Since now deliveries of the 1.4 16v Sporting GPs started to take place,....it would be nice to have your views of how the car is performing.....accelerates, keeps speeds in highways, etc...

Waiting for your valuable views.....:worship:

I've driven a 1.4 stilo (think they're the same engine) i know the stilo is heavier but the engine seems very poor, feels like a lifetime to get to motorway speeds and it doesn't sound too great.

If I was buying a GP then I'd get a diesel or wait for the abarth equivilent to come out.

Thanks

Dan

Thanks for your reply, however, Stilo is indeed a heavier car and the engine is not 100% the same (as far as I know). But anyhow, I am curious to hear a view from an actual owner of a GP Sporting 1.4 16v ....who can tell better how the car performs,.....u see sometimes the same engine gives completely different impression when in two different cars.

Regarding the Abarths,...nobody knows when they will be in the market.....and what will be the cost (will not be cheap,....considering that the 1.8 HGT of the previous Punto had abt 3-4.000 euros difference from the previous Sporting....

Diesels are not allowed in all countries and apart from that Diesel Engines are not such a good option always (higher maintainance costs, services, etc)...

The problem you have is there might not be a 1.4 sporting owner in the UK at the minute, none i can think of off the top of my head on the forum.

So you might be waiting a while, and i requested the stilo lot put their 2p in as it is the 95bhp 1.4 16v engine in it, which is the same as the GP IIRC

nope its the new 1.4 16v starjet engine in the GP i think

well shut my mouth :bang:

but ull still have the problem of waiting a long time maybe for a 1.4 16v sporting owner to come along

Yeah i think the first batch of 1.4 16v sportings destined for the uk went into production a week or so ago, so it'll be a little while yet before people have them over here

I know diabloNL has just picked his 1.4 16v up and so has another guy so hopefully they can give you a bit more info

Bob in disguise said:

Yeah i think the first batch of 1.4 16v sportings destined for the uk went into production a week or so ago, so it'll be a little while yet before people have them over here

I know diabloNL has just picked his 1.4 16v up and so has another guy so hopefully they can give you a bit more info

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My GP (not a sporting but has the 1.4 16v engine) has got almost 250 miles on the clock. I have to say that I'm starting to notice that it's loosing up under the bonnet. The engine likes to rev and so now and then I push it a little so the car won't become lazy after the run in period. For the moment all I can say is that the car is quite fast in terms of acceleration altough I didn't time it yet and also don't want to rev the engine until the max. at the moment.

At 75 Mph the car's RPM is ~3500 and that's what makes the 6th gear a real joy because it will lower it until ~2900 RPM. Driving it in a traffic jam is something I have to get used of because it's quite nervous in the 2nd gear (or maybe I can't drive).

I've put a little over 300 miles on my Sporting this week, and like diablo_NL, I find the engine is starting to rev a bit more freely now. I'm still taking it easy, but I have taken it up as far as 4500 rpm after a good warm-up. It feels promising

Below 2000 revs it doesn't feel like much is happening (except in 1st), but from 2500 rpm up, the engine is starting to come alive now. I haven't tested all out straight line accelleration yet, though.

Still waiting your valuable opinions and views on this subject......:worship:

Yesterday I read in Car magazine here in Greece which had a review of a GP 1.4 16v Sporting, that the 0-100Km takes abt 14 secs...!!!

I don't know what is happening,.....either all the anti-italian cars magazines want to do harm on the punto by "attacking" its performance (since they cannot find anything else i.e. looks, internal spaces, quality, equipment, safety, brakes, handling are all good to v.good or excellent) or the engine really needs some fair amount of time until it starts to perform.....Also maybe the cars they drive here are brand new with maybe 100-200 km only...

On the other hand everyone gives different....One magazine was 12.9 sec ,...the other 13.5 sec, the other 13.2 and this last one 14......but always higher from what fiat claims (11.4 sec).....ok is acceptable to have 0.5 or 1 sec difference due to not ideal conditions etc....but from 11.4 to 14 is big difference....
I wonder......can somebody claim against Fiat if the car cannot reach the performances described in car's spec? That would be interesting...... Any lawyers here????

On the other hand I contacted a tuning company here and advised me that in 2 months abt they will have the info required to carry out a re-programming which escorted by a filter by "Green" will give abt 6-7HP (on the wheels) - job completed with 380 euros and 2 years guarantee.....which doesn't look bad.......especially with the effect on the torque....between 2000-4500 rpm.

Anyway,...in about 20 days my GP will be here so I will find out myself....I guess

Honestly I don't believe in such reports. If by factory is provided that from 0 to 100 km/h will be in 11.5 seconds then it must be, because they must always remain on safe side. Same is going with maximum speed.

Also we all saw "Accelareation video" posted on this forum 2 weeks ago and we saw that time was around 8.5 secs but from factory they are saying 9.5 secs, so I don't see why shouldn't be same with other engine that is going in Sporting (1.4 16V) and I expect after 2-3000 km's that you can have that time.

Sporty said:

Still waiting your valuable opinions and views on this subject......:worship:

Click to expand...

we are still waiting for a UK owner

I've just taken mine for a good long drive on A/B roads, after driving it to work mainly on the motorway a few times, and I must say I'm impressed. I haven't really tested anything in terms of numbers, but I've got to say accelleration in 3rd feels pretty darn good. I really like the noise it makes above 4500 rpm, sounds deep and growly, like a much bigger engine, not at all what I expected (perhaps it's the exhaust on the Sporting that does it, although I thought the chrome end piece was just for show). I like the way it handles in the twisty bits, even though it was a bit understeery under full accelleration (front wheel drive, eh). I had fun

as anyone else tried the engine?

I have a 1.4 16V sporting, and while I'm generally impressed with the car it seems to me that the 2nd gear is a bit to long. But that is truly a minor issue.

My only real gripe with the car is the power-steering. I really don't like the feedback I get from the wheel, it feels like there's too much stuff between me and the wheels. Hard to explain, not as bad as Peugeots or Mazdas but still too much like driving a ferry for my taste, but then again I might be still be (secretly) missing my previous '95 Punto's steering which was like driving a bumper-car

Ohh, and btw the 'city' setting makes it even worse, almost undriveable.

/Robo3k

I sort of get what you mean about the steering. I had way more feel in my mk2b Sporting just not the great grip and handling my GP gives . Its just a case of getting used to it I think.

I think that you are a bit exagerating regarding the Steering feedback,....is not so bad,.....actually is much better that the 1.4 mk2b i had.....

But my concern is that the 11.4 sec for the 0-100 km acceleration is impossible to achieve...

My car now has done abt 6000 km and I have done several efforts to achieve this figure, but could not get below 13".......of course maybe the conditions are not ideal.....and the measuring way hand stop watch not precise as other measuring instruments,....but.....11.4 to 13 is far away.....and after all it is easy to fill also that the car is not possible to do 11.4,....is slower and feels so,.....the 2nd gear,....ohhhhhh....... I can light a cigarette, have a coffee, take a nap,.....and the reach the 6000 revs,.....but of course now I am exagerating.... .....Anyway,....I still wonder WHY Fiat did not put to this lovely car the 1.6 engine with the 107-110 hp that have ,........the car would really be complete.....

Perhaps is the standard of petrol in your country?. is there a premium brand petrol you can try?. Because believe me it really makes a difference when going flat out. Also temperature can make a difference to colder this better I believe.

From the first day i got the car i use either BP ultimate 100 or Shell V-Power,....from two stations which i use for over 15 years and the quality is good,...so i guess that is not a matter of petrol quality,.....

Cold weather really makes difference,...I felt it 2 days ago that the weather here in greece especially night time was a bit cooler (abt 22 degrees) than the previous months but still abt the same......11.4 in no chance......

But i am curious,....any of you has managed the 11.4 claimed by fiat?