coupe fiat 20v turbo review.....
Discussion
Tech Spec:
1997 r reg
2 litre, 5 cylinder tutbocharged engine
5 speed manual
220hp, 228 lb/ft torque
styling-
as with many bangle offerings, opinion is very much split on the coupe...i admit im biased as its a car iv lusted after for a long time. i just love the contradiction in styling cues, its a masterpiece of retro modernity for me..the slash cut wheel arches, clamshell bonnet and bug eye headlights are very modernisitic, yet the recessed tailights and exposed alloy filler cap and general styling hark back to a golden era of coachbuilt italian exotica. this car wears pinifarina badges, yet pinin is only responsible for the interior, bangle is responsible for the love it or loath styling...i think his inspiration must have been the slightly quirky, slightly eccentric offerings of zagato in the 50's and 60's...imagine this car with zagato's trademark double bubble roof, it would look SO right..for me, the car is elegant and stylish, an almost eccentric, modernistic homage to the italian designs of yesteryear...
the interior is more of the same...you open the door with the cunning hidden door handles, and are met with lovely looking black leather seats, and that lovely body colour strip of metal that splits the dash horizontally, again, modernistic but so old fashioned!!.the chrome pinifarina script is subtle and attractive and serves reminder every time you get behind the wheel that you are wearing the automotive equivelant of a sharp italian suit!!...the dials are proper old fashioned clocks, and all the better for it...modern digital electricery would jar in this cabin..the seats are one of my gripes about the car..they look great but are a bit short on support when your pressing on..fine for a gt car, but this wee car can generate pretty good levels of grip for a powerful fwd car, and you are soon searching for similar grip from the seats..the later le models had leather recaros and must be much better in this repspect..genuinelly useable rear seats are a surprise, tho with the drivers seat right back its the usual coupe story of being a three seater!! the lovely chunky leather bound wheel and gear lever feel great to use, an old fiat trick this..make the bits you touch feel good..they even do it on the baby cinq sporting i own, but it does have the effect that you feel like the designers have cared about your driving envirionment!.whell is adjusteable for reach and height, so you can get very comfortable.....now..whisper this...this car, a fiat remember, actually feels like a quality bit of kit..perhaps its just cos im not used to having a 'nice' car, but the cabin feels well made, well screwed together, the doors shut with a satisfying clunk, the gearchange is positive, precise...this car was over 20k when new, and, was actually made by pininfarina at their factory, bit of pub trivia there!!..so this may or may not be why it feels so nice??...
driving/ride/handling
the wee coupes controls are very nice to use..the box feels smooth and precise. its a lovely place to sit tho the one dissapointing thing about the whole experience is a lack of drama..this is a swoopy italianate coupe with a bespoke interior..yet, it feels like a saloon to sit in..its airy and spacious...a case of damning the car with faint praise??..the cars ride has surprised me..i had expected a recalitrant bucking bronco, usual stiff legged italian sportscar..but its quite supple, quite civilised..the car is happy to trickle around town, the steering, if anything, is a bit light for my liking..fine for the town, but a bit more of a meaty feel would be welcome when your tanking on...the cars handling has surprised me too...with the caveat that you pick your line and apply the power smoothly on the way thru the corner, the wee car digs in, grips and goes....if your brutal with the power, or if the roads at all wet/slippery, it will torque steer/understeer with so much power and torque going thru the front end and no traction control...but then, as iv always maintained, the best traction control is your right foot...you can throw it around with the exuberance of a hot hatch, but this is a car that rewards a more precise style of driving, a more measured approach..it doesnt have outrageous wheels/tyres so relys on decent engineering and chassis in the first place to generate good levels of grip, and as a result of this, feels much more communicative than an overtyred hot hatch
Performance:
the cars trump card....it is a great q car...only place this car has a turbo badge is on the b pillar..outwardly, its just another fiat coupe.....let the sonorous 5 pot warm up tho, find a long staight and floor the throttle and jeez, this car GOES..not like an old school lag lag bang turbo, its smooth, almost linear power....the car does have a wee bit of a kick low down as the turbo spools up, but you can drive around this and it will rev freely to the red line if you feel the need..and you WILL feel the need..the little coupes pace is both searing and addictive...it pulls really, properly hard in all the gears...even in 5th if you floor the loud pedal, it pauses, takes a big gulp of air and rockets down the road...like most good turbo cars, it combines that almost instant dollop of torque you get in a good turbo diesel, that inititiall wallop in the back, with a good n/a engine ability to rev freely and keep on delivering in the higher rev ranges..best of both worlds....it can get a bit lairy on bumpy roads if your not careful putting the power down, and lets not kid anyone on, 220hp/228lb/ft is too much to put through a wrong wheel drive chassis that i think, dates back to the tipo of the late eighties!!!..but, like many other cars with this kinda output and this layout, you can drive round the inherint flaws..i tend to think of the car more as a relaxed tourer than an out and out back road burner....
in summary, this car is a stylish, elegant q car. those in the know exchange meaningful glances, those who arent are best left in blissfull ignorance..this is a rare commodity..an italian poster boy with style and substance..a male model in an armani suit....carrying a half brick...and a baseball bat...just in case....this car fits my whole 'walk softly but carry a big stick' ethos to perfection
a resounding 9 out of 10 from me...but this will innevitably drop as soon as the first hideously expensive problem rears its ugly head!!!
1997 r reg
2 litre, 5 cylinder tutbocharged engine
5 speed manual
220hp, 228 lb/ft torque
styling-
as with many bangle offerings, opinion is very much split on the coupe...i admit im biased as its a car iv lusted after for a long time. i just love the contradiction in styling cues, its a masterpiece of retro modernity for me..the slash cut wheel arches, clamshell bonnet and bug eye headlights are very modernisitic, yet the recessed tailights and exposed alloy filler cap and general styling hark back to a golden era of coachbuilt italian exotica. this car wears pinifarina badges, yet pinin is only responsible for the interior, bangle is responsible for the love it or loath styling...i think his inspiration must have been the slightly quirky, slightly eccentric offerings of zagato in the 50's and 60's...imagine this car with zagato's trademark double bubble roof, it would look SO right..for me, the car is elegant and stylish, an almost eccentric, modernistic homage to the italian designs of yesteryear...
the interior is more of the same...you open the door with the cunning hidden door handles, and are met with lovely looking black leather seats, and that lovely body colour strip of metal that splits the dash horizontally, again, modernistic but so old fashioned!!.the chrome pinifarina script is subtle and attractive and serves reminder every time you get behind the wheel that you are wearing the automotive equivelant of a sharp italian suit!!...the dials are proper old fashioned clocks, and all the better for it...modern digital electricery would jar in this cabin..the seats are one of my gripes about the car..they look great but are a bit short on support when your pressing on..fine for a gt car, but this wee car can generate pretty good levels of grip for a powerful fwd car, and you are soon searching for similar grip from the seats..the later le models had leather recaros and must be much better in this repspect..genuinelly useable rear seats are a surprise, tho with the drivers seat right back its the usual coupe story of being a three seater!! the lovely chunky leather bound wheel and gear lever feel great to use, an old fiat trick this..make the bits you touch feel good..they even do it on the baby cinq sporting i own, but it does have the effect that you feel like the designers have cared about your driving envirionment!.whell is adjusteable for reach and height, so you can get very comfortable.....now..whisper this...this car, a fiat remember, actually feels like a quality bit of kit..perhaps its just cos im not used to having a 'nice' car, but the cabin feels well made, well screwed together, the doors shut with a satisfying clunk, the gearchange is positive, precise...this car was over 20k when new, and, was actually made by pininfarina at their factory, bit of pub trivia there!!..so this may or may not be why it feels so nice??...
driving/ride/handling
the wee coupes controls are very nice to use..the box feels smooth and precise. its a lovely place to sit tho the one dissapointing thing about the whole experience is a lack of drama..this is a swoopy italianate coupe with a bespoke interior..yet, it feels like a saloon to sit in..its airy and spacious...a case of damning the car with faint praise??..the cars ride has surprised me..i had expected a recalitrant bucking bronco, usual stiff legged italian sportscar..but its quite supple, quite civilised..the car is happy to trickle around town, the steering, if anything, is a bit light for my liking..fine for the town, but a bit more of a meaty feel would be welcome when your tanking on...the cars handling has surprised me too...with the caveat that you pick your line and apply the power smoothly on the way thru the corner, the wee car digs in, grips and goes....if your brutal with the power, or if the roads at all wet/slippery, it will torque steer/understeer with so much power and torque going thru the front end and no traction control...but then, as iv always maintained, the best traction control is your right foot...you can throw it around with the exuberance of a hot hatch, but this is a car that rewards a more precise style of driving, a more measured approach..it doesnt have outrageous wheels/tyres so relys on decent engineering and chassis in the first place to generate good levels of grip, and as a result of this, feels much more communicative than an overtyred hot hatch
Performance:
the cars trump card....it is a great q car...only place this car has a turbo badge is on the b pillar..outwardly, its just another fiat coupe.....let the sonorous 5 pot warm up tho, find a long staight and floor the throttle and jeez, this car GOES..not like an old school lag lag bang turbo, its smooth, almost linear power....the car does have a wee bit of a kick low down as the turbo spools up, but you can drive around this and it will rev freely to the red line if you feel the need..and you WILL feel the need..the little coupes pace is both searing and addictive...it pulls really, properly hard in all the gears...even in 5th if you floor the loud pedal, it pauses, takes a big gulp of air and rockets down the road...like most good turbo cars, it combines that almost instant dollop of torque you get in a good turbo diesel, that inititiall wallop in the back, with a good n/a engine ability to rev freely and keep on delivering in the higher rev ranges..best of both worlds....it can get a bit lairy on bumpy roads if your not careful putting the power down, and lets not kid anyone on, 220hp/228lb/ft is too much to put through a wrong wheel drive chassis that i think, dates back to the tipo of the late eighties!!!..but, like many other cars with this kinda output and this layout, you can drive round the inherint flaws..i tend to think of the car more as a relaxed tourer than an out and out back road burner....
in summary, this car is a stylish, elegant q car. those in the know exchange meaningful glances, those who arent are best left in blissfull ignorance..this is a rare commodity..an italian poster boy with style and substance..a male model in an armani suit....carrying a half brick...and a baseball bat...just in case....this car fits my whole 'walk softly but carry a big stick' ethos to perfection
a resounding 9 out of 10 from me...but this will innevitably drop as soon as the first hideously expensive problem rears its ugly head!!!
Thats why Ive kept mine for over 4 years and nothing I can yet find delivers the performance interior space big boot and pretty rare IIRC only 7000 UK F Coupes RHD and only 80,000 worldwide.
I think the highest power output one in the UK is 450bhp+
Also due to its very low drag coefficient its top speed is pretty high - it may only say 150mph on parkers but you will be pulling 5,750 revs there is still 1,500 revs to go and when I tried it out I managed well over 160mph (Germany) and then lost the bottle. In Germany at 120-130 it seriously enjoyes cruising at that pace.
Oh the 3rd gear..... so long and its the 1st gear without the boost limited unlike 1st & 2nd - remap it though to take off this boost and the Autocar test of 6.0 to 60 drops to around 5.5 to 60.... nice.
Std 14.0 to the 100mph which for the money nothing can match.
I think the highest power output one in the UK is 450bhp+
Also due to its very low drag coefficient its top speed is pretty high - it may only say 150mph on parkers but you will be pulling 5,750 revs there is still 1,500 revs to go and when I tried it out I managed well over 160mph (Germany) and then lost the bottle. In Germany at 120-130 it seriously enjoyes cruising at that pace.
Oh the 3rd gear..... so long and its the 1st gear without the boost limited unlike 1st & 2nd - remap it though to take off this boost and the Autocar test of 6.0 to 60 drops to around 5.5 to 60.... nice.
Std 14.0 to the 100mph which for the money nothing can match.
Stunning cars - my boss used to let me use his, and I fell in love instantly. Seriously considered getting a 20vT on my last car renew, but went for an Elise instead. Did test drive and consider some 20vT but was only put off by the long list of receipts which the previous owners demonstrated to keep them in tip-top shape.
whygee02 said:
Stunning cars - my boss used to let me use his, and I fell in love instantly. Seriously considered getting a 20vT on my last car renew, but went for an Elise instead. Did test drive and consider some 20vT but was only put off by the long list of receipts which the previous owners demonstrated to keep them in tip-top shape.
Mine has only needed a new thermostat rest just oil filters brake pads pollen filters + cam belt. Thats 4 years use, all the mags go on about the high cambelt change cost well thats just not true £399 parts & labour incl VAT is comparable to the Golf/VX/Alfa/Ford in fact it seems the norm.Touch wood its been a great car and nothing has gone wrong.
You need to chack the oil once/twice a week given I travel 15k a year I find I use about 1ltr every 2000miles maybe more. Which is of course a hassle when compared to a diesel golf which didnt need any new oil in its 12 months running.
Some people use doulbe and more than me others less - but from my knowledge of the car if you drive it harder it burns more oil if you drive it slower/dont use high revs it uses much less.
A great car and as Im forced by work to change it within the next 6 months Im finding it very hard to find a good replacement as yet there is nothing which comes close (given my budget) its so many compromises - hence my decision to go for diesel similar low rev thrust which Im used to but alas no top end thrills.
CTR's are amusing they come steaming up and to the lights with me and the mrs boot full and rear seats full of luggage and full tank of petrol he's reving it hard at the lights I let mine idle then on ornange I launch by the end of 2nd there is a fair margin and into 3rd bye bye. He didnt rev at the next set I just drove off in a civilised manner.
LCR - easy again.
Focus ST - not very quick
Alfa 147GTA - very closely matched (but then at the pumps I will be getting a good 5-10mpg more)
Mazada RX8 - not fast enough
350z - lol amusing think they have it off the mark but once rolling catchup and fly past
M3 E46 - on the move unless they are going into silly speeds cannot shake off a 20V T
M3 E36 - once off off the line catches up and passes.
This is std and a quick £500 remap pushes power towards 280bhp (reliably).
I wonder if I should keep it and get a 3rd car use it only for weekends
I loved mine, really gutted when it was written off (damn those dustmen!!). I'd recommend getting some Bilstein B6 dampers on though. I found the ride to be rather harsh, but the Bilsteins sort that out. It's kinda like the opposite of most suspension mods you read about. It made the car softer over bumps whilst improving all of the other characteristics. Exactly how the car should have left the factory. Everything else on mine was standard and reliable.
The only things that regularly go wrong on the un-modified ones are front suspension bushes, but they cost less than £200 to have supplied an fitted.
The only things that regularly go wrong on the un-modified ones are front suspension bushes, but they cost less than £200 to have supplied an fitted.
Lippy said:
I love the fiat coupe - any pointers to a good owners club site for FAQ's etc?
Also, few interesting 20vT in the PH classifieds - around 2k, why so cheap? Are they hiding problems?
Well the oldest 20v Turbos are now10 years old 11 come Mar08. Mine is 10 years old and has covered 59k however there are many with 100k milages and way beyond that so its age of the car &erception of high milages & also other alternatives which are newer on the market place are available for a few £k more so market forces.Also, few interesting 20vT in the PH classifieds - around 2k, why so cheap? Are they hiding problems?
Book price for a 60k 20V Turbo P reg is £2.4-£2.6k this is a std model.
owners club try FCUK.co.uk I think.
You may hear about the high cost of a cam belt change but its £399 incl VAT parts & labour www.powerfiat.co.uk so similar to any car really main dealer would charge you £1.4k so potentially would write off many of these great cars.
ok...im gonna do a strange thing...im gonna make a commitment to this car!!..went to see the mechanic i use and trust for big jobs on specialist cars and asked about clutch, timing belt, thermostat and anything else that may need doing....he is of the opinion that rather than spend 6 hours on one side for belt and 6 or so on other for clutch with engine in situ, it would make better use of time to remove engine (about ten hours to remove, fit parts and refit..) and do everything with engine out...make sense????...so im gona start buying parts, all belts..(kit is £179 for all belts and tensioners etc..), clutch kit(£125), water pump(??) and thermostat (£45), oil, plugs etc..and just bite the bullet and get the biggie done...car should be spot on after than and i reckon i will just keep it for high days and holidays....does this seem like a sensible approach to gettting the work done, by me and by the mechanic...???..essentially the car will be, accidents notwithstanding, future proof for the next four years or so if all goes well...its gonna cost me around £6-700 or so all in i reckon, but hell, what can i buy with the coupes pace, looks and rarity for the £2k or so the car will then be owing me.....not a lot......
ive owned two tuned fiat coupes ove the past 3-4 years now. i sold my red 300bhp coop in july and immediatly missed it so after a week i bought another standard jobbie for £800 (it did need work) after a long time in man hours and 3k worth of bits i now have a reliable 320-350bhp car (yet to be mapped)
they are magnificent cars with good looks and awesome performance. you wont find better for the money.
my current one will even overtake porsche 911 carrera 4's! and in standard form they will slay boxters!
porsche minimum of £15k
fiat coupe £ 800
wiping the smile off his rich ass... priceless!
they are magnificent cars with good looks and awesome performance. you wont find better for the money.
my current one will even overtake porsche 911 carrera 4's! and in standard form they will slay boxters!
porsche minimum of £15k
fiat coupe £ 800
wiping the smile off his rich ass... priceless!
yup, that was my way of thinking/justifying expenditure!!..i doubt il go the tuned way, just wanna keep the car nice and standard, original street sleeeper spec..(these cars only have turbo badges on the b billars, no one knows whats under the bonnet till you floor the smile pedal and headbut the horizon!!)...im starting to think of it as a cheap ferrari/maserati rather than an expensive fiat..!!!
always compare owning mine to being in love with a gorgeous woman who doesnt know you even exist....she takes your money, demands your love and attention but only gives you anything back briefly and tempestuously, on her terms..when she wants...life it seems is, and fiat coupes are, a bitch.....not like my cinq sporting then...thats a little slut, up for anything, always puts a smile on my face no matter what and wants nothing back in return.....if im goin for a solo back road blast then, i take my cinq....but if im gona visit the parents, i take the spoilt bitch......
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