Dodge Forza

Dacia 1300, Daewoo Nexia, Lada Niva, VW Kombi… Every emergent market is able to pinpoint at least one vehicle which was offered in it for much longer than what’s usual, even considering those countries’ special standards for that. While such strategy doesn’t get along at all with recent safety standards or global plans, they seem to be the only possible solution to meet the prices that most of these buyers can afford. But how about watching a vehicle becoming much more expensive when it gets to this phase?

Even most European car enthusiasts will recognize this article’s car. This is Fiat Siena’s fourth phase, produced from 2008 to 2012 in Brazil. The car is Fiat Palio’s sedan variation, whose very first appearance was made in 1999. At that time it was produced exclusively in Argentina, but achieved poor sales. Such situation had to wait until 2000 to change, when the family received its first facelift and focused on the sedan: besides becoming better-looking, it was transferred to be produced in Brazil. Since the results became very positive, Fiat decided to take the model to Europe, with Turkish production and as Albea: it was an extended-wheelbase low-cost version with bigger space and exclusive rear fascia. Siena received two other facelifts, the first one followed by Albea, and was sold specially in Latin America. The last one was also Fiat’s first attempt of taking the sedan into more expensive categories, with better equipment offer and slight visual differences from the hatchback, but this intention would only be completed with the car’s following phase. The new car still shares very much with the also renewed Palio, but feature exclusive styling and bigger wheelbase, in order to suit more refined clients – that’s why it became badged as Grand Siena. But these changes didn’t even come close to represent the old car’s end.

Brazilian Fiat had already divided the fourth Siena into two lines: the upscale received better-looking design and more powerful engines, while there still was a low-cost trim to take the role of entry-level sedan. Such decision enabled the new phase to replace only the more expensive Siena, leaving the old one specialized in the cheaper markets. However, this car’s acceptance in Venezuela has been excellent in such upscale trims, mostly because they could be paired to a complete natural gas kit offered by Fiat, taking the customers away from losing the warranty when installing these kits by themselves. Considering all that along with the fact of the Italians started to merge with Chrysler Group around the same time of Siena’s generation change, the most likely train of thought it was had consisted in the Brazilian Fiat free itself of a no longer sold product’s machinery by taking it to a market which still sells it very well. What came as a big surprise was that this old upscale Siena became offered under the local Dodge. As if it wasn’t enough that this sedan has absolutely no connections with any Chrysler vehicle at all, it must’ve received the poorest badge engineering ever applied: the changes were restricted literally to replacing the brand logos. Even with this meaning Forza becoming the very first Dodge in decades without that signature front grille design.

Forza’s equipment list must be on what Venezuelan Dodge relies the most to sell this car. Besides of the external style accents, such as chrome details and double-element headlights, LE trim starts offering climate control, front airbags, hydraulic steering, power windows and multimedia sound system, while LX adds minor items like 15” alloy wheels, more chrome accents and fog lights. As it was expected, this sedan arrives only with a four-cylinder Fire 1.4L, which offers 78 hp with gasoline or 66 hp with natural gas and always uses a five-speed manual gearbox. Like the advertising video shows, another interesting advantage for Forza’s intended public is the trunk, which has managed to stay spacious even after receiving the gas tank because it was installed as two smaller piled cylinders, rather than a single bigger one. The last surprise came with the prices: this vehicle can cost up to $ 285.073, which represents more than twice what was asked in Brazil. This comes from Venezuela’s complex policies of restraining the car imports in order to stimulate the national production, which actually ends in excessive prices and very outdated offers – the local Mitsubishi, for instance, still sells Mitsubishi Lancer’s previous generation without any plans of updating it.