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General Is the twinair engine worth then£1200 premium

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General Is the twinair engine worth then£1200 premium

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Billytwoshoes

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Hello everyone

I am a new member and this is my first post. I currently drive a 2012 punto 1.2. I am thinking of changing to a Panda to take advantage of the excellent deals currently being offered with regard to PCP deals.

I am interested in a lounge trim model (possibly with a few option packs-techno, winter etc) but wonder if I can justify the extra money for the twin air version. I have never driven this engine so would appreciate from your experience/expertise.

Many thanks.
 
I thought it was the diesel MJ that was more expensive, certainly that is the case here in the UK.

The 900cc TA engine is great, low emissions and good mileage and a lot of fun to drive... certainly quite quick if you use higher revs.

This is also my first experience but bought the Panda after hiring a 500 on a couple of occasions....

Why not take a couple of long test drives or hire a car for the weekend to see if you like it? That could be a good idea
 
PS if you buy on the Privilege Scheme you can save a lot of money too to offset any concerns you have.
 
As you can see we have two TA engined cars, so we must be fans!

We got a TA 500 over three years ago and at the time I took a 1.2L 500 for a test drive, followed by taking the TA 500 out on the same route.

It took me 200 yards for me to make my mind up.

As has been pointed out, when going for a 4x4 Panda the choices are the TA or the more expensive diesel.

Unless you are a serious high mileage mud plugger the choice, as far as I am concerned, is easy.
 
Thanks for getting back. I am afraid that I don't know what you mean by the privilege scheme. I have seen good deals advertised on the Fiat website (eg £1400 PCP contribution in addition to discount and low interest deals) but is this separate from the privilege scheme.
 
Billytwoshoes said:
Thanks for getting back. I am afraid that I don't know what you mean by the privilege scheme. I have seen good deals advertised on the Fiat website (eg £1400 PCP contribution in addition to discount and low interest deals) but is this separate from the privilege scheme.
Click to expand...

Have a look at this thread Should give you the Affinity scheme (people call it the privilege scheme - one is the discount scheme, one relates to the finance deals - same difference really!) info you need. (y)
 
You can partake of the scheme several ways, through being employed in certain jobs, being a member of Advanced Motoring or.... Paying out and joining British Cycling.

Saves some money on the car and gets you onto the lowest finance deals
 
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I have the the 1.2 lounge and I think it's great. It'll do 50mpg without trying and I've had over 65mpg on a run. It also pulls well on the motorway and sits at 70mph and above very happily. I did have a go in the twinair, but at the time it would have worked out over £2k more expensive and allied with the twinair mpg fiasco (which still afflicts some people and was even mentioned by the salesman) I couldn't justify it. Mine was just over £8k after discounts bought on pcp at about 0.3% apr iirc. It had the 3rd rear belt (recommended) and split fold seat. Although I like the character of the twinair, it wasn't high enough on my list of priorities and didn't justify the extra cost for me. The 1.2 is a spritely little unit that likes revs and delivers miniscule running costs. I don't regret my decision!
 
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Oattam

Thanks very for your feedback. I currently drive a 1.2 Punto and I must say that I like the engine's refinement. It certainly lacks a little torque but overall is very good for my predominantly urban drive. I suspect that the Panda being slightly smaller/lighter will mean that the 1.2 engine will be offer a little more urge compared to my current drive.

You have tended to confirm what I have read in a lot of the reviews of the Panda-the basic 1.2 seems to be the sweet point of the engine range if you don't do excessive miles, drive mainly in town and are concerned with overall running costs (including purchase price).

Thanks again.
 
Billytwoshoes said:
You have tended to confirm what I have read in a lot of the reviews of the Panda-the basic 1.2 seems to be the sweet point of the engine range if you don't do excessive miles, drive mainly in town and are concerned with overall running costs (including purchase price).
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:yeahthat:

And it'll end up costing you more than £1200 extra.

The TA will cost more to insure, cost more to service & maintain & almost certainly use more fuel.

That said, many folks (perhaps the majority of those who post on here) would say the extra fun factor is worth it.

Only you can make that choice. Test drive both & decide whether to listen to your heart, or your head.

Just don't be fooled by the published mpg figures into thinking the TA will be cheaper to run. It won't.

And if you're looking for budget new car motoring, a carefully driven 1.2 Panda, bought with a decent discount, is just about as cheap as it gets.

Consider also the Citigo, Swift & the i10 - all good new car buys for someone on a budget.
 
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the TA is like an ecoboost, apparently gets super high mpg but... It doesn't.

Thing is though, the TA will give you a decent mpg, most of the time.

The 1.2 will return a good mpg if you drive almost mind numbingly slow, I'm not talking about racing about everywhere, just very slow acceleration, for 69 off horse power with £130 tax, it seems a bit outdated.
I drove a 1.2 grande punto myself, I got 37mpg driving slightly more sprinted, 42ish when I really concentrated, 33mpg when I couldn't be bothered having a queue of traffic behind me anymore.

Don't believe peoples mpg figures, users or manufactures, some people get 40mpg when flooring it in their 1.9 mjets, I get 34mpg out of my mjet when driving slow.

Go for the TA, as for what that mod said, I don't see how it would be 'higher maintenance costs', just normal servicing. Will be more fun, low tax, more usable power
 
kyle96 said:
the TA is like an ecoboost, apparently gets super high mpg but... It doesn't.

Thing is though, the TA will give you a decent mpg, most of the time.

The 1.2 will return a good mpg if you drive almost mind numbingly slow, I'm not talking about racing about everywhere, just very slow acceleration, for 69 off horse power with £130 tax, it seems a bit outdated.
I drove a 1.2 grande punto myself, I got 37mpg driving slightly more sprinted, 42ish when I really concentrated, 33mpg when I couldn't be bothered having a queue of traffic behind me anymore.

Don't believe peoples mpg figures, users or manufactures, some people get 40mpg when flooring it in their 1.9 mjets, I get 34mpg out of my mjet when driving slow.

Go for the TA, as for what that mod said, I don't see how it would be 'higher maintenance costs', just normal servicing. Will be more fun, low tax, more usable power
Click to expand...

Tax rate is the same as the twin air now - £0 first year & £30pa afterwards (at least according to the Govt website). The old 1.2 in the mk3 4x4 must have been filthy (haven't noticed a cloud belching out though!) as it's £180pa!!

That aside, I agree it's T/A all the way for me over the 1.2 (y)
 
Palio said:
Tax rate is the same as the twin air now - £0 first year & £30pa afterwards (at least according to the Govt website). The old 1.2 in the mk3 4x4 must have been filthy (haven't noticed a cloud belching out though!) as it's £180pa!!

That aside, I agree it's T/A all the way for me over the 1.2 (y)
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MY Punto TA was ZERO £ at renewal..;)
 
varesecrazy said:
MY Punto TA was ZERO £ at renewal..;)
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Sorry Charlie I'm in 4x4 mode! The new Panda 4x4 T/A is £0 then £30pa (same as the 1.2). I think the more basic T/A Panda's are zero like your Punto. Why the co2 is different I don't know! (y)

Edit: CO2 is 99 for the T/A unless it's 114 in the T/A 4x4!! :confused:
 
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Palio said:
Sorry Charlie I'm in 4x4 mode! The new Panda 4x4 T/A is £0 then £30pa (same as the 1.2). I think the more basic T/A Panda's are zero like your Punto. Why the co2 is different I don't know! (y)

Edit: CO2 is 99 for the T/A unless it's 114 in the T/A 4x4!! :confused:
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Small amount of losses and extra weight of transmission for 4x4, higher ride so slightly less aerodynamic (more un-aerodynamic, perhaps), different tyres, different gearing - higher emissions.
 
kyle96 said:
the TA is like an ecoboost, apparently gets super high mpg but... It doesn't.
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

kyle96 said:
for 69 off horse power with £130 tax, it seems a bit outdated.
Click to expand...

The 1.2 Panda is £30 tax. (y)

kyle96 said:
I don't see how it would be 'higher maintenance costs', just normal servicing.
Click to expand...

Service items like oil filters & brake pads/discs are at least twice the price for the TA, compared to the 1.2.

kyle96 said:
Go for the TA... Will be more fun, low tax, more usable power
Click to expand...

Yup, most folks choose the TA over the 1.2 and it's a fine car.

Just don't expect to run one for 1.2 money.
 
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