - but it's a compatible one, says Paddy Comyn
It seems the Italians are at their best when the odds are stacked against them.
With a combination of a solid defence, a good goalkeeper and some well-placed insults, Italy have won the World Cup just as their own domestic league is falling apart quicker than you can say Materazzi.
Fiat has had similar fortunes. From looking like extinction a couple of years back, on the back of such blunders as the Stilo - the car that nearly broke them - they are now selling over 300,000 of their well-received Grande Punto and look like giving us some cars that will be as reliable as they are beautiful.
Part of their success lies with some well-chosen alliances and one such meeting of minds is with Japanese firm Suzuki, who have had their own renaissance of late with their award-winning Swift. This alliance has produced a small SUV that is winging its way to Ireland before year-end - it is called the Sedici. Suzuki also produces a version called the SX4, a car that will go on sale here in Ireland imminently.
While Fiat Ireland tell us that we are unlikely to see any here before the end of the year, mainly because the UK won't give us any of theirs to sell, we got to drive one recently through the rather congested streets of Turin.
So what do you need to know about Sedici? Well firstly, the name means 16 in Italian and you pronounce it "say-dee-chee".
It was first shown at this year's Geneva Motor show and it is built at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary. The design of the Sedici (and indeed the Suzuki SX4) was penned by Giogetto Giugiaro's Italdesign studio and Fiat supply the diesel engines with pretty much the rest of the car coming from Suzuki, although the Fiat is only available with four-wheel drive, while Suzuki do a two-wheel-drive version.
There is a choice of two engines, a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a five-speed manual gearbox and the car we drove, a 1.9-litre Multijet turbo diesel engine with a six-speed transmission.
As this car is for the most part a Suzuki you would be right to assume that it feels well put together and there is a good, solid feel to it.
Inside, there is a lot of Suzuki Swift switchgear and the hard, shiny plastic is not quite as soothing as something you would find in a newly regenerated Fiat.
Passengers will enjoy the space inside, but might grumble about the firm ride which is pretty bone shaking for a car that will spend so much time in the city. On the road the Sedici has a rugged feel and the steering is also quite firm compared to your average supermini.
There is plenty of grip when you need it, thanks to an electromagnetic central differential that uses sensors from the anti-lock brakes to determine slip and grip levels.
The driver gets a choice of three driving modes, each selected by pressing a single switch mounted down by the handbrake. Two-wheel drive mode is used for everyday driving, while Auto mode gives you on-demand all-wheel drive when the situation requires it, such as in bad weather. Lock mode splits the torque equally between the front and rear axle to tackle a muddy field.
The 120bhp 1.9-litre Multijet in the Sedici is a four-cylinder unit and it puts out 280Nm of torque and this feels urgent and powerful in the 1,350kg Sedici. For town driving the 1.6-litre petrol might suit the car a bit better as the 1.9-litre diesel's power comes in big lumps.
Whether the Sedici will be taken up by the Irish buyer is open to debate as this is really a new segment for Fiat. We expect volumes to be low, with many buyers willing to spend €20,000 - €25,000 on a soft-roader looking to the used market instead. As a car on its own the Sedici is curiously likeable and gets a tentative thumbs up as a result.