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Marton Pettendy4 Feb 2014
NEWS

Crossroad treatment for Aussie Freemont

Rugged SUV-look version of US-market Dodge Journey to be applied to Australia's Fiat Freemont

Fiat Chrysler Group has confirmed it will launch a new Fiat Freemont Crossroad model in Australia later this year.

The more rugged looking version of the Fiat-badged people-mover will take styling elements from the new Dodge Journey Crossroad, which has just been revealed in the US but will not be available in Australia.

Due to make its first public appearance at the Chicago motor show this week, the Dodge Journey Crossroad features unique front and rear fascias with a Platinum Chrome and Gloss Black grille and foglight surrounds, Platinum Chrome roof rails and unique extended side sills.

The tougher-looking Journey, which is built in Mexico, also scores dark-tinted headlights and tail-light with black bezels, lower side sills and unique 19-inch Hyper Black wheels.

Dodge says the additions are designed to give the Journey a “rugged, capable look”, and the model also comes with new black leather seat trim with sport mesh inserts and Light Slate Grey accent stitching, plus Liquid Graphite appliques and more standard equipment.

The Journey Crossroad will be available in the US with a 3.6-litre petrol V6 that comes standard in Australia’s Journey, which priced from $32,400.

The seven-seat Fiat Freemont, meantime, is almost identical to the Journey but is available with 2.4-litre petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines here, priced from $25,990.

Available in two model grades, the Journey is currently the only Dodge model on sale in Australia and last year found 1661 homes – up 16.3 per cent on 2012 figures.

The product of a ‘badge engineering’ exercise by the Italian-US car-maker, its Fiat Freemont sister model -- which is positioned here as an SUV rather than a people-mover, despite remaining front-wheel drive – has attracted 1111 sales since its local launch last April.

It’s unclear whether Australia’s Freemont Crossroad will be available with all-wheel drive, as the Journey Crossroad will in the US, where it’s positioned in the middle of the model range.

“The Journey has always been Dodge's Swiss Army knife in the CUV segment and with the new Journey Crossroad we are expanding that flexibility by now offering three different exterior appearances," said Tim Kuniskis, the president and CEO of Dodge, which notched up its best sales year ever in 2013.

"The Journey Crossroad's rugged styling gives it a tough presence on the road; the available all-wheel drive system gives it the capability to back it up in a variety of bad weather driving conditions.”

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