Fiat 500X to sport Bridgestone Turanza T001 as factory fitment

Bridgestone has bagged the deal to supply its Turanza T001 tyres for the new Fiat 500X crossover.

According to Fiat, the 500X brings good road manners, perfect urban size, excellent fuel economy and cut-above safety technology to growing class of small SUVs. Bridgestone has already started the delivery of tyres in 225/45 R18 91V size to Fiat's plant in Melfi, Italy. The tyre development team at Bridgestone is focused on achieving excellent rolling resistance, low noise and handling performance.

The Fiat 500X is the latest crossover variant of the famous Fiat 500 model. Other variants are 500, 500 Cabrio and 500L. The 500 and the 500 Cabrio come equipped with Goodyear tyres while the 500L and the 500X get Bridgestone Turanza T001 tyres. Fiat has developed the 500X as an urban vehicle. Moreover, the crossover comes in two versions – the “City look” version is a two-wheel drive and the “off-road look” variant is a four-wheel drive.

Christophe de Valroger, VP Original Equipment, Bridgestone Europe, said, “Bridgestone is proud to have been selected for Fiat 500X, the first urban vehicle developed for the city offering the option of 4-wheel drive performance. The premium Turanza T001 tyre was able to meet Fiat’s demanding performance requirements which include very strict rolling resistance criteria for fuel economy.”

The Turanza T001 is Bridgestone's premium touring tyre that currently comes fitted on cars such as Mercedes-Benz B Class and Mazda 6. It was engineered to provide harmony between comfort, safety, durability and environmental performance. Germany's ADAC has given the tyre “very recommendable” rating.

According to Bridgestone, the Turanza T001 provides optimum grip and stability for reliable braking in the wet, outstanding high-speed stability and touring performance for a smooth and comfortable ride and new levels of efficiency that has been achieved by combining low rolling resistance with minimal pattern noise.