Fiat Linea 125S

The Linea T-Jet gets 11 horses added to its stable

THE LINEA HAS BEEN in the market for over a decade now. Fiat brought in several upgrades to the sedan but the sales never picked up. So what does Fiat do? Bring in more updates! The latest in the series being this Linea 125S and as the moniker says, it makes 125PS (123bhp) of power. But can it impress the enthusiast in me (since my daily driver is a T-Jet) and make me upgrade to this uprated version? Well, let's find out.

All-new?

The 125S was showcased at the Auto Expo with a lowered suspension and an all-black theme, without the chrome bits. Sadly, Fiat hasn't brought in any of the design elements in the production version (just like in the case of the Urban Cross we drove last month) and there is no way you can differentiate this 'sporty' variant from the lower specced MultiJet, with the exception of the 125S badge.

The Linea 125S retains the 1,368cc T-Jet turbocharged petrol engine that was introduced in 2010. The engine has been retuned and now makes 123bhp of power (up by 11bhp) while the torque figure remains the same, at 208Nm. What it means is that the power-to-weight ratio has gone up from 90bhp/ tonne to 98bhp/tonne. Along with the additional horses, a 5.7-inch touchscreen has now made its way into the central console. Although it's a high-res unit, it lacks several features, such as a reverse camera, Blue&Me and it cannot even charge iPhones anymore.