Alexandre
Stellantis already made a name for itself after surprising the Brazilian market with a Peugeot 208 with Fiat engine. The group does it again with the Citroën C3!
Stellantis' choice of a Fiat engine, and more specifically the Firefly in 1.0L or 1.3L versions, in the new Brazilian Citroën C3 raises some interesting questions. This decision may seem surprising at first glance, especially when you consider that the brand's new Italian models, such as the Fiat 600, Lancia Ypsilon and Alfa Romeo Milano, are built on PSA's CMP platform, which would make it easier to integrate PSA's combustion and electric powertrains.
Yet, the reality of the Brazilian market offers a different perspective. In a country where 1.0L engines dominate almost 60 % of the automotive market in the segment concerned, and where ethanol is widely used as a fuel, Fiat's Firefly engine is the ideal solution. Its ability to adapt to ethanol and its performance, comparable to that of the 1.2L Puretech engine previously used, make it the perfect choice to meet the expectations of Brazilian consumers.
The introduction of the Citroën C3 2025 equipped with the 1.0 Turbo Flex 200 engine in Brazil represents a major step forward. This engine, already present in the C3 Aircross 2024, promises to maintain its appreciated performance, with 125 hp of power with petrol and 130 hp. Offered with a 7-speed CVT gearbox, this car is positioned as the most affordable automatic option in Brazil. The model is expected to sell for under R$ 100,000, or around €18,749.
Beyond its engine, the Citroën C3 2025 will not forget to pamper its future owners with a comprehensive equipment package. The 7-inch digital dashboard, borrowed from its cousin the C3 Aircross, modernizes the driving experience, with a generous list of standard equipment.
Launch scheduled for June!
Source : autopapo
So equipping Stellantis versions with Fiat engines wouldn't be a bad thing to make them run on E85 in Europe. As I've said from the start. PSA supplies the small and medium platforms and Fiat the engines, and PSA could take advantage of the STLA Large to relaunch Citroën for good and put a stop to DS. Not only would Fiat/Abarth, Peugeot/Opel be able to sell far more vehicles in the smaller ranges and flood the European market, but this would enable Citroën/Lancia/Alfa/Maserati to make only limited numbers of top-of-the-range models with real profits to show for it.
We're well aware of the disastrous reliability of 1.2 puretec engines, and 1.6 thp engines also have PB timing...
It would be a good idea to use Fiat's bank of more reliable engines (Peugeot used to make puncture-proof engines right up to the 206-406...) to stop the bleeding.
It takes a long time to build a reputation, but it's very quick to shoot it down.
(dixit Mercedes Benz entre autres, VW Audi, etc...)
In the end, who are the winners? The Japanese, who won't launch a new technology until they've made it reliable.
Result: Toyota, Lexus, Suzuki, Mazda Mitsubishi in the top 5 most reliable, 6th BMW Mini (only European!).
In the bottom 10, we have the French, Nissan (like Renault), Fiat, Opel, and Jaguar Land Rover in last place!
Manufacturers need to take into account that when a car breaks down, you change brands! (I'll never take an Opel again).
There's certainly a market for E85 in Europe. For Stellantis, the risk is that customers will turn away from the ex-PSA PureTech combustion engine, or even the electric motor, towards the FireFly E85 made by the former FCA (in Europe or elsewhere?). In fact, despite the collective action against the PureTech, and its recent update, I don't have much faith in the French remaining in control...
Street 13
Yet they've already fired the new Maseratis and put the FCA-era ones back in.
The old PSA engines were made by La Française de Mécanique in partnership with Renault. The latest Fiat tipo has been declared Europe's most reliable sedan. In the USA, Alfa is in the top 3.
In the USA 🇺🇸 and in the EU 🇪🇺, German brands are at the bottom of the rankings because BMW, Audi and Porsche have too many engine problems, with repeated turbo, cylinder head and gearbox failures, faulty injections and excessive electronic bugs.
Only Japanese brands are exempt.
Citroëns are as ugly as ever.
It's indeed a shame that European countries have to make do with PureTech engines, when the Firefly engine is much better, and would be well accepted especially in Italian cars.
You're going to laugh, Stanislas, but I find them a thousand times prettier than the Peugeots, which I find hideously ugly.
I have a 2020 Tipo 4-door sedan equipped with the Firefly 1.0, with 100hp, so it's limited compared to what it can develop on the 500X (120hp), but quite sufficient!
I make him drink 55% of E85, the rest in 95 E10....
36,000 km as it is, no box or reprog, a real clock.
It sucks e85 it's a real cancer....meme Ford stop it ....moi j'ai du boulot a l'atelier....super
However, I do the same thing in certain vehicles and it poses no problem! 🤷🏻♂️
Nonsense.
In Brazil, engines use this fuel natively, so there are no particular problems.
Firefly turns to alcohol there...
The fiat to replace purtech's big m....... Why not even in Europe.
There's nothing like a good, fuel-efficient diesel ❤️
Before thinking of launching new engines, Stellantis would be better off finding a solution for the failures of its Pure daube engine, Piretruc, which has left many of us in a catastrophic situation: hs engines unsupported with a credit that continues for a dead car...