| Fiat Qubo Goes Butch | ||
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(Mon 14 Sep 09) Fiat is displaying a new version of the van-based Qubo at the Frankfurt Show and will start selling it in the UK later this month.
It's called the Trekking, and it's designed to be able to cope with slightly tougher conditions than the average Qubo. The ride height is 20mm higher than normal, there's an engine guard, and Pirelli M&S (mud and snow) tyres are fitted as standard. Drive from the 74bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbo diesel still goes through just the front wheels rather than all four, but Fiat has introduced a system called Traction+. Like other similar systems, this is described as the electronic equivalent of a limited slip differential, though in fact it applies the brakes to the wheel with less traction rather than transferring power to the wheel with more, as an LSD does. But the general effect is about the same, and Traction+ is cheaper. The Qubo Trekking will cost £12,650, which makes it the most expensive car in the range by £300. Strangely, it is also officially the most economical, with a combined figure of 64.2mpg (as opposed to 62.8mpg for the other Qubo diesels) and CO2 emissions of 115g/km. |
