Production of the Fiat Palio Weekend at Nanjing-Fiat started in 2003 and ended in 2007, with a facelift in 2006. The car in the photos is a post-facelift example. The roof rails were standard, just like the black window frames and door handles.
The Nanjing-Fiat joint venture also produced the Palio hatchback, the Siena sedan, and the Perla sedan. By 2003, wagons were quite popular in China. Buick sold the Sail wagon, and Geely offered the Pride wagon.
Interior
The interior looked rather dusty and a bit dirty. The owner fitted Mickey Mouse-themed seat covers and a red steering wheel cover. A lucky charm hangs at the mirror, and the vehicle is equipped with an old-school pre-Bluetooth device used to connect a phone to the audio system, with an in-built microphone. I had a similar device in my car. You had to key in the number on the device, and it would make a call via your phone, playing the sound on the car’s speakers. Super fancy for the early 00s!
The Fiat Palio Weekend had mud flaps! There is almost nothing I love more about a car. Mud flaps are utterly brilliant, especially on station wagons and 4x4s. The size of the Weekend was: 4142/1615/1527, with a 2437 wheelbase and an 1145 kg curb weight. The cargo space was 460 liters, which was very good for such a small car.
Engine
The only engine available in the post-facelift Palio Weekend was a 1.5-liter four-cylinder unit with 85 hp and 122 Nm. The gearbox was a 5-speed manual. It had front-wheel drive. The top speed was 168 km/h and 0-100 took an easy 13.3 seconds.
In 2007, the Fiat Palio Weekend sold for 72.100 yuan, and that was a pretty good deal. The characters are: 南京菲亚特, Nánjīng Fēiyàtè, Nanjing-Fiat. The Chinese name of the Palio Weekend was 周末风, Zhōumò Fēng, Weekend Wind, as in ‘the wind blows’. Finally, the sticker: 逍遥派, Xiāoyáo pài. This was the name of a Fiat Palio Club, founded in 2002, for people who “like the Palio and love a free and easy life”. Well, that should be no problem with an easy-going wagon like the Palio Weekend.
I got the info about the club from a very old page of the Sina Auto website, which, amazingly, is still online. I am afraid it will be gone soon. Many old pages have been deleted. So I took a screenshot. A truly historical page, really, it even has a period-style Google Search bar! It doesn’t work anymore. But at the time, Google was still available in China.
The club comes together. Via Sina again, more pics here. Anyway, more about Fiat in China soon!