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Fiat Croma, the best family car that you have never heard of. Or maybe you’ve heard, but you’ve never been interested. But for you, today and only today, this italian Vectra enters the Autodrivel ring.

I will go straight to the point and I will kick you in the nads (or beaver, in the unlikely event that a girl reads about Fiat Croma or Almost Car Reviews in general) and I will tell you that Fiat Croma is built on the Vauxhall platform for the Vectra C and Saab 9-3. Basically, I could copy the paste from the article about Vectra and I could go to the pub for a 5 beer binge, but only up until 22:59 otherwise the rozzers will come and gives me a fine + a beating and then they will take me away. Thank you based Boris and based COVID.

The Vectra C, which I still consider to have been a car drawn in 5 minutes, during a coffee break, by some people who couldn’t care less about cars, addressed the sort of chap who wanted as much car as possible out of their money. Not necessarily good or luxurious, but alot. The same people who tried their luck with the Mondeo II station wagon but realized that the 1.8 TDDI makes more noise than a child who has a bag of chips in his hands but starts knocking on the vending machine window because he wants another bag of chips, identical to the one opened, and that he starts throwing a trantrum if you show him the bag in his hands and you tell him that “let’s go to mommy for some money because I don’t have any on me” and he realizes that you really just tried to trick him out of buying a new bag of chips.

And then there is the Fiat Croma, which is similar to the Vectra, costs a little more than a Vectra and is much more practical than a Vectra. I never liked the gear shifter mounted high up like in a van, but I understand the concept and that it is much more comfortable to drive than in the classic position. And because we are talking about the pasta-lovers, the Croma is a combination between an station wagon and a MPV, a kind of Italian Sharan but only smaller, more attractive and cheaper. You have acres of space inside and miles up to the ceiling so you can carry your family with you at any time. But because it is a Fiat from their heyday in terms of reliability, no one has bought it. And in Europe, where we drive only Opel and up because we are Europeans and we have a reputation, Fiat Croma remained in the parking lots of the representative offices, being bought only because you got a good deal at the stealership, much like the Bravo, another great but obscure Fiat.

Fiat Croma Engines

Petrol

• 1.8 A18XER of 140 horsepower – The same 1.8 petrol that powered the Vectra C and Saab 9-3 and then on the Insignia, and here is found sitting as the base engine on the Croma. If this is the basic engine for Croma, I already like where this is going.


• 2.2 L61 of 150 horsepower – Only if you have a bizarre fetish with the woman working at the Council Tax counter then I can recommend this engine. You get 10 extra horses and pay the 4 times more in taxes and as far as insurance goes, God help us all. But then again, as long as there are people who are physically satisfied Netflix’s “Conspiracy” series, then I do not have the right comment on bizarre fetishes.

Diesel

• 1.9 Multijet of 120 and 150 horsepower – The well-known 1.9 CDTI from Fiat, which has been mounted on just about anything in the car industry, and is a decent engine. It’s not Sir Stevo Timothy, but it’s a decent engine. Avoid the 150-horsepower version because it’s as good an engine as an alcoholic as a pub manager. The 120 version is ok though.


• 2.4 Multijet of 200 horsepower – It’s hard to believe that too many people would throw themselves at a 200 horsepower Fiat Croma powered by the not very bright 2.4 Multijet. High taxes and insurance, issues with the camshaft, thermostat and cylinders. But then again it’s hard to believe that people today keep on saying “ok boomer”. Duh, that’s like so last year.

Fiat Croma Reliability Issues

• Let’s start with the diesel engines since they are far more popular and are famous for DPF issues if they are driven in the city frequently. Plus there are issues with the DPF regeneration in the sense that if you stopped the car during regeneration, the next time you start the engine the regeneration will not continue where it left off, but will start a new cycle. This means that it will throw extra diesel through the oil and I don’t have to tell you what happens next. The issue is also known with Insignia but also all the way over at Mazda, so be careful not to buy a diesel Croma and drive it in the city. Or any kind of diesel in fact.


• Fiat Croma was and is a low-cost car, so don’t expect a high-quality interior. The plastics scratch, fall or melt if you leave them in the sun, so if you have the impression that you are buying your very own Rolls Royce for 2000 euros, I suggest you take a rope and a stone, tie the rope around your neck and take a jump in the Cole River.


• The car came from the factory with 7 airbags, which is a very important thing for the family-oriented man looking for his next private bus. Unfortunately, being made with italian electrics, the airbags will always give you trouble.


• The tailgate unlocks just fine via remote but it has a mind of it’s own when it comes to be unlocked with the ol’ fashioned key. I remember that I also had this issue a few times back when I owned a VW Polo, only that for me it didn’t unlock at all.

Fiat Croma Verdict

It’s a car that depends a lot on perspective. If you look at it as a low-cost car, then Fiat Croma is one of the best family cars that you have never heard of. If you are a true European though and drive from VW upwards, then Fiat Croma is a way out of your sight. The thing is though, when you go to the car shop and pour 2000 pounds into your car while having a 1500 pounds salary, don’t forget that the one guy with the Fiat or the Dacia Logan is still rolling about on the streets. The one guy which with 500 pounds repaired half of the car. Because we should buy the cars that we can afford. Unfortunately, we are not as advanced as the nation, and cars like Fiat Croma will still remain in the hands of the lucky few who buy the car, not the logo.

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol I can not recommend anything other than the 1.8 MPI 140 horsepower unit, but the most balanced engine for the Croma remains 1.9 120 horsepower diesel.