We have always liked Fiats and I have owned one in the past. They are built like a tank, have great handling characteristics and their steering feedback is one of the best in the segments. We get our hands on the Avventura, as we have always liked the Grande Punto and now the Punto Evo. So, how does the Avventura perform as a crossover? We keep it with us for a couple of months to find that. Fiat Avventura rear

The Avventura is a crossover and it has a ground clearance of 210mm, which is fantastic. But then, the Avventura has a ground clearance however you do not sit high like an SUV. It is higher than the Punto Evo if you try seating in both back-to-back. Drive it on bad roads and you will realise how good this additional ground clearance is. Fiat was the first manufacturer to introduce a crossover with high ground clearance. It was later on that even Hyundai followed.

Fiat Avventura dash

The Avventura is like a Punto on the inside. Except for the tilt meters and compass, there is no difference between the two on the inside. The seats are supportive, however they are just fine for long journeys. The interior quality of the Avventura is good and soft touch is a standard feature on most of the models.

Fiat Avventura interior

The space is the same like the Punto Evo and even this has ambient lighting. The front row seats are decent in comfort and are very spacious, while the rear is a bit tight on kneeroom. The boot size is decent, though access to it is a bit of a hassle as it isn’t very easy to use it. We preferred flipping the seats to access the boot at times. There is a 60:40 split for seats and this makes it very easy to access it.

The Blue & Me is a good feature to have with voice command, but it doesn’t bluetooth audio streaming still. This is a common feature across all the segments now. The Avventura gets dual airbags and ABS on the top-of-the-line Emotion variant. We did face some auto connectivity issues with the bluetooth, but that is common on most of the car systems.

Fiat Avventura 3

One of the best aspects of the Avventura is its drive. The gear shifts are a bit notchy and one needs to shift a bit too often in city unless you shift into a higher gear at about 3500rpm (for the diesel engine). The Fiat Avventura has that turbo lag and the engine wakes up at about 2000rpm. The Avventura shines on the highway. It feels so good to drive on the highway and it feels at home on bad roads. Where the other hatchbacks struggle, the Avventura’s 210mm of ground clearance makes the real difference.

Driving this crossover on bad roads and even on twisties is a lot of fun. There is no body roll despite the increased ground clearance. This makes the Avventura a fun vehicle. The steering wheel also weighs up perfectly and the clutch is sift enough. The only issue is its mileage as we got about 14.5km/l on a mixed cycle of city and highway. This can be a lot better than this. We drove it for about 4,000 kilometres atleast.

Fiat Avventura wheel

The Avventura is certainly a great package especially if you like the rugged look and ground clearance. You don’t sit high, but for broken tarmac its ideal. I personally would have preferred the Avventura without a tailgate mounted rear wheel. This would have been perfect as I do access the boot often and after having driven the Punto for a long time, I find that easier and convenient. However, if you just want to enjoy the drive of the car and aren’t too keen on higher ground clearance than the Punto Evo 75bhp is a cheaper replacement. Read our Punto Evo 75bhp Reliability Report.

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