ABS stands for 'anti-lock braking system', and it features a hydraulic control unit with 8 solenoids, 4 active sensors, and 4 channels with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution).

The agreement period is how long your finance plan runs for. Agreement periods vary, and are clearly stated on your quote and finance agreements.

This innovative restraint system protects the occupants in a head-on impact by automatically adapting its activation to the severity of the accident. Until now, airbags have inflated simultaneously up to their maximum limit on impact, but with the Smart 2 system they only activate the first of the two stages when the impact is moderate. The bridles inside the bags guarantee that the maximum dimensions of the cushions are as non-invasive as possible for the passengers. These sensors also control activation of the seat-belt pre-tensioners.

This is the number of miles you expect to do in one year. With the i-deal finance plan, you select a maximum annual mileage from anywhere between 5,000 and 25,000 miles.

These are typically a network of garages whose work and charging structures have been scrutinised and found to be satisfactory by your insurance company. If you are involved in an accident, check your policy documents to see how to find a list of approved repairers, or contact your insurance company for a list of authorised repairers in your area.

The APR is a measure of how much a given loan will cost you in interest over a calendar year. The figure for the APR takes into account all of the costs associated with the loan, and standardizes the way the rate is expressed. It’s the expression of the interest rate paid on the loan.

When APR figures are quoted on promotional material, they will be accompanied by the term 'typical APR'. This is because stating the APR is a legal requirement, and the rate stated must be that which is offered to at least two thirds of the loan applicants that get approved for that loan, hence making it the ‘typical’ rate offered.

You will see the APR changing if you alter the dial controls because elements such as the price, deposit, and the length of your agreement all have an effect on the APR.

ASR actually stands for ‘Anti Schlupf Regelung’, but we call it Anti-Slip Regulation (you might have heard it called traction control before). Basically, it prevents the wheels from spinning when pulling away. It also prevents aquaplaning on wet surfaces, and enhances overall stability on bumpy surfaces, through tight bends where the inside wheel tends to spin, and on localised patches of oil or other substances that affect just one or two drive wheels.

A balloon payment always comes at the end of a finance contract like Fiat i-Deal. It is the amount you have to pay if you wish to buy and keep the vehicle that you have taken out a contract on.

This is the measurement of the useable power of a car measured at the output shaft (usually the crankshaft).

Benefit in Kind is the figure provided to the customer to assist them in their reporting to the tax office and is used to assess the amount of tax a driver will pay as a result of having a company car.

Our exclusive hands-free entertainment and communication technology lets you make calls and play music without taking your hands off the wheel. Developed with Microsoft, this sophisticated voice-controlled system reads out your text messages, dials numbers, and finds and plays tracks for you.

A car loan is an amount of money that is lent to you so that you can purchase a car.

Car tax, formally known as Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), is a tax for motorists.

For vehicles registered before March 2001, it is £180 a year for private vehicles (light vans, cars, taxis, etc.). A reduced rate is payable for cars with a smaller engine size.

The tax payable on vehicles registered after March 2001 is based on a seven-band scale linked to carbon dioxide emissions.

The DVLA's Rates of Vehicle Excise Duty shows the range of rates payable. The Vehicle Certification Agency has a calculator that enables you to work out which band your vehicle falls into.

A small, nippy car designed for life in modern, urban environments. Smaller than a supermini, it’s typically easy to park, with low fuel consumption and a low insurance group. The Fiat Panda and Panda 100HP are city cars.

This is an abbreviation for carbon dioxide. The amount a car emits in g/km is used to calculate how much company car tax you will pay and what Road Fund Licence it attracts.

This is a way for a company to finance vehicles. A company hires vehicles from a provider like Fiat for a specified period, making regular monthly rental payments to rent them. The rental can include all maintenance costs, (including tyres, exhausts and batteries) as well as AA Cover and Road Fund Licence for the period of the contract. The leasing company retains ownership responsibility for the associated risks, and at the end of the contract period the vehicles are returned to them. This method is off the balance sheet.

This is a way for a company to finance vehicles. A company hires vehicles from a provider for a specified period, making regular monthly payments. The difference from Contract Hire is that the company or driver can then purchase the car at the end of the contract for a pre-agreed amount (balloon figure), as long as the terms of the agreement have been completed. Generally, this method is on the balance sheet.

This is the amount it will cost you to change your car. It’s the difference in price between the current value of the car you have now and the car you want.

If your car is off the road following an accident, your insurer may provide you with a car to use – free of charge - until your own car is repaired. There is likely to be an extra cost if you take third party cover.

This is the computer within the car that controls the electronics, telematics, and communications systems.

If you sign a credit agreement between you and the lender of the credit to buy the car you want, this means you have agreed to borrow money off them and also to make regular repayments to them to pay back the loan in full.

This is the amount of money that you pay off the price of the car before you start making your monthly payments. It’s a contribution by the buyer to the purchase price.

This is what happens to your car’s value over time. A variety of factors can affect your car’s depreciation: not just the make and model, but also things like the accessories, optional extras, the mileage you do, and the way in which you maintain your vehicle. 

This refers to an engine with two overhead camshafts.

This is our unique power steering, which you can adjust to suit the situation. ‘City’ lets you squeeze into the smallest parking spaces with fingertip control, while ‘Normal’ takes the stress out of traffic jams.

Dualogic is a clutchless manual gearbox that allows you to shift gears simply by moving a lever forwards and backwards when in ‘manual’ mode. When you switch to ‘automatic’, the car makes all the gear changes for you. This makes frequent gear changes - like when driving in the city - less tiring, because you don’t have to use a clutch pedal.

This splits the braking force between the car’s four wheels to prevent them locking, ensuring total control of the car in all conditions.

This system detects a failure or reading that was out of range in a sensor circuit or other monitored component.

This system allows you to receive traffic information from other radio stations while listening to the radio or CD player.

Equity is the value of your financial interest in a vehicle, calculated by subtracting the amount of the loan you have yet to pay off from the overall price of your car.

If the actual value of your car exceeds the car’s guaranteed minimum future value, the extra money is equity that can be used as a deposit on your next car.

This is the applied science of designing objects, including cars, for the purpose of improved efficiency, comfort, and safety – from the bodywork and door handles, to the seats and dashboard.

This includes ASR, MSR, Brake Assist (HBA), and Hill Holder.

The European New Car Assessment Programme is a realistic, independent review of a vehicle’s safety performance.

Emergency Valve Assistance is a mechanical system that helps you brake fully in the event of an emergency.

This is the car that can seat a family comfortably, as well as carry their shopping, luggage, pushchairs – whatever they take with them. A family car has five doors to make getting kids in and out easier. The Grande Punto 5-door, Bravo, Sedici, Multipla and Doblò are all family cars.

Finance leasing is a flexible, tax-efficient way for your business to acquire the assets it needs without using up valuable cash reserves. You may realise some value at the end of your agreement term.

This is the financial part of your Service Rental agreement. For Contract Hire, it includes the Road Fund Licence and AA cover.

This is when the rate of interest you pay on a personal loan is fixed at the time you borrow money. The main advantage of a loan with a fixed rate of interest is that you know exactly how much you’ll be repaying each month, and that the amount remains the same for the life of the loan. All Fiat Financial Services loans feature a fixed interest rate.

This technology keeps the headlights on for a short period of time after you get out of the car.

This is when a customer wants to extend their contract by three months or more. It’s also known as the secondary period.

This fire-prevention system is activated if your Fiat car is involved in a crash. It comprises an inertia switch to lock the petrol pump, a valve to stop the flow of fuel to the engine, an aluminium heat shield on the under-body, a fuel cap valve to prevents leakage in rollovers, flame-resistant cabin upholstery, and a highly flame-resistant fuel tank.

With guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance, if your car is written off you can cover the difference between what the insurance company will pay out on the car and the amount you owe the loan issuer.

For example, if you still owe £1,000 on the written-off car and the insurance company values it (and pays out at) £500, then not only are you £500 out of pocket, but you also no longer have a car. GAP insurance would ensure you are covered for the remaining £500.

For full details of our GAP Plan, please download our key facts.

This recognises emergency and panic braking, and optimises the braking power. It’s part of the ESP package.

This innovative system helps you to avoid rolling downhill during hill starts. Sensors detect that the car is on a gradient and activate the system as soon as first gear is selected. It keeps the brakes on for 1.5 seconds after you release the brake pedal, so you can pull away safely and smoothly. It also works when reversing uphill, but does not work downhill.

A high-performance hatchback car, it usually has a more powerful engine, improved suspension and sporty looks to match. The Fiat Panda 100HP, Grande Punto and Bravo are our beautiful hot hatches.

Hire Purchase is a loan linked to a specific purchase such as a car. It’s a way of using the item before payment is completed - once you sign the agreement you can drive the car away the same day.

An HP contract involves an initial deposit, or 'down payment'. You then 'hire' the car you are buying for a fixed period, during which time you pay for it in monthly instalments, plus interest. The car is yours to ‘purchase’ at the end of the agreement.

As the purchaser, you won't own whatever you're buying on HP until you complete the payments.

HPI provides a search facility of the database maintained by HPI Limited. This search will report, among other results, whether a vehicle is subject to any interests of another party, usually another financial services provider.

The collective name for entertainment within a car, which can include anything from a radio or TV to satellite navigation.

This affordable and flexible way of buying a car is perfect if you don’t have a large deposit. Monthly repayments are kept low, because there’s a final lump sum payment at the end of your agreement. With i-deal you always get a guaranteed future value on your car, so you are protected from the fluctuating trends of the car market.

This is when a customer wants to extend their contract for a short period, but doesn’t want to be tied to a formal extension.

These are mountings that ensure the safe and easy installation of child seats. The bracket sizes and settings are in accordance with European standards so that the seat can be re-used on any other vehicle.

Stands for UniJet Turbo Diesel, our second-generation diesel engines.

Lease Purchase is a way of financing a vehicle where the period and the estimated future value of the vehicle is based on the proposed annual mileage. Lease Purchase is an alternative to Hire Purchase.

This is a small light about the size of a matchstick head that is used within the electrics of cars. For example, there is an LED in door lock buttons, and it may also appear behind a dashboard to illuminate information.

This indicates that the car has the steering wheel on the left side of the car, which is common across Europe.

MacPherson is a type of strut suspension system used in most modern vehicles. It is normally found at the front, where it provides a steering pivot and wheel mounting suspension.

This is offered with Contract Hire and Personal Contract Hire products and includes routine maintenance and servicing (at recommended intervals), mechanical repairs and replacement parts, tyres, batteries, and exhausts.

This is the list of our basic prices for our cars, excluding options and VAT.

Minimum Guaranteed Future Value (MGFV) is the guaranteed minimum amount that your car will be worth at the end of your financial agreement. It’s also known as the guaranteed future residual value.

MPV stands for Multi-Purpose Vehicle and this car really can do it all. Often called a people carrier it can carry up to seven people. It’s taller than a family car so getting lots of people in and out is easier, and to give more headroom inside. The Fiat Doblò and Multipla are both MPVs.

This system is part of the ESP package, and prevents the wheels from locking up if you change the gears down suddenly. It acts in the opposite way from ASR, by opening the throttle valve and providing power again.

MultiJet is the name of our award-winning diesel engines, which deliver exceptional performance with incredibly low fuel consumption.

Negative equity means the amount of money you owe on a car is more than the car is worth. This can happen if you borrow more than the value of the car at the start of the agreement, or if you don’t put down any deposit and/or take the finance out over a long period. Even if you sell the car on, you will still be left owing the money on the loan that you can’t cover with the sale of the car. GAP insurance will help protect against negative equity in the event of your vehicle being written off.

The total On The Road price includes VAT, number plates, vehicle registration fee (VRF), twelve months road fund licence (RFL), and manufacturer’s warranty.

Part exchange is the term used when you put your own car down as a payment towards a new car that you want to buy.

Payment protection is the insurance cover that enables you to meet your monthly repayments if, for example, you were to lose your job or become incapable of working through sickness. It also enables you to pay off your loan in the event of your death.

For full details of our Payment Protection Insurance, please download our key facts.

Also known as personal leasing, Personal Contract Hire is a long-term rental agreement. Essentially, you only make monthly payments on part of the car’s value, and at the end of the contract you return the car without any further obligations. You have the option to pay the remainder and own the car, just as in a personal contract purchase. We call this product Fiat Incluso.

Personal Contract Purchase (Fiat i-deal) involves an initial deposit and then a series of monthly payments. There is also an agreement made at the beginning for what the car will be worth at the end of the contract - the minimum guaranteed future value. The monthly payments are the cost of the vehicle after the MGFV and the value of your deposit have been deducted.

At the end of your PCP you have the option of either paying off the MGFV and taking ownership of the vehicle, or handing it back. There may be restrictions on your annual mileage and you are expected to maintain the car to a high standard. We call this product Fiat i-deal.

Residual risk refers to the likelihood that your vehicle will not fetch as much money as you hoped when you sell it in the future. Residual risk can be passed on to either the finance company, depending on the form of the contract. You can protect yourself against this with a PCP or a PCH agreement.

This insurance protection covers the shortfall between what the insurance company will pay out on the car and the amount you owe the loan issuer - up to a maximum of £15,000 - in the event of your Fiat being stolen or written off.

For full details of our GAP Plan, please download our key facts.

This indicates that the car has the steering wheel on the right side of the car, which is the UK standard.

This records that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the vehicle has been paid. It’s currently determined by CO2 emission levels and fuel type.

This is the rate of revolutions of an engine.

Sale and Leaseback is a good way for a company that owns a fleet of company cars to increase its available cash. The fleet is purchased from the company in question at proper market value (the ‘sale’ part) and the company then hires back (the ‘leaseback’ part) the fleet by whatever funding scheme it sees fit. With Sale and Leaseback, depreciation is put onto the buyer of the fleet, and the company gets an instant cash reserve increase.

This comes as an option with Contract Purchase agreements, and allows customers to exercise their options at the end of the agreement. If the option is not taken out at the beginning of the agreement, you’ll have to pay the balloon payment and keep the car.

Secondary rental is when your Finance Lease Agreement has ended, but you decide you want to extend the agreement on the same car.

This is the service part of your Financial Rental agreement and it covers the maintenance, relief vehicle, and breakdown services where selected. With contract purchase, the service rental also includes the charge for Road Fund Licence.

This is the difference between the amount your motor insurer will pay out and the outstanding balance of your finance agreement in the event of an accident or vehicle write-off. You can be protected financially from losing your shortfall with GAP insurance. 

In seconds, our SkyDome dynamic sunroof opens fully at the touch of a button, with a tempered, tinted glass panel that slides smoothly back on aluminium rails over a fixed rear glass panel.

This is an abbreviation for Service, Maintenance and Repair.

The Single Overhead Camshaft engine has only one camshaft per header, making it more cost-effective than dual overhead camshafts.

Six-speed shift with sequential engagement, or a fully power-assisted gearbox? SpeedGear lets you choose between manual and automatic systems with the flick of your wrist.

StarJet is the name of our petrol engines featuring swirl turbulence air-induction engineering. This unique system helps the engine re-use a proportion of the exhaust gases, reducing fuel emissions and making it incredibly fuel-efficient.

A supermini is car that’s bigger than a city car, but smaller than a family car. It can typically seat four adults comfortably and can be a 3- or 5-door. The Fiat Grande Punto 3-door and 5-door are superminis.

SUV stands for Sports Utility Vehicle and describes a car that has great towing ability and can be used off-road. Most have four-wheel drive to make driving across uneven terrain safe and easy. The Panda 4x4 and Sedici are SUVs.

Traction control works by reducing or ‘softening’ engine power, by sensing wheel spin and taking the appropriate action. This is the same as ASR.

This is Fiat’s family of turbocharged petrol engines. They offer outstanding performance, and have a prompt accelerator response, low fuel consumption, and low emissions.

These are some - or all - of the expenses likely to be incurred by the vehicle operator. Some of these are quite obvious, like depreciation, servicing costs and fuel. However, other expenses are often forgotten, such as funding costs, insurance, or employer NI. It’s very important that the supplier can provide authoritative and accurate data for every car model.