Fiat Uno

The Fiat Uno is a supermini automobile produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno began production in 1983, and remains in production throughout the world today, though it ceased production in its native Italy in 1995.

1983-1989

The Uno was launched in 1983 to replace the ageing Fiat 127. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro's ItalDesign company, its tall, square body and a low drag coefficient of 0.34 won it much praise for interior space and fuel economy. It was voted Car of the Year in 1984 by a narrow margin over the Peugeot 205 (its key competitor) and the Mark 2 Volkswagen Golf. Initially, the Uno was offered with the 0.9 ohv, 1.1 sohc and 1.3 sohc petrol engines, as well as a 1.3 diesel engine. The Uno was available as either a 3 or 5 door hatchback.

From 1985, the new 1.0 SOHC FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotised Engine) powerplant was offered, which gave improved performance and economy. Also in 1985 the high-performance Uno Turbo variant was launched, with a 1.3 turbocharged engine offering 105 bhp.

1989-

In September 1989 the Uno was given a mild facelift, which saw revisions to the bodywork that improved the drag coefficient to 0.30. The interior was also revised. At this time, the old 1.1 engine was replaced by a new FIRE version, and a new 1.4 engine replaced the 1.3 in both naturally aspirated and Turbo versions. Uno production ceased in its native Italy in 1995, with sales throughout Western Europe ceasing accordingly. Over 6 million Unos were sold in Europe. The Uno's replacement was the Fiat Punto, which had been launched in early 1994.

After Western European production and sales ceased, the Uno continued to be manufactured and sold in many other regions. The car is still sold in Brazil, where a sedan version called the Duna or Prêmio and a station wagon called the Duna Weekend or Innocenti Elba were also available. Currently, the car is sold as the Fiat Mille, an entry-level model, and received its most recent facelift for the 2004 model year. The 2005 Brazilian range has received a Flex Fuel system, enabling the car to use ethanol or gasoline as fuel, both pure or in any proportion mixture. Nissan's factory in South Africa also continues to produce Unos under licence, without Fiat badges. Production in Fiat's factory in Poland ran until 2002.