First drive in a classic Fiat Croma

[kev131]

A recently sold (on Ebay UK) Croma CHT has made its way to Ireland and I had the pleasure of driving it today. This satisfied me on various levels as I had actuallty been considering bidding on the car (and didn't & was wondering about its condition) and I also had never driven one of these cars.

All in all it was a very surprising and pleasant experience. I did not expect how closely to a modern car it felt both in handling and the controls and as this particluar model had led a sheltered life (only 27,000 miles from new) and having just been serviced the car felt tight and responsive. My power expectations from a 90bhp 2 litre engine were guite low but it felt quite sprightly in 2nd and 3rd, certainly quicker than my lighter Supermirafiori. The gear change was positive and the steering provided good feedback. The s/wheel was more flatly angled though, more lke a trucks than a car. The car also had almost zero space to rest my left foot, something overlooked on the RHD conversion maybe..?

The heater worked very well as did all the electrics. It had 4 new Pirelli tyres so I felt confident pushing it a little on the wet roads. Currently it is in daily use shuttling its owner between the UK and Ireland and after my short drive, I'd be confident that the car should provide reliable and comfortable transport, all for a rediculously low purchase price (which included sparkling alloy wheels from the Turbo version). 

Here are some pics from the Ebay listing.

[Sev131]

Ah nice one Kev, so Bob woodwards car is sold.

I had some brand new spares for this car which i sold to him.

It was bought by a recovery truck chap/cars for scrap who lives 1 mile away from me before bob bought it. Glad he saw sense and mot'd it to sell on.

Best of luck to the new owner.

[djape1977]

certainly quicker than my lighter Supermirafiori

somethings wrong with your 131 than. i've had croma I.E. with 122bhp and it wasn't faster than 131 in any regime except a bit higher top speed

[kev131]

certainly quicker than my lighter Supermirafiori

somethings wrong with your 131 than. i've had croma I.E. with 122bhp and it wasn't faster than 131 in any regime except a bit higher top speed

Well my Supermirafiori is only 1367cc with 75 bhp...!

I didn't do a back to back test & my 131 does feel sprightly...but the Croma felt like it had bigger stronger lungs...if you know what I mean....

[djape1977]

sorry, i thought that you had 1,6 or 2.0 supermirafiori

[simon131]

Theo and I have always said how good these 'classic' Cromas are Kev! We weren't joking! 

I had a silver, one owner 1987 D-reg 2.0 ie Super for about 7 years from late 1995 and it was a wonderful workhorse. I had a 2.0 20v Marea HLX around the same time and often used the Croma for the long motorway journeys I had to undertake at the time for work as it was more comfortable! Huge boot on the Croma too and bags of space for the passengers.

I considered bidding on this Croma too, but I have nowhere to put another car and no funds at the moment to properly care for it.  One day I hope to have another, until then I'm enjoying reveiwing your/ebay pics. Happy days.

[124 man]

Bit of a Fiat gathering in Tipp Kev , track day 

[Rob 131]

Kev / Simon

Lovely photos of a very underated car. My uncle late in 1986 had one of the first Turbo's (in red) imported to Ireland. I remember it having exceptional performance at the time .

These cars were exceptional value used and I remember looking for myself at a blue F reg 2.0 Super in 1993. I was eventually offered a friends mum E30 320i at a very knock down price and bought that instead .

It is a shame that Fiat / Lancia / Alfa no longer offer a car in this class. If there was a modern version of a 1991 Alfa 164 Cloverleaf, I'd be camped in the Fleet Manager's garden .

Rob