Fiat Uno

Fiat Uno at a glance

The Uno is listed with Fiat's other models in our Fiat catalogue; the wider story of the Turin company is told in Fiat: history of the Italian car maker.

Fiat Uno generations

Uno I (1983–1989): Giugiaro's tall supermini

Fiat presented the Uno in January 1983 as the successor to the 127. Giugiaro's tall, boxy shape still had a drag coefficient of only 0.34. The Uno was also designed for largely automated assembly: according to German Wikipedia, about 200 welding robots and 20 painting robots were used, and 172 parts were joined by 2,700 spot welds, only 30 of them by hand. A single-arm windscreen wiper was another detail of the design. In December 1983 the Uno was voted European Car of the Year 1984, narrowly ahead of the Peugeot 205.

At launch the range ran from the 45 with the 903 cc engine of the 127, 33 kW (45 PS), through the 1.1-litre 55 to the 1.3-litre 70 S with 50 kW (68 PS). A 1.3-litre diesel with 33 kW (45 PS) followed in 1983, and a 1.7-litre diesel and a CVT automatic in 1986. In 1985 Fiat introduced the FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotized Engine), a 999 cc four-cylinder designed for robotic production, which replaced the old 903 cc unit. The 75 i.e. with a 1.5-litre fuel-injected engine and 55 kW (75 PS), and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel with 52 kW (71 PS), completed the range.

Uno Turbo i.e.: the hot hatch

The Uno Turbo i.e. arrived in April 1985. Its 1,301 cc turbocharged engine with electronic fuel injection produced 77 kW (105 PS). From 1987 a revised engine with 73–74 kW (99–101 PS) was fitted, in part with a catalytic converter.

The facelifted Uno II brought a 1,372 cc Turbo i.e. in 1990. Sources disagree on its output: German Wikipedia gives 82 kW (111 PS) for the Racing version of 1991–1995, while English Wikipedia lists 87 kW (118 PS). Either way it was the most powerful Uno sold in Europe, and it stayed in production until 1995.

Uno II (1989–1995): facelift, FIRE engines and the end in Italy

The facelift was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1989. It brought a smoother front, a new dashboard and a lower drag coefficient of 0.30. FIRE engines with 1.0 and 1.1 litres, the latter with 37 kW (50 PS), and a 1.4-litre with 51 kW (69 PS) were added, and more versions received fuel injection and a catalytic converter. Kerb weights stayed low: from 740 kg for the 1.0 FIRE to 775 kg for the 1.1 i.e.

The Fiat Punto took over in September 1993, and most Uno versions left the European range that autumn. Production at Mirafiori and Rivalta near Turin ended in October 1995, after 6,032,911 Italian-built Unos. Fiat Auto Poland continued to build the car at its Polish plants from 1995 to 2002, adding 173,382 cars.

The Uno around the world

The Uno became one of Fiat's most international models. Besides Turin, it was built or assembled at Betim (Brazil), Córdoba (Argentina, 179,767 cars from 1989 to 2000), Bursa (Turkey, by Tofaş), Kragujevac (Yugoslavia, by Zastava), Casablanca (Morocco), Jakarta (Indonesia), Makati (Philippines) and Manta (Ecuador). In South Africa Nissan assembled it from 1990 to 1998 and Fiat from 1998 to 2006; about 110,000 were built there between 1990 and 2002. In India a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat and Tata built it from January 1997, and in Pakistan Raja Motor assembled kits from 2001 to 2004.

Brazil was the most important market after Italy. Betim built the Uno from 1984, and from 1990 the simple Uno Mille with a 1.0-litre engine became the country's entry-level car. English Wikipedia counts 4,379,356 Unos built at Betim across all generations. Production of the Brazilian Uno and Mille ended in early 2014, after about 30 years.

Novo Uno (Type 327, 2010–2021)

The second-generation Uno, developed in Brazil and launched there in 2010, shares only its name and boxy character with the original. Built at Betim for South America and other emerging markets, it is roughly the size of a Fiat Punto but offers more interior space. It came as a five-door, from 2011 also as a three-door, and as a van without rear seats or rear side windows.

The engines are flex-fuel units that run on petrol or ethanol: a 1.0-litre Fire with 53 kW (73 PS) on petrol and 55 kW (75 PS) on ethanol, and a 1.4-litre Evo with 62 kW (85 PS) and 64 kW (88 PS). A five-speed manual was standard, and the 1.4 could have an automated gearbox with paddle shifters; later model lists also include a 1.3 Firefly engine. Versions ranged from the basic Vivace and the comfort-oriented Attractive to the raised, crossover-styled Way and the lowered Sporting. A revised Uno followed in 2014 and start-stop became available later. Production ended in late 2021 with the Uno Ciao, a farewell edition of 250 cars.

Engines and performance

Photo gallery