Hi,

I was very convinced that the 1.3 JTD engine would do for me, but have read through the posts here and the specs of Fiat and looked at the minor price difference between the two engines/three versions and am unsure yet again.
Do 1.9 engine owners all go for the 120 bhp version or are there 105 owners as well? If I were to buy a new Doblo, do you have any opinions on the two versions of the 1.9 diesel engine? For one, it looks like that in Holland the 105 model does not come with the soot(??)-filter (roetfilter) and the 120 version does (as does the 1.3). This would for me mean I'd go for the 120 model, as I find that important. OTOH the 105 version has better fuel consumption, according to the Fiat specs.

Any thoughts on these two engine versions? Can I find more on them in other forum sections perhaps?

Thanks in advance
Hendrik

Hello Hendrick
I have the 1.9JTD 105 I find that it is a better engine than the 1.9 I had in my Cargo (more power smoother and ecconomical) Also I have tested a 1.3 engine in a Punto, and find that the power comes in at 2000 rpm and you have to use the gears a lot more top get the performance out of the engine
Dont know what a soot filter is, but UK engines have to conform to EU emmission regulations and Holland is in the EU??
rgds.
Clive

Hi Hendrik, I've got a 3-year-old one and that means 105 horsepower. I'm a fairly sedate driver but I like to do 70-80mph on the hilly M62 motorway over here, and 105 hp is plenty for that, and gives good economy.

I don't know if the 120hp motor loses flexibility, I'd expect more turbo lag, but a test drive is the only way to find out.

I was driving in Holland last week (in our Campervan), and it seems that the roads are a bit slower and flatter than in the UK, so you might find the 105 has plenty of power for you too.

Sorry for the confusion. I think I meant a particle filter, one that is now installed on modern diesel engines. It is to prevent very small particles ending up in the air. Babelfish translates it as 'fumagine filter'. (??)
Since the 105 engine is slightly older, Fiat might not have installed one into it from the factory by default?

Thanks
Hendrik

I have the 105 as my car is also nearly 3 years old. I find it has plenty of power here in Hilly Wales... I would consider getting it re-mapped by a company such as angel tuning to give a quoted 135? (or something like that anyway) as this has been proven over and over again to impove fuel consumption as well as performance. One of the guys here who has this same 1.9JTD in his Punto had his re-mapped and he swears by it!

You should be fine with the 105 but it has been noted that the new engines, because of their European Compliance are slighly slower than those engines in the older cars... well a few people on here have said this before too.

My Doblo is just over three years old and has the 100bhp engine.
I believe that in late 2003 or '04 this motor was uprated to 105bhp, which gave better emissions and a 10% decrease in fuel consumption. The current 105 is pretty much this engine and the 120 a re-chipped version with the same torque (I think), but slightly better acceleration and top speed. I have no idea of the driving characteristics. I would go for the more powerful motor, unless this compromises the insurance or taxation charges. The price difference is pretty minimal, and here in the UK it should be possible to knock a couple of thousand off by buying from a discounter, or at least £1000 from a dealer. I guess it's similar in Holland? Anyway, I love my Doblo, notwithstanding the too-close pedals and one or two small glitches. Some good friends spent £36,000 on an E Class Mercedes four years ago and that monster has broked down - I mean really stopped on the road - three times, not to mention the replacement catalyst, suspension bushes, dasboard lights, temperature sensor and various other small things. They hate it.
Perhaps Fiats are not so bad!

Fiat's are great cars especially the Doblo so many people love it as soon as they get inside it and realise it's potential!

Only one more thing to add, the Fiat Warranty is... well... worthless

My Doblo is still to arrive but we drove a couple of 105s and thought they were great. Maybe a little noisy on idle but they went like stink, the saleman went pretty pale when we marvelled at how easily it pulled a ton and threw it round a few corners

I didn't see any 120s around to try but when it came to buying we were offered a 105 at a certain price but bargained and got a 120 in metallic for that so it seemed rude not to

The 1.3 sounds like a great engine and the 1.6 version which is coming will no doubt be even better but for now the 120 seemed like the most fun I hoped that the VG turbo would reduce the lag and make it a sharper drive.

Rob

Quite right Rob. The Doblo JTD will go like a bat out of hell if needed. The quality of travel is pretty much identical between 70 and 100mph, so watch the speedo. It has to be one of the easiest cars to use on a day-to-day basis, what with the easy access and sheer simplicity of driving. The steering and gearchange are sweet, and help a lot.

I went this morning to look at the Skoda Roomster. Looks like a good car and fairly cute, if a little afraid to be outright wacky like the Dobbo; but without the high seating position and sliding rear doors it failed to hit my must-have synapses, and it isn't a Fiat. Good guarantee though; three years, no quibble, and three years full AA, incluiding Europe. Fiat, I believe, is now only offering only one year AA and their multi-quibble two years plus one-if-your-lucky not very reassuring guarantee.
Still the Dobbo is, for most purposes, the better car, and £2000 cheaper to boot - and with a more powerful motor. Pity it doesn't have all the airbags and other safety stuff though. Maybe in a year ot two?

Enjoy your 120 Rob, its agreat car. Oh; the Skoda only comes in a limited series of colours, including various shades of grey, two or three blues, black and white, and a couple of reds. Dobbos can be had in a beautiful funky orange and a couple of great pastels. If your going wacky why not go the whole hog. Or is it me...?

Watch that speedo,
Colin

I didn't order the Doblo because it was a hotrod but would have thought twice if I hadn't been really impressed at the way it went and handled. I was ready for it to be a rolling van but for its type it handled really well and a whole lot better than a lot of the 'normal' stuff I've driven. I don't know why this got onto Skodas but the ones I've seen recently have just been wannabe VWs; clunky ergonomics, dull and cramped inside. I haven't driven the fast ones but what I always liked about Fiats was that you got great design in even the base models and every engine gave everything it could... but that was the '80s

We chose the Doblo because we wanted a fun vehicle with loads of space I'm not of the speed kills school of thought, but equally I don't want to find out on my own time that the bus I bought is dangerous... and it was fun to see the saleman scared

Rob

Ulpian said:

Dobbos can be had in a beautiful funky orange and a couple of great pastels. If your going wacky why not go the whole hog. Or is it me...?
Colin

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I can't believe I forgot to mention that the reason for the name is that ours will be in that funky orange... hence the nickname. Why buy a fun car and choose a dull colour? Weird thing was whilst all the dealers seemed shocked that we wanted orange and only had grown up colours in stock they all had customers with orange on order. Go figure, why no broom yellow? :yum:

Rob

Tango Dioblo said:

salesman went pretty pale when we marvelled at how easily it pulled a ton and threw it round a few corners

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I think you'll find most people are rather surprised how good the handling and speed of these cars are, when you get to know your car a little better you'll learn to keep the revs in the turbo range for example when climbing a hill or overtaking so you can get the best out of the power

Finally someone else who did a ton in one... now everyone can stop picking on me

Sorry about the Skoda mention; it was just that they have launched a sorta competitor, and I like to know the opposition. As you say, the front bit was car-like and cramped, and the rest a shrunk down Doblo, without the sliding doors. Funnily enough the salesman tried to tell me that this was because it was 'not van based, sir!' I remember that the prototype did have sliders, but Skoda must have dropped them due to the cost (they are more expensive to engineer); but the salesman was a very pleasant bloke and did a pretty good job of trying to get me interested. No, not worth the extra £2000+ at all. And it would be hard to desert Fiat even if I could afford a new car - which looks like never again!! I've had a few Fiats on and off over the years, always sparky and honest cars. And I know, the Doblo does handle really well, and is quiet, and solid, and bloody good value, in any engine format. If Hendrik is still reading, just go for the motor you feel suits your needs best, you shouldn't be disappointed.
As for the colour. Brilliant. I can't wait to see some of these kinetic oranges zipping about. And I did see a bright yellow one only two weeks ago. Same year as mine (03) but channel island registered. Immaculate. I don't think it was that custard colour they did either, it seemed more acid. It was gorgeous. The two vans (dare I use this word?), a blue and a yellow, parked up together in a half-full car parked looked rather cute. Fiat is on a roll and doing some really great colours right now.
Off to bed - I work nights. Bye all.

Yes, I'm still reading...



Thanks to all who responded!

Hendrik

Having tuned many Doblo's and owned a few, we have added a 1.3 M-Jet to the fleet last week.

We have two of the new facelift versions, the 1.9SX 105 and the 1.3 as mentioned above.

The 1.9 had woeful consumption for the first 5k then loosened up. When tuned it returned an improvement of 5mpg to 47mpg on average and a turn of speed to surprise most things :-D

I had hoped the 1.3 was going to be a stunna on fuel but alas not. It has to be worked so hard in standard form to get up to speed that the consumption over the first 1500 miles has been worse than the 1.9 was at 38mpg. We will hopefully have time this week or next to tune the thing and see what it does then.

Power wise, the 1.3m-jet can be upped to perform the same as a standard 105 and not far off a 120 without compromising the longevity. We are trying for economy on the latest one of ours rather than power so this is a different project!

As a van though, they are excellent. Handling is scary to start with if you are not used to it, and the 1.9 handles a lot better than the 1.3, but you cannot beat the value for money with them. The 1.9 is 6 months old now and done well over 38k, its had the odd hitch when a rpm sensor went, but apart from that this one has been superb.

We bought ours from Grays in Warwick (Mark Lloyd) who as always were excellent and they did us a cracking deal on the 1.3 - I cant recommend these guys enough.

Now I am trying to find some bling for the thing - anyone here bought those bull bars off ebay yet......

alfanige said:

Having tuned many Doblo's and owned a few, we have added a 1.3 M-Jet to the fleet last week.


Power wise, the 1.3m-jet can be upped to perform the same as a standard 105 and not far off a 120 without compromising the longevity. We are trying for economy on the latest one of ours rather than power so this is a different project!

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I am aware of the tuning possibilities. I'm still inclined to purchase the 1.3 model and have it tuned by you (or affiliates in mainland Europe (do you have those?, I will get in touch in due time..)). I suspect/hope that the 1.3 model after some miles will run as economical as Fiat suggests in their specs. Will tuning affect the CO2 exhaust negatively? For my GF and me environmental specs are important as well, and Fiat performs much better here than Peugeot, Citroen and Renault. That is also why I would still consider the 1.3.

Thanks,
Hendrik

hendrik4dnet said:

I am aware of the tuning possibilities. I'm still inclined to purchase the 1.3 model and have it tuned by you (or affiliates in mainland Europe (do you have those?, I will get in touch in due time..)). I suspect/hope that the 1.3 model after some miles will run as economical as Fiat suggests in their specs. Will tuning affect the CO2 exhaust negatively? For my GF and me environmental specs are important as well, and Fiat performs much better here than Peugeot, Citroen and Renault. That is also why I would still consider the 1.3.

Thanks,
Hendrik

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Hi Hendrik

I have covered 2000 miles in the last two weeks and the fuel consumption at standard is woefull so far. The 1.3 is ideal if you are doing short local journies at low to medium speed, where it will return you a good km/l, however go above 100kmh and it sufferes hugely. I can hold the van steady at 90kmh and the economy is excellent, hold it at 115kmh and it drops by 25%, go over that and it drops horrendously. OK I know this is unscientific and only on the dash readout, but the difference rather than the actual is alarming. On the brim to brim I have ranged between 38 and 42mpg so far (thats the scientific way lol)

We havent done any tuning in it yet - simply havent had time so will let you know what the consumption is like afterwards.

We dive down into Europe frequently by the way, we were in Mid France weekend before last doing a group down there :-D

The enviroment will be better after tuning, less fuel burnt, less pollution.

Glad to see things aren't going too bad for you and you haven't tinkered with it yet

As you will read around the Forum a few users have reported bad fuel economy for up to 3000miles before it settles down. You should be getting at least 45 - 50 if you're taking it wasy and 45 if you're not... slightly more on the motorway as you know with your other 1.9. I don't think you'll get better economy out of the 1.3 though as it has to work harder.

Ozzie1989 said:

Glad to see things aren't going too bad for you and you haven't tinkered with it yet

As you will read around the Forum a few users have reported bad fuel economy for up to 3000miles before it settles down. You should be getting at least 45 - 50 if you're taking it wasy and 45 if you're not... slightly more on the motorway as you know with your other 1.9. I don't think you'll get better economy out of the 1.3 though as it has to work harder.

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I was taking the 5000 mile mark into consideration to be honest. I was expecting to get 45-47 from it before then and with tuning and loosening up I wanted to get 55+ from it. We shall have to see......

We had an evening tinkering with the 1.9 again last night and the thing is now going like an uber rocket and today did 500 miles and returned 48mpg :-D

Whats the kind of power you're getting out of that now then? In terms of BHP or haven't you tested it yet

I'd love to have it tuned but student = no money lol never mind suppose I'd be even more dangerous with the extra power