Who still remembers the Fiat Ulysse, used to roam around Malaysian roads, also have twins from Citroen and Peugeot
If you grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, you must probably have seen the Fiat Ulysse. It was one of the popular mid-size MPVs in our country at that time, alongside the Toyota Estima, Nissan Serena, and Honda Odyssey. This was the era before the arrival of luxury mobile refrigerators like the Toyota Alphard and Vellfire.
The author himself remembers a family in the housing estate where he grew up owning a Fiat Ulysse. The author was quite intrigued by its unique design, such as its roof rack being slightly different from its competitors.
It had two silver crossbars, unlike the usual two black longitudinal rails. Perhaps this was a European design feature. The front lights were slightly dark or smoked, a characteristic also found in other Fiat models of that time.
An European-style MPV
Fiat Ulysse actually had several generations, but what we want to talk about today is the first generation released from 1994 to 2002. Ulysse was designed to combine the practicality of a wagon and the comfort of a sedan. It had a boxy shape, large front mirrors, and two sliding rear doors.
Interestingly, these sliding rails were hidden, providing a clean surface on the sides. The large rear hatch had a low “lip” for easy loading and unloading of items. It featured power steering, ABS in some variants, and a slightly elevated driver’s seat for ease of handling.
The interior space was designed for roominess and practicality. The central console resembled an island housing the air conditioning controls and gear buttons. The gear buttons were positioned here so that the driver could minimize hand movement while driving.
Petrol and diesel engine options
Fiat Ulysse came with petrol engines (1.8, 2.0, and 2.0 turbo) and diesel engines (1.9 turbo, 2.0, and 2.1 turbo). According to the author’s brief research, the Ulysse available in the Malaysian market was offered with a 2.0-liter petrol and a 1.9-liter diesel turbo engine.
Facelift in 1999
By 1999, the minivan/MPV market in Europe was slowing down, but this trend was still strong in Asia and Malaysia. Therefore, a facelift model was introduced in 1999. The front of the Ulysse was updated with a more curved and soft surface, no longer a flat face with square headlights like the Iswara.
The grille was also redesigned, with a smaller Fiat logo in the center. The body cladding was changed to body color, giving it a more premium look compared to the previous gray cladding.
The interior didn’t change much compared to earlier models, although better materials were used, and the instrument cluster had a more attractive design.
Just like before, the Ulysse could accommodate seven passengers with two front doors and two sliding rear doors.
Sibling from Citroen and Peugeot
Did you know that the Fiat Ulysse had siblings from Citroen and Peugeot? The Ulysse siblings were the Citroen Evasion and Peugeot 806, all these Eurovans had minimal differences.
It should be noted that this was not due to rebadging like the Proton Wira taken from the Mitsubishi Lancer but more of models developed together. Examples include the Perodua Ativa/Daihatsu Rocky/Toyota Raize or Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ.
The Citroen Evasion and Peugeot 806 were also offered in the Malaysian market. The author remembers seeing these models and being surprised when they weren’t Fiat. Back then, the concept of rebadging and joint development was not fully understood.
In the European market, there were additional siblings, namely the Citroen Synergie and Lancia Zeta. The list goes on!
Once popular in the used car market in Malaysia
After its production ended, the Fiat Ulysse flooded the used car market. As internet usage expanded, the Fiat Ulysse became one of the sought-after MPVs on websites like Mudah.my. Naturally, being a European brand model, its price depreciated quite drastically.
Some were sold for around RM7,000, and some even went for less than RM5,000. Imagine if this were a Japanese MPV, the price would likely remain in the range of RM15,000 to RM20,000. However, previous owners were probably not too concerned about the depreciation of this vehicle.
New owners, on the other hand, were brave enough to court these beautiful and enjoyable-to-drive European widows, albeit with the looming maintenance costs.
If the owner knew a reputable Continental brand workshop, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
