raton_laveur
Established member
The first restyling of the Idea will take place very soon, probably in January. Most of the changes are cosmetic. The grille goes from black to silver and the bumper rub strips from black to body color, at least in the higher trim levels. There will be new interior colors and other minor changes. The wheel arches will become more prominent. The biggest change is under the hood//bonnet. The 1.2 petrol engine is replaced by a 1.4 8 valve unit. The 1.3 Multi Jet is also offered with 90 HP but the original 70 HP version is carried over. The 1.4 16 valve and 1.9 Multi Jet are unchanged...too bad they didn't upgrade the 1.9 to 110HP. I have no info about whether or not they fixed the overly soft suspension. On one hand, it gives you a very comfortable ride for such a small car. On the other, body roll is all to noticible. I'll be replacing the original shoocks and struts with something stronger when the warranty expires. For all of its advantages and features, the Idea has not been much of a success anywhere and that's a shame. It's rich sister, the Musa, has done much worse. Part of this has to do with the lack of advertizing, I'm sure. I'd love to see an Idea 2 on the Grande Punto platform that also includes an Alfa variant with suitable power, suspension, seats, and other upgrades... Fiat can contact me for the details.
As to the title of this post, it has nothing to do with the 1.2 engine. It's all about the version. The current Idea is the first in its line, so it is the Idea 1.1. The first restyling of the same car makes it the 1.2. The next would be the 1.3 and so on. If an Idea 2 were made as mentioned above, the original would be the 2.1 under my system and would progress from there. If there are any trainspotters (I'm one) reading this, I've also got something for them. The class loco is the loco that has the same unit number as the class number. Thus the class loco for Belgian class 13 is 1313 and not 1301 as everyone else thinks. Hey, it's fun to be wired backwards to the rest of the world!
As to the title of this post, it has nothing to do with the 1.2 engine. It's all about the version. The current Idea is the first in its line, so it is the Idea 1.1. The first restyling of the same car makes it the 1.2. The next would be the 1.3 and so on. If an Idea 2 were made as mentioned above, the original would be the 2.1 under my system and would progress from there. If there are any trainspotters (I'm one) reading this, I've also got something for them. The class loco is the loco that has the same unit number as the class number. Thus the class loco for Belgian class 13 is 1313 and not 1301 as everyone else thinks. Hey, it's fun to be wired backwards to the rest of the world!
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