Fiat 125

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Fiat

Fiat 125 Sedan

1967 - 1972
Country:
Italy
Engine:
4 cyl.
Capacity:
1608cc
Power:
90 bhp @ 5700 rpm
Transmission:
4 spd. man
Top Speed:
100.2 mph
Number Built:
n/a
Collectability:
2 star
Fiat 125 Sedan
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 2

The First Mass-Produced Twin-Cam Family Car



In 1968 the Fiat 125, with a fully imported price of A$2898, was arguably one of the best value cars in Australia, apart from the Big Three compact models and the eternal Peugeot 404. The 124 sold quite well in Australia too, but was deemed a little pricey for its size and weight by some, although they probably never actually drove it. Fiat claimed the 125 to be the first mass-produced twin-cam family car, and there may have been some truth in that, as Alfa-Romeos were not mass-made in the proper sense.

Fiat took the centre section of the 124 shell and added about 8 ins. more length overall, taking the kerb weight up to 21201b. The styling look was similar in that the box-on-box shape was retained, but a close-mesh grille and four square headlights plus vertical slab tail-light groupings at the rear gave the car a far more masculine look. It still had a big greenhouse area and a slab-sided air about it, but it looked good.

Despite only 90 bhp and a lot of frontal area, the 125 could run to a true 100 mph and cruise all day long at 80 mph. The belt-driven ohc engine would spin neatly and sweetly to 6500 rpm without any vibration periods and with far less valve gear and induction noise than most other Italian cars of the era. By comparison the 124 was noisy in the indirect gears, while the 125 was astonishingly quiet up to about 5000 rpm and almost nonexistent when idling. Red dots on the speedo acted as markers, but you could go 1000 rpm over. The exhaust note was slightly fruity too.

The 124 had a long and inaccurate gear shifter. Thankfully Fiat did away with that on the 125, extending a centre console back to near the high-mounted handbrake and put a nice short lever right next to the driver's left hand. In fact for some, Fiat brought it too far back, as it seemed more suited to taller drivers who would have the driving seat extended all the way back.

Even better than the gearstick was the gearbox itself. It was so good that it compared favourably with the best that was produced by the likes of Porsche, BMW, Alfa, Lancia and Ford's excellent Cortina-Lotus unit. The throws were a touch on the long side, and it was a shade baulky doubling back from third to second, but it worked well and was lightning-fast. The ratios were perfectly spaced, with a nice high first. Clutch and brake pedals were (and this was a fault on most European and Japanese cars of the time) were too high off the floor, despite a sensitive, progressive brake servo.

Behind the Wheel



The brakes were much better than on the 124 too. On early 124s the syncromesh on third and top gears was weak, and the car still had a vague and spongy brake pedal despite discs all round and a pressure-limitation device acting on the rear suspension ride height. The 125 had a peculiar brake pedal, but the brakes themselves were superb. The servo was over-sensitive, but once you adjusted your driving style the four discs had great feel and could wash off speed at a tremendous rate. With this sort of confidence coupled to good steering and the superb gearbox you could commit the 125 to almost any open road situation with real faith. The worm and roller steering was accurate and pleasant without being marvellous. There was some feedback into the rim from lumpy surfaces, and the rake was a little too flat for some tastes, but otherwise it was fine.

The handling itself was very good, despite trailing arms and semi-elliptics at the rear, but there was only occasional tramp (mainly from a standing start) and very little wheel hop. It was hard to lift an inside rear wheel on hairpins. On all surfaces the ride was good, with some reflected tyre thumping, but the car really shone on gravel roads. Its basic characteristic was understeer, and like many European cars it would occasionally tell you it was going straight ahead at a gravel corner, but it could be made to oversteer at will. On sealed roads, the understeer was not as noticeable and the car tracked quite neutrally. Road testers in Australia did note that the 125 was not particularly well sealed for dirt road conditions. The boot was apparently like a magnet for the stuff, so you would need to ensure your luggage was well sealed and not rely on the Fiats rubbers to protect your clothing if you anticipated any dirt roads on your holiday. On the plus side, the boot was fairly capacious, with the spare wheel and tools nicely packed under the floor mat.

On the Inside



For anybody who wanted to carry five around in reasonable comfort at very high speeds, the 125 was just about the best thing then available in Australia for under A$4000. Up front were two excellent bucket seats, plenty of support under the thighs and plenty of rearward slide adjustment for the taller driver. The seats also had reclining squabs that not only adjusted by notch, but also had a vernier adjustment within each notch. The driving position was excellent. Typically, however, Fiat set the hard armrests about 2 ins. too low on the doors, so you couldn't comfortably use them while driving. But everything else was there, such as full carpeting and mock woodgrain on the dash, as well as a full length parcel shelf.

Swivelling-eye air vents were set each end of the facia but, working on the ram principle, they were too small to carry much volume of air. There were no upper-dash vents, as in the 124, which was disappointing, particularly in Australian conditions. The normal fresh-air/heater system was also not up to the job. The white on black instruments were round and large, but not all that easy to read. To the right was a clock - but it really should have been a tacho. There were gauges for fuel and temperature, with warning lights for everything else. The washers were the usual large button up on the toe-board, and pull in the big wipers as well. On top of this, the right-hand column stalk had two positions - one for regular wiping and the other a periodic wipe which was ideal for Melbourne drizzle and/or spray from the car ahead. Two left stalks looked after high beam and turn signals. The handbrake, between the seats, worked reasonably well but would not lock the rear wheels.

Rear seat legroom was very good, and the seat itself was just fine for three. The standard of finish was right up to the price, and everything fitted and worked well. The engine bay was a delight - presumably it was as important to Italians that engines not only worked well, but also looked as though they worked well. The 125's engine sported beautifully-smooth manifolding and excellent castings. All up, the 125 was hard to fault. There were minor annoyances, like lift-up exterior door handles, only a 10-gallon fuel tank, single speed wipers and window winders that were set back to front. But overall these were minor problems, and the 125 was a fine car. Starting with 1968 a special racing variant, the 125 T was introduced. The 125 was replaced in Italy by the 132.
Fiat 125
Fiat 125

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