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General looking at buying a petrol 1.2 or 1.4

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General looking at buying a petrol 1.2 or 1.4

1.8Stilo

1.8Stilo

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Hi guys hope you can answer a few questions for me!

Im looking at changing my stilo, for something cheap to run (servicing, tax, insurance) and economical. I dont do enough miles to justify getting a diesel!

Now my arguement is between which to go for, 1.2 or 1.4?

I want to know what sort of consumption you guys get from either... if you've had an problems with them, is there any recalls or common defects ie. spring breakages, etc?

What are the servicing intervals and how much is servicing over the 3 years whilst its covered by the manufactor?

and has anyone had there 500 remapped/induction and what sort of gains did you get?
 
I have owned vehicles with both engines and tested the 500 1.4 too.

The 1.4 consumes 1.2l/100km (20%) more than the 1.2 in normal use (mixture of city and motorway), the problem is that it sounds great at high revs and wants to be thrashed all the time so it is difficult not to indulge and in see the fuel economy suffer.

Not had any problems with either, had the 1.2 for 3 years in a Panda and just got the 1.4 now so too soon to say.

The 1.2 in the 500 is uprated so should be more economical and powerful than the Panda unit but I definitely prefer the performance and sound of the 1.4 especiallly for cutting through the traffic in short bursts of acceleration.

I find the main disadvantage of the 1.4 apart from consumption is the oil tanker turning circle.
 
1.8Stilo said:
Now my arguement is between which to go for, 1.2 or 1.4?
Click to expand...

i have the 1.4 and let me tell you, this engine is fantastic!! the 6 speed box is brilliant and so smooth. the engine sounds great, its what you want in a small car and lets just say i've not had many cars overtaking me too :devil:

not noticed the turning circle being as described above, to me the car is perfect!

i'm currently getting 38.7 mpg, which is pretty good, its only costing me £25 a week and i do approx 200 miles.

si
 
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Try a 1.2 or multijet you will. There is half a turn less of steering lock due to the 6 speed box and wider tyres. In normal road use it's fine but now I have to 3 point where before I could do u turn and passers by think you can't drive cos the car is so small, it just doesn't turn :)

Still getting up early in the morning to drive it to work sooner so it's a no contest for me any my boss!
 
People are getting 50+ mpg on their 1.2s which is practically unheard of in a petrol...I think you answered your own question though, by saying you want maximum economy and minimum tax and running costs you are basically saying you want the 1.2...I take it that what you lose in power you make up for in fun factor...as in wellying the poor thing to the red lines...
Although if you wanna be convinced in favour of a 1.4 have a look at John R Smiths threads.

Economy figures are posted a few threads back...

I seriously don't know why people think that they have to do more miles to justify a diesel. Diesels are just as economical for short bursts about the city as they are on the motorway, this is a fact! As I stated in the 'economical diesel' thread a few threads below, the cooler the engine when running the more efficient it is. therefore around town and to the local supermarket a diesel will be MORE frugal than even a 1.2...

I guess the real reason you won't go for a diesel though (and I wouldn't now) is the HG recall stress factor...which is palpable foe me since I know how difficult an operation is correctly replacing an HG!
 
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I have the 1.4 and when i put my foot down then yes my petrol goes down very quickly, but like this week i've been driving nicely and quite far my petrol has hardly gone down. It only takes £28 to fill up full so it may seem your spending more money on petrol if your getting through it quickly. Just depends how you drive it. I used to have a 1.2 fiat it was soooo slow.

xxxx
xxx
xx
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valencia100hp said:
I have owned vehicles with both engines and tested the 500 1.4 too.

The 1.4 consumes 1.2l/100km (20%) more than the 1.2 in normal use (mixture of city and motorway), the problem is that it sounds great at high revs and wants to be thrashed all the time so it is difficult not to indulge and in see the fuel economy suffer.

Not had any problems with either, had the 1.2 for 3 years in a Panda and just got the 1.4 now so too soon to say.

The 1.2 in the 500 is uprated so should be more economical and powerful than the Panda unit but I definitely prefer the performance and sound of the 1.4 especiallly for cutting through the traffic in short bursts of acceleration.

I find the main disadvantage of the 1.4 apart from consumption is the oil tanker turning circle.
Click to expand...

thanks for the comparison, it does help as i use to have a '00 MKII punto many years ago with the 1.2 8v engine. My only gripe with the engine was the lack of ummmph... its kind of a head against heart situation, i dont know if i quite take the plumet to the 1.2 for the above reason. But if i was to look at it from the practicality point it makes more sence as the tax and insurance are much cheaper, although the 1.2 cost more too service?


sikersh said:
i have the 1.4 and let me tell you, this engine is fantastic!! the 6 speed box is brilliant and so smooth. the engine sounds great, its what you want in a small car and lets just say i've not had many cars overtaking me too :devil:

not noticed the turning circle being as described above, to me the car is perfect!

i'm currently getting 38.7 mpg, which is pretty good, its only costing me £25 a week and i do approx 200 miles.

si
Click to expand...


that consumption dosent sound too bad to me, i do alot of town driving now and the stilo only returns around 27mpg one of the reason for the change!

Baerius said:
Hey stilo check it out https://www.fiatforum.com/500/141072-very-economical-diesel.html
Click to expand...

thanks mate i read that earlier, quite an intresting read!
 
The petrol fuel consumption isnt that great IMO, I have a 1995 2 litre VW Passat estate and over the last 650 miles its averaging 37.9 mpg which makes the 1.4 500 seem a tad thirsty, also I had a 1995 1.5 Toyota Paseo around 3 years ago that regularly made 50 mpg.
My Cinq Sporting was a 50mpg car too:)
 
O yes that reminds me 1.2 servicing cost are extortionate...eye wateringly high actually!
 
Yes from what I've read and heard the 1.4 is pretty much as thirsty as all 1.4 petrols out there..

Sorry Stilo don't know the actual costs off top of my head but its on the Fiat website I think...
 
Servicing for the 1.2 costs more because the tappet clearances have to be checked and set. The other two have hydraulic valve lifters.

The three engines for the 500 all have their own distinctive qualities. They are all good. In many ways the 1.2 suits the character of the car best, if you are after the feel of the original 500. It is the sweetest of the bunch, but definitely lacking in zap compared to the diesel or the 1.4. So much depends on your intended use - for commuting in town, or even long trips on motorways lightly loaded, the 1.2 will be fine and very economical. If you are regularly going to be fully loaded (four up) then the diesel will have the punch low down which is where you need it for relaxed driving, and be even more economical. The 1.4 is very Italian - it is not very happy in traffic, the power is all up at the top end of the rev band, and it likes to go fast. And it can use a lot of fuel driven hard - the worst I have had so far was 32 mpg.

My use is mostly solo or with one passenger at weekends, on B roads and twisty A roads. And down here we have a lot of hills which you often cannot get a run at, but are also your only chance to overtake (because they are the bits with three lanes). So I really relish the extra ooomph of the 1.4 in these situations, where it pulls superbly in third and fourth.

I would suggest that you visit your Fiat dealer and test drive both the 1.2 and 1.4, if possible.

John
 
John R Smith said:
Servicing for the 1.2 costs more because the tappet clearances have to be checked and set. The other two have hydraulic valve lifters.

The three engines for the 500 all have their own distinctive qualities. They are all good. In many ways the 1.2 suits the character of the car best, if you are after the feel of the original 500. It is the sweetest of the bunch, but definitely lacking in zap compared to the diesel or the 1.4. So much depends on your intended use - for commuting in town, or even long trips on motorways lightly loaded, the 1.2 will be fine and very economical. If you are regularly going to be fully loaded (four up) then the diesel will have the punch low down which is where you need it for relaxed driving, and be even more economical. The 1.4 is very Italian - it is not very happy in traffic, the power is all up at the top end of the rev band, and it likes to go fast. And it can use a lot of fuel driven hard - the worst I have had so far was 32 mpg.

My use is mostly solo or with one passenger at weekends, on B roads and twisty A roads. And down here we have a lot of hills which you often cannot get a run at, but are also your only chance to overtake (because they are the bits with three lanes). So I really relish the extra ooomph of the 1.4 in these situations, where it pulls superbly in third and fourth.

I would suggest that you visit your Fiat dealer and test drive both the 1.2 and 1.4, if possible.

John
Click to expand...


Thanks for that john... Some test drives are defienatly in order! Although cant see them have both variants!
 
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