Fiat Tipo Cross - an Ice Cold Chase!
A VANISHING POINT AT JULIER PASS
Quite a small parking lot right at the top of the Julier Pass, 2284 metres above the sea level. It is already grey, as the sun hid behind the mountains, surrounding us somewhat overwhelmingly from every single side. Just a quick stop for us to admire the views. Very quick. Then we saw her, as she was approaching classically sleek outline of a car. She was wearing a strikingly orange puffer jacket. Opened the door, closed it right shut… and a chase begun.
60, 80, 90, 100 kilometres per hour. Braking point, back in third and 60, right-hand turn and again to above a hundred. Another set of curves and… she’s gone. Or should I rather say they are gone, as it was Katarina Kyvalova driving her 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy. It is a matching number car - one of only 60 pieces made with a fully aluminium body and an original ‘Prova’ vehicle, which Ferrari used in Rallye Monte Carlo. Driven today like there’s no tomorrow and definitely worthy of the car’s rich racing history.
Seeing no safe chance of closing the gap Piotr and I happily slowed down in our Fiat Tipo Cross and discussed what has just happened for the remaining 15 kilometres we had left to St. Moritz. Having ensured each other it was not an delusion after 1440 kilometres driven during the past 17 hours we admired both how capable old sports cars still are, how brave are some drivers (chapeau bas! Katarina) and how thrilling has the test of our little Fiat just become.
A LONG AND INTENSE TRIP
The plan both for the weekend and in parallel, long distance test of the Fiat Tipo Cross, was simple. Drive from Warsaw to St. Moritz, visit I.C.E. St. Moritz on Saturday and return on Sunday. 72 hours, out of them 34 in the car, travelling more than 2850 kilometres while climbing some pretty high mountain passes. If it sounds extreme to you in a car which has one-litre, inline-three turbocharged engine generating 100 horsepower I can assure you – it surely sounded like that to me, too.
When I picked up the car in Warsaw I was impressed with its design. It is very proportional in its station wagon lines and Paprika Orange metallic colour may be the perfect match. The Cross version comes fitted with stock, 17” aluminium rims crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s of the external look. Oh, and let’s not forget about that tiny wing extending the roof overhang – it adds to the looks and works as a handy shelf for coffee during stopovers!
Inside is neat and tidy, too. The interior is mostly dark grey and black, with material seats partially covered with Dani leather, in our instance heated (thank god, it was -20 in Switzerland) as one of the very few options available. The latter is actually a good thing! Fiat Tipo Cross comes almost complete with most equipment and functions installed as stock, with two optional packages available: Comfort Plus and Safety. These respectively improve car connectivity and enhance drive safety through lane assist and blind spot control. Well done!
LOTS OF PLEASANT SURPRISES
After a few dozen kilometres in Warsaw I have already bonded with the medium-sized Fiat. It did well around the town as it should – those will be cityscapes in which the typical owner will drive. Another thousand kilometres en route made me realise Tipo Cross is also very comfortable for that class of a car. On a highway you are well assisted by the very good active cruise control and the small warning triangles flashing in the mirrors, if that car on the left lane is just a little too close for you to switch.
Of course, the tiny turbocharged engine is not your highway friend (as it is not supposed to be) and a stronger unit would be advised if you are into longer travels. The three cylinders work best until 120 km/h after which it becomes quite loud inside the car. The coupled gearshift is sufficient and ratios are very flexible but one thing caught me (and my co-driver, too) as a surprise. There is very little difference between the 4th and 5th gear and to such an extent, you might find yourself crushing on a highway in the lower gear. Shift-up, hardly anything changes. Sometimes, we just forgot.
A FAITHFUL COMPANION
Winding route in Swiss Alps gave the orange Fiat the test it will rarely experience. Climbing up the high passes and chasing Ferraris on descents put the handling components to work rather hard. Mountain roads confirmed the rear drum brakes are a little bit soft after a while and discs would have worked much better. In the city there will be nothing to complain about, though.
The multimedia system works really well and so does the computer. In the latter, you can set-up multiple trips, change the dials to display information ranging from lane assist, through average fuel consumption to just digital speedometer. Everything works without a glitch, but… the remaining range seemed very volatile when in high mountains. It could vary up to 200km after passing just ten… strange! In the end, Tipo averaged 7.2 litres per 100km which given the route conditions is a brilliant score!
WHEN IN MOUNTAINS… IS IT A PASS?
Taking a car which has definitely not been designed and configured to do straining gran tourismos to do such is not fair, is it? What Fiat Tipo Cross did though, is that it rose to the challenge and was a faithful companion for three very long days.
It performed much better than expected and if it did so in extremely cold conditions of Swiss Alps, I am confident it will also finely do the shopping with you and deliver it to a family cottage by the lakeside 300 kilometres away. Or would you dare to go for a bigger adventure?
I would like to thank Stellantis Poland for lending us the car - it made for an amazing trip. It should be noted though, the review remained unbiased.
Thanks go also to Piotr from Fotopatologia for co-driving and being a great companion in cracking these long miles!
Text & Photos: Adam Pekala ©
