Hello,

We are new to the forum and would appreciate any help that you can give us.

We are in the process of buying a 500 and would like to know typical fuel figures for the 1.2 lounge and the 1.3 diesel, the figures we have been quoted from the dealers varies quite a bit and it appears that which ever model they have that fits our budget is the most economical ( dealer spin).

The car will travel 450 miles per week which is made up of approx 75% Motorway ant the remainder around town.

Could anyone please give us accuarate figures of what mpg we could expect for both cars. we would expect to keep car 4 years and have been looking at either 11 plate or 61 plate with approx 6k on clock for around £8500 does this seem reasonable (petrol) and about 1500 more for diesel.

finally any help on manufacturers warranty would help

thanks very much

steggimad said:

We are in the process of buying a 500 and would like to know typical fuel figures for the 1.2 lounge and the 1.3 diesel, the figures we have been quoted from the dealers varies quite a bit and it appears that which ever model they have that fits our budget is the most economical ( dealer spin)....

Could anyone please give us accuarate figures of what mpg we could expect for both cars.

Click to expand...

The best place for real-world mpg is the Honest John website.

Otherwise, if you look around the 500 section of the forum, you'll find lots of spirited debate between owners of the various models about how economical (or otherwise) their cars are...!

Any reason you're not considering the TwinAir...?

PS: Welcome to the forum...!

steggimad said:

Hello,

We are new to the forum and would appreciate any help that you can give us.

We are in the process of buying a 500 and would like to know typical fuel figures for the 1.2 lounge and the 1.3 diesel, the figures we have been quoted from the dealers varies quite a bit and it appears that which ever model they have that fits our budget is the most economical ( dealer spin).

The car will travel 450 miles per week which is made up of approx 75% Motorway ant the remainder around town.

Could anyone please give us accuarate figures of what mpg we could expect for both cars. we would expect to keep car 4 years and have been looking at either 11 plate or 61 plate with approx 6k on clock for around £8500 does this seem reasonable (petrol) and about 1500 more for diesel.

finally any help on manufacturers warranty would help

thanks very much

Click to expand...

Hello and a very warm welcome to the forum :wave:.

It's difficult to give a specific answer to your first question because the fuel consumption of either car will be very dependent on the speed you normally drive on the motorway - the 500 is not aerodynamic & economy drops quite quickly above 55mph. That said, it's highly unilkely you'd save enough to justify the extra purchase price of the diesel on economy grounds alone, but you might find it more comfortable as a motorway cruiser as it's significantly more powerful (95hp against 69hp) - the best way to find out is to test drive both back-to-back.

Economy in the TA will be significantly worse - take no notice of the official figures, no TA owner here has even come close.

FWIW, at current UK forecourt prices, my 1.2 has the lowest per-mile fuel cost of any of the 500s on the forum. I've just filled it up after a couple of longish motorway journeys & managed 456 miles on 30.7 litres - that's 67.5mpg or a tad over 9p/mile. Lifetime average over 2yrs/16k is 60.7mpg & 9.8p/mile. You will have to drive very carefully indeed to match (or better) these figures but it does show the capability of the 1.2 if driven sympathetically (though some might just say pathetically ).

The third year warranty is practically worthless & covers almost nothing. Both cars are generally reliable but in the longer term there are perhaps more potential dragons with the diesel & its DPF - out of warranty repairs will likely be not be cheap & some have had problems. The 1.2 is well proven and if driven reasonably the engine should outlast the rest of the car.

As to price, the 1.2 in basic (pop) form can be had new for a shade over £9k; perhaps this is worth considering over a year old example at £8500?

I'm very happy with my 2009 (59) 75hp diesel 500. Drives very well on motorways, I don't try too hard for economy but even so I'm usually averaging over 60 to the gallon now the car has 24000 on the clock - see my Fuelly stats below. Just driven to Lancaster from Colchester and back driving at between 70 & 80 (indicated, don't have a satnav), still got 60+/gal.

Thought 'I wonder what unticking 'Show your signature does'? - idiot, it removes my Fuelly stats!

steggimad said:

Hello,

We are new to the forum and would appreciate any help that you can give us.

We are in the process of buying a 500 and would like to know typical fuel figures for the 1.2 lounge and the 1.3 diesel, the figures we have been quoted from the dealers varies quite a bit and it appears that which ever model they have that fits our budget is the most economical ( dealer spin).

The car will travel 450 miles per week which is made up of approx 75% Motorway ant the remainder around town.

Could anyone please give us accuarate figures of what mpg we could expect for both cars. we would expect to keep car 4 years and have been looking at either 11 plate or 61 plate with approx 6k on clock for around £8500 does this seem reasonable (petrol) and about 1500 more for diesel.

finally any help on manufacturers warranty would help

thanks very much

Click to expand...

Since you're comparing a multi-jet with a 1.2 I get the impression that performance is not a consideration for you and it's down to 'economy' for lower running costs.
The only reason I would consider a multi-jet in a 500 is if
1. You could recover the VAT element in the cost of the diesel
2. You wanted the extra performance - note that the torque of the MJ is twice that of the Petrol in the 1.2
3. If you didn't mind the extra noise of the diesel over the petrol.

Also for some reason Fiat have delayed releasing the newer MJ with 85bhp as in the other models with has appreciably better mpg - this engine would make the 500 MJ 'III' exempt on the London Congestion charge.

I would guess that the difference in mpg between the MJ & the 1.2 is about 10mpg. The MJ will have higher maintenance costs although the engine will last longer. Given your 'economy' requirements my vote would go for the 1.2 since you wouldn't have it longer than 4 years.

P.S. If you do a search for threads started by cowabunga and there was a recent one by V8burble there's a lot more detail on the +s & -s.

If it helps I have the following to add, im only here because i was just looking at the colourtherapy models and notice that on all but the pop's the diesel has been discontinued. I haven't posted on here for a while.

As mentioned in my earlier posts i rented a 1.2 for 4 days and travelled about 600 miles in it, mainly on motorways. I liked the car but found the performance a little sluggish on the motorway. The engine is free revving and willing but didnt quite have the performance for me.

When I came to buy my decision was between a 1.4 or 1.3 mjd, I chose the latter.

MPG wise with the style I drive (getting me there 10% quicker is more important than saving 10% on fuel) I think the 1.2 would be around 43-45 on the motorway, and for similar speeds in the 1.3 50-53. That said you do notice very quickly the slower you drive the far higher the mpg shoots up, due to the non aerodynamic shape I suppose. If I stayed at 70mph for instance I'd easily get 60mpg out of my car.

One more thing ive found as I do a lot of short trips is the engine is well below optimal mpg when cold, suppose that wont be much of a problem for somebody doing 450miles a week.

I did try to come up with some cost per mile calculation on here a while back but gave up due to the incumbent posters apparently pushing various 1.2 agenda's with the "breakeven 20k miles statements, etc" angle without any clear facts. Unsurprisingly you anticipate doing over 20k miles a year yet nobody has advocated going for the diesel on this thread.

Overall my thoughts are you'd probably save somewhere in the region of £2,000 on fuel over 90k miles with the mjd plus there'd be a small premium too over a 1.2 when you come to sell (say £300?) Offsetting that are the higher insurance costs (say £200?) and perhaps more repairs which I personally havent encountered yet.

One more thing I'd advise is going for a higher spec than "pop" if possible, I think bluetooth, alloys, etc in the packs are well worth the premium.

Another thing to bear in mind is noise, and while one would expect a diesel to be noisier than a petrol at equivalent revs at 80mph showing on the clock the 1.2 is revving at approx 4,000 revs, the 1.3mjd around 2,750 revs.

One side issue I dont like with my mjd is the larger turning circle vs the 1.2, it does annoy.

I think if you had a test drive of both even for a distance as short as 10 miles on a motorway you'd make your mind up instantly. The MJD will work out cheaper, and you'll quickly appreciate the difference in power.

Something like this looks ideal to me http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/VehicleAdvert/Fiat/500/362510

Good Luck.

Will the diesel really work out cheaper, bearing in mind the original price differential? I'm not saying you are wrong as I have not worked it out myself, I'm just questioning whether it is so clear cut.

For the fuel saving i thought 45/55mpg and roughly worked out from there, i thought it was about £2k.

Lets go off the HonestJohn values. Both for 450 miles per week *52*4 = 93,600 miles.

1.2: 93,600/48.9 = 1,914 gallons of fuel at approx £6.15 = £11,771
1.3: 93600/ 59.2 = 1,581 gallons of fuel at approx £6.35 = £10,039

So thats about £1,750 saving.

Then even though the car will not be worth much (say £2k) after 4 years, id expect the diesel to still retain a premium valuation over the 1.2, say £250.

So your looking at £2k there.

The whats the insurance/ tyre, etc extra cost of the 1.3MJD over the 1.2, ok it might be as much as £500, I dont think it is but it could be.

If it is £500 then the OP pays £1,500 more up front and saves it back over the years.

But then he has a better car with far better performance.

I just wish somebody else could do this, there's all these experts on here and not one of them suggested it.

Do they work for Fiat?

homeward said:

The best place for real-world mpg is the Honest John website.

Click to expand...

I disagree, thats what people in put from their trips. Fuelly is a far better reference point imo, where you can view the data yourself.

Ok then. You use the fuelly figures and refresh the above please.

i'd be interested to see what your answer is.

I think that there's definately some sound advice regarding going for a Lounge rather than a Pop. You can find a large number of threads on here from people who thought they would settle for a Pop and they consider spending large amounts of money trying to retro fit fog lights, blue and me, USB connector, alloy wheels and one even considering changing drum brakes for disc brakes.

Choose the car that you want, rather than the car that will cost you least to run. If you want a cheapy, the Kia Picanto has a 7 year warranty and is a good couple of grand cheaper!!

Overall I don't think the 500 is really a long distance everyday car anyway, something larger is better on the motorway.

I went to lanzarote earlier in the year and hired one of these for a week, good to drive and felt more composed and quiter than the 500 on motorways. Would be cheaper than either option from the OP too.

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/VehicleAdvert/Fiat/Punto%20Evo/360236

Then on the flipside there's 61 Megane's/ Focus/ Octavia's diesels available at less than £11k.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

I disagree, thats what people in put from their trips. Fuelly is a far better reference point imo, where you can view the data yourself.

Click to expand...

I would agree Fuelly figures are far more representative and are from a variety of 500 owners, not just ignorant people who think Honest mail order bride John is a competent journalist (which he's not)

steggimad said:

Hello,

We are new to the forum and would appreciate any help that you can give us.

We are in the process of buying a 500 and would like to know typical fuel figures for the 1.2 lounge and the 1.3 diesel, the figures we have been quoted from the dealers varies quite a bit and it appears that which ever model they have that fits our budget is the most economical ( dealer spin).

The car will travel 450 miles per week which is made up of approx 75% Motorway ant the remainder around town.

Could anyone please give us accuarate figures of what mpg we could expect for both cars. we would expect to keep car 4 years and have been looking at either 11 plate or 61 plate with approx 6k on clock for around £8500 does this seem reasonable (petrol) and about 1500 more for diesel.

finally any help on manufacturers warranty would help

thanks very much

Click to expand...

I would advise you to rent a 500 for a day or two and see how you feel driving it. I've driven mine on lots of long journeys (600 miles in a day) and it's not uncomfortable per se, but I'd rather be driving something bigger if possible.....

cowabunga said:

For the fuel saving i thought 45/55mpg and roughly worked out from there, i thought it was about £2k.

Lets go off the HonestJohn values. Both for 450 miles per week *52*4 = 93,600 miles.

1.2: 93,600/48.9 = 1,914 gallons of fuel at approx £6.15 = £11,771
1.3: 93600/ 59.2 = 1,581 gallons of fuel at approx £6.35 = £10,039

So thats about £1,750 saving.

Then even though the car will not be worth much (say £2k) after 4 years, id expect the diesel to still retain a premium valuation over the 1.2, say £250.

So your looking at £2k there.

The whats the insurance/ tyre, etc extra cost of the 1.3MJD over the 1.2, ok it might be as much as £500, I dont think it is but it could be.

If it is £500 then the OP pays £1,500 more up front and saves it back over the years.

But then he has a better car with far better performance.

I just wish somebody else could do this, there's all these experts on here and not one of them suggested it.

Do they work for Fiat?

Click to expand...

Hi Cowagunga.

I don't work for Fiat and I'm no 'expert'.

Did you factor in the extra cost of buying a diesel which is £2,400 over a 1.2. TA is £1400 more than the 1.2. (this is from looking at the Street model as an example).

From driving a T-jet and the Multi-jet (in a different model 'Fiat') I find that the diesel is more tiresome to drive. There is more noise and vibrations (which don't register on the decibal meter). It is not as satisfying. If the 1.2 isn't quick enough there's always the TA.

The 500 is classified as a city car so in essence the petrol is more suited for it. With the Euro regulatory requirements of Euro 5 & Euro 6 the price difference between the Petrol & the MJ is going to get bigger with tougher restrictions on emissions and in particular on the diesels. It's difficult to justify a 'case' for the diesel in the 500 particularly when the OP does not seem to have any 'performance' aspirations.

Also buying a secondhand 500 diesel requires a lot more 'care' than a petrol model. It the owner was skimping on servicing or ignoring lights on the dash you could end up footing quite a big bill which would wipe out any savings on fuel.

loveshandbags said:

Also buying a secondhand 500 diesel requires a lot more 'care' than a petrol model. It the owner was skimping on servicing or ignoring lights on the dash you could end up footing quite a big bill which would wipe out any savings on fuel.

Click to expand...

This is a very relevant and well put comment, particularly as the 500 is a "city car": the risk of a previous owner having done something untoward through using a DPF fitted diesel 500 for repeated short town journeys must be a lot higher than for a petrol engined 500.

Hi Cowagunga.

I don't work for Fiat and I'm no 'expert'.

Good to get that established.

Did you factor in the extra cost of buying a diesel which is £2,400 over a 1.2. TA is £1400 more than the 1.2. (this is from looking at the Street model as an example).

The OP said it was a £1,500 premium for a 61 reg.

From driving a T-jet and the Multi-jet (in a different model 'Fiat') I find that the diesel is more tiresome to drive. There is more noise and vibrations (which don't register on the decibal meter). It is not as satisfying. If the 1.2 isn't quick enough there's always the TA.

Would you advise he gets a TA with 30mpg? The diesel is not noisy when warmed up, I have one.

The 500 is classified as a city car so in essence the petrol is more suited for it. With the Euro regulatory requirements of Euro 5 & Euro 6 the price difference between the Petrol & the MJ is going to get bigger with tougher restrictions on emissions and in particular on the diesels. It's difficult to justify a 'case' for the diesel in the 500 particularly when the OP does not seem to have any 'performance' aspirations.

All I was saying is cost wise the diesel would in all likelihood be the same cost or cheaper, nothing incredible about it, applies to all cars where the drivers doing a lot of miles. Plus they get the performance benefit. As for the price difference he aint going to be buying it in 2 yrs when and if the doom scenario occurs.

Also buying a secondhand 500 diesel requires a lot more 'care' than a petrol model. It the owner was skimping on servicing or ignoring lights on the dash you could end up footing quite a big bill which would wipe out any savings on fuel.

I admit that the diesel may need more care, while its relevant the longevity probably offsets this.

Conclusion: If you have a person driving 23k+ miles per year and their asking if petrol or diesel is best there is only one answer, for the 500 range and almost every other range of cars on the planet. I rest my case.

And finally, see you all in another 6-12 months.

The message on the board is viz a viz to what it was 6 months ago, no need for me to be here to contradict the "expert views".

cowabunga said:

And finally, see you all in another 6-12 months.

The message on the board is viz a viz to what it was 6 months ago, no need for me to be here to contradict the "expert views".

Click to expand...

Cowabunga, if you don't agree with loveshandbags' views then how does leaving the forum for 6 months help people trying to get the views of a variety of people.

If you've got something to add, then say it, hell, have a passionate discussion/argument with people I've never backed down from having an argument with someone on here if I disagree strongly enough or feel that their advice is bad and I think that simply leaving is not the answer.