Hi folks, long time since I've lasted posted....we're thinking of going back to the world of fiat's. Whats caught our eye is a 5-door punto easy, with brio pack in junglist orange (not sure on this colour), twinair engine.

Whats everyone thoughts on the twinair engine in the punto? i must admit i was mightily impressed with the performance and i quite like the engine note, though it is different! Also what are the main differences between the 'easy' and 'gbt' (preferred choice)?

also what about orange, seems a bit in yer face!!

Anyone?

I had one for a day and the 2 problems i had with it were the sound of the engine and the fuel economy. really hard to get close to the claimed figures. I ended up with a 1.4 multiair and really love it. The twin air is free tax though, just dont expect to get anywhere near the claimed MPG. high forties is mor like it.

My Parents have the TwinAir engine in their 500 Lounge, which I've driven a lot and I also test drove the Punto TwinAir, in the older 'TwinAir' trim level (now deleted) earlier this year.

I found the engine less harsh in the Punto than the 500. Power delivery seemed more progressive - possibly it was slower because the Punto is heavier - the 500 goes like a scolded cat in normal mode! However, even keeping the Punto in 'Eco' mode didn't cause it to struggle & the engine seemed to quieten down quite nicely in 6th on my (albeit short) stint on the Motorway. Fuel economy in the 500 is mid-late 40s to the gallon, so I wouldn't expect more than mid 40's out of the Punto, but it does have a 6th gear that the 500 TwinAir doesn't - this might make a difference.

The ride was also better than I thought it'd be in the Punto, though like most Puntos before it, it does struggle to settle down on our uneven roads. The car I drove had the standard 'TwinAir' wheels which I think were 15" - having driven Alfa MiTo's (based on the Punto) with 16" & 17" wheels, the ride can differ quite a lot between wheel sizes - I wouldn't go over 16" as the 17"s in my Sisters MiTo (also a TwinAir) make it very bumpy.

GBT & Easy are very similar trims, but GBT adds 16" darker alloy wheels, body coloured rear spoiler (pretty subtle) & side skirts, tinted rear windows & sports suspension. The GBT is more of a looker than the Easy in my eyes, and would suit the new Junglist Orange better than the Easy. However, you might wanna test drive a GBT & Easy to see how much firmer the Sports Suspension is on the GBT, as this is one thing I haven't experienced - as far as I know the TwinAir trim I drove had standard suspension (and smaller wheels).

Best advice I can give is to drive both trims. Not necessarily with the TwinAir engine as I doubt dealers will have both, but even a 1.4 GBT will give you an idea how the ride will be. The plus point with the Punto is that if the TwinAir engine's no good, the new 1.3 85bhp Multijet diesel and 1.4 MultiAir 105 petrol are other decent engines.

I've got 4K on my twnair now,
get pretty much 51 mpg average,
on my daily commute,
apparently it WILL loosen up eventually,

I believe there was a TWINAIR spec. which gave lots og goodies = my 2013
has air con ( daul climate) and Cruise control,


Charlie - Oxford

Thanks guys liking the positive reviews, the two pot engine is very different to anything I've driven before!

blackJTD said:

Thanks guys liking the positive reviews, the two pot engine is very different to anything I've driven before!

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it's certainly that,

there seem to be a lot of EX-Demo's on the WEB for @£8.5 / £9K all with 1000 miles MAX,
I don't know what your local places are offering?,

Charlie

Not that cheap, only new ones on offer currently! On hp with no deposit around 190 per month for 4 yrs!

out of interest what new car price is that based on ?,

mine was discounted from £15.5k down to £12K, in Feb.

Still don't think the Punto TA is selling in any numbers,

Charlie

Think that was around the 12k mark. It's proving difficult to source the one we want without ordering it specifically! Why aren't they selling?

looking like we might be going for 1.4 petrol now as it seems to be the best balance of price/economy. Its a 5 dr, underground grey, gbt with brio pack so hopefully tick all the boxes

I have the punto twinair, love the car and getting good consumption in Eco mode, although it is 0.9 litre it's quite nippy. Absolutely recommend it 100%.

Thanks, I'd prefer twinair just can't get the spec we want! If we go for 1.4 might keep it a year or two then look to trade in for twinair as I was impressed!

AFAIK the "twinair" trim is GBT level..??,

not sure about body paint options though,

the only "top-spec" Twinair I've seen was LIME GREEN..!! ( did look o.k. actually)

charlie

Well deal done now, gone for an easy 1.4, 5 door, with brio in underground grey!

JTD_Liam said:

...to see how much firmer the Sports Suspension is on the GBT, as this is one thing I haven't experienced...

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I have a GBT, the suspension is a quite a lot firmer than the standard suspension... compared to my previous Grande Punto, it's a much firmer ride, it's way better at cornering due to much less body roll and it's generally a lot more 'planted'.

I hated the TA engine in the Punto when I test drove it, and went for the 1.4 8v 77hp instead.

I drove both 1.4 and TA and preferred TA tbh, loved the rasp it made and it pulled like a train! Maybe get one next time. 1.4 was on par with performance I thought and blew 1.2 away which I thought was gutless!

Agreed performance wise, I just hated the noise it made. I described it as "akin to the noise an old-skool VW Beetle would make, except from the front", and whatever they have done to 'tune' the exhaust note it sounded like a goldfish blowing bubbles.

Also, when I stopped at traffic lights, the vibration from the engine was making the plastic door trim rattle !!

Edit: I test drove a new Panda 4x4 TA recently, and the engine was MUCH more powerful that the Punto one, and also seemed quieter, more refined, and sounded a bit more 'gruff'... so maybe they have made further improvements to the TA in the last year or so.

Hi,
my 2013 is quite refined, the only time I notice the exhaust is when revving quite hard above 50 mph,
80 / 90 IS quite loud though..!!

BUT it's a shopping car that goes o.k.,
if I planned on doing LONG journeys, I'd have bought a 2 litre diesel,

have to agree on the 1.2 being a waste of space,

Charlie