Fiat TwinAir - anyone driven one?
Discussion
For those that don't know, it's a two-cylinder, 875cc petrol engine. Similar to the engine in my commuter motorbike. When I was told the Fiat 500L (that's a big car by the way) I was driving was fitted with this engine, I didn't think it would be capable of even pulling away, but what a shock that it actually felt very strong and diesel-like... but wait... if you rev it, it feels eager and petrol-like!
The instant fuel consumption meter swings wildly from 10mpg to 99mpg as you go up and down the gears, but astonishingly, I got 52mpg out of it in a 300 mile mix of motorway and stop-start grinding traffic. It truely is a revelation to me that you can get a simple, non-hybrid engine to be this good in a big car.
You can now get this engine in the Punto and Alfa Mito too - I reccommend every curious petrol head to try one. It could be the saviour of the manual petrol engine! So much nicer than diesel, and so much more economical than other petrols.
The instant fuel consumption meter swings wildly from 10mpg to 99mpg as you go up and down the gears, but astonishingly, I got 52mpg out of it in a 300 mile mix of motorway and stop-start grinding traffic. It truely is a revelation to me that you can get a simple, non-hybrid engine to be this good in a big car.
You can now get this engine in the Punto and Alfa Mito too - I reccommend every curious petrol head to try one. It could be the saviour of the manual petrol engine! So much nicer than diesel, and so much more economical than other petrols.
Limpet said:
It is clever, but I always understood the mpg wasn't actually very good in real world conditions. I've read reports of high 30s in mixed use, which if true, is no better than you'd get from the conventional 1.2 four pot.
Well I wasn't mucking around and I got 52mpg, which although is some magntiude lower than quoted, it's still pretty damned good.Jimboka said:
So why is it nicer than a diesel then!
I know what I would prefer for a long motorway journey...
It doesn't smell like one, it doesn't have that laggy heavy feeling when you rev it, and it's very happy at 70mph. Probably not at 100mph, but then that's not what it's designed for.I know what I would prefer for a long motorway journey...
I drove a friend's 500 twin air demonstrator - Wasn't desperately impressed - lacked a smooth power delivery, but it was certainly not under-powered although it was hardly a streak of lightning either, personally, the best small engine I've tested is the VAG 1.2 TSI - genuinely felt like it was punching well above it's weight. Would like to try the Renault unit to see what that is like - the TCi thingy
morgrp said:
Would like to try the Renault unit to see what that is like - the TCi thingy
I drove a hired, previous incarnation, of Clio 1.2 Turbo. Was very impressed. Not massively fast but was punchy enough to entertain and very refined with it. Same engine in the much lighter Twingo 1.2GT sounds an interesting proposition. Well, the Mini is significantly smaller than a 500L, but point taken. I don't know about "switching the turbo off" but it does have an Eco button that cuts the power by doing something... I presumed a differnt fuel map and fly-by-wire throttle, but I don't know for sure. It's noticeably slower if you do that, but it did lead to much better mpg, and it still had enough oomph to feel lively.
I have a 500 twin air and if driven like a tDi, change up at 2.5k and aim to stay at 2k when cruising gives 60mpg, this is my average over 1200 miles. I'll admit my commute is 40 miles a day on an a road so a constant 50 mph most of the time.
It's the ideal commuter for me, and if you take it out of eco and put your foot down it has enough go to be entertaining. As its so light you can take more corner speed than a little car had any right to and this is where you have your fun. Or on tight twisty roads you can just fling it about with ease. Doing this however drops mpg to 35. As I only get the chance once a month to go for a non work related drive I love the comfy day to day 500 character with the extra ability the twin air has over a standard 1.2.
The noise makes me chuckle under hard acceleration and the body roll gives you plenty of warning if your pushing your luck a bit. It has all the mod cons and I'm currently trying to modify the tom tom dash mount to accept my note 2 mobile at which point its the perfect everyday car for me. This sounds a bit depressing and I've owned a z4 and ls400 in the past and loved them but the twinair is a better car to live with.
It's the ideal commuter for me, and if you take it out of eco and put your foot down it has enough go to be entertaining. As its so light you can take more corner speed than a little car had any right to and this is where you have your fun. Or on tight twisty roads you can just fling it about with ease. Doing this however drops mpg to 35. As I only get the chance once a month to go for a non work related drive I love the comfy day to day 500 character with the extra ability the twin air has over a standard 1.2.
The noise makes me chuckle under hard acceleration and the body roll gives you plenty of warning if your pushing your luck a bit. It has all the mod cons and I'm currently trying to modify the tom tom dash mount to accept my note 2 mobile at which point its the perfect everyday car for me. This sounds a bit depressing and I've owned a z4 and ls400 in the past and loved them but the twinair is a better car to live with.
I've used a 500 Twin Air as my London daily driver for nigh on two years now. I find it perfect for city driving. It has everything that I need. Automatic, aircon, bluetooth, etc. etc. I usually drive it in eco mode with the turbo disengaged. It's plenty nippy around town. Steering is light but responsive and I can leave it parked anywhere I like in the city. Safe in the knowledge that it is almost totally invisible.
There's no road tax to pay and until 2016, no congestion charge either.
However, I only get 35.5 mpg. I do drive with spirit as much as conditions allow. But, London traffic is notoriously heavy.
I got it on my accountant's say so. The BIK made it a no brainer.
It really is a nice place to be.
There's no road tax to pay and until 2016, no congestion charge either.
However, I only get 35.5 mpg. I do drive with spirit as much as conditions allow. But, London traffic is notoriously heavy.
I got it on my accountant's say so. The BIK made it a no brainer.
It really is a nice place to be.
My mum's had two. The engine is more suited to a manual box as the auto is a bit dim, but good engine. Has a bit of character and you know it's a 2 pot also. Not the smoothest, but it's a small car not a luxo-barge. There's a 105hp model now which should help shift a 500L along a little better.
Mr Gear said:
Jimboka said:
So why is it nicer than a diesel then!
I know what I would prefer for a long motorway journey...
It doesn't smell like one, it doesn't have that laggy heavy feeling when you rev it, and it's very happy at 70mph. Probably not at 100mph, but then that's not what it's designed for.I know what I would prefer for a long motorway journey...
My diesel doesn't smell, gets 50+ mpg in real life & I don't have to thrash it to keep up with traffic!
Jimboka said:
Fair enough. We'll agree to differ then!
My diesel doesn't smell, gets 50+ mpg in real life & I don't have to thrash it to keep up with traffic!
Yeah but to be fair, my old Cinque Sporting got 50 mpg+ easy, didn't smell remotely of diesel and.....oh yeah you did have to give it a good spanking to keep up with traffic....which was why it was so much fun :-D My diesel doesn't smell, gets 50+ mpg in real life & I don't have to thrash it to keep up with traffic!
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