Technical Fiat 500L TwinAir engine pros and cons

[Shke]

I am planing to buy a fiat 500l
I'd rather buy TwinAir engine but do not know if it's durable enough for the body and the weight of fiat 500l
please share your experience so that I could make a final decision

thank you all in advance
greetings

 

[alexlovesfiat]

I drive 500 l diesel 130km/h on a high way no sweat, and the gas pedal is pressed only half way. diesel engine is much better than petrol imo.

 

[MJG]

I am planing to buy a fiat 500l
I'd rather buy TwinAir engine but do not know if it's durable enough for the body and the weight of fiat 500l
please share your experience so that I could make a final decision

thank you all in advance
greetings

You might want to have a read through Pandabloke's thread here

https://www.fiatforum.com/500l/336385-twin-air-mpg.html

first. Yes he could have been unlucky ref. the MPG but it seems illogical to me that such a small engine can be expected to haul a biggish car like the L around and the MPG not to suffer. It may be Ok in a smaller lighter 500 but I think it's pushing it in an L. We have a 1.4 which is fine but if I was buying again would probably go for one of the diesels given the miles we are currently doing.

 

[Terje79]

I have a twinair 500L.
I think the engine is good, only takes some time to get used to. 3000 RPM sounds like 1500 on a "normal" engine.
It starts to pull from 2000rpm and doesn't give in until almost 7000rpm.

My car has settled on 0,7l/10 Km. This includes a lot of city driving.
On long drives riding 80 km/h my record is 0,49l/10km.

There's enough power. The engine isn't struggling at all. I can drive on cruisecontrol in 6th gear everywhere. And this is Norway. We have some hills here...

And i like the sound

 

[Shke]

Terje79
Is it strong enough with the whole family inside?

 

[Terje79]

Yes i think so.
I doesn't feel like i'm driving 0,9ccm. More like a 1.6 diesel.

Just try it. It's a different engine. Some like it, some hate it. I personally love it. But I am very fascinated by everything different and good engineering.

 

[MJG]

Yes i think so.
I doesn't feel like i'm driving 0,9ccm. More like a 1.6 diesel.

Just try it. It's a different engine. Some like it, some hate it. I personally love it. But I am very fascinated by everything different and good engineering.

What about the MPG? that was a major bug bear for panda bloke.

 

[Terje79]

I wrote about the mpg on my first post.
It's nowhere near what fiat say. But it's not to bad either.

 

[Super Uwe]

I did my calculations in MPG and I make that between 40 and 57mpg

I agree, not bad going at all in Norway!

 

[Ulpian]

Thanks. I couldn't even begin to turn those figures into mpg!

 

[Jazzist]

Don't use Super E10 and it pulls really nice.

I agree with terje, it feels like the 1.6 diesel (I had this in my Bravo) but with much quicker warm up and slightly worse economy.

Driven gently on a combined run I get 50MPG+. Driving the nuts off it rammed full for 3000 miles across Germany 47 mpg. Had it up to 110 mph on the autobahn of course you can cruise at 130 km / h just like you can in practically any car so that's not a valid argument for diesel. Add 10% to compare with diesel in the UK and it's not bad economy (50+10%=55, bravo got 60..).

The quick warm up is a major advantage for short trips.

Still can't get the fuel tank full very often... Reckon my float or filler is out of tolerance or the tank isn't breathing properly when filling (can watch the gauge rise for 10 miles from a filling station..).

It's been the right choice for us for sure though it's going to be used for commuting now and the 1.6 120 might be slightly better for that given it gets 60+ and pulls even better.

The economy and performance is nowhere near as bad as some people claim.

I don't know why it costs more and why you can still choose the old 1.4, should be the same price but I guess they wouldn't be able to sell any 1.4 then.. Still it's £1000 less than the 105 multijet.

It vibrates quite allot when pulling away, but it's quite a nice sound when you get used to it.

Would be nice to have slightly better economy as it's around 15% worse than claimed.

Might become important in the future depending on how tough diesel laws for cities in the UK become.. Euro 6 diesel ok for now but what if you buy one and then they say only euro 7 ok?

In mainland Europe where diesel is cheaper than petrol I'd possibly go for the 105 or 120 1.6 diesel unless doing low mileage. The TwinAir makes allot of sense in the UK where diesel costs more unless doing, say, more than 12500 miles a year where the short run advantages of petrol and TA in particular are wiped out.

It's up to you in the end, it's a good engine and just depends on what you're looking for.

Good luck

 

[Shke]

I have an oportunity to buy twinair for a really reasonable price, so that's why i am interested in it. but my main concern is durability and realability. I need a family car, who will be driven for at least 6-7 years. considering twinair pretty new engine, how it will be after 50k, or 100k miles ... i like the sound, like the feeling. But is it "big" enough to last for 6-7 years and not to "wear and tear".

thanks for the good wishes

 

[Jazzist]

Surely the same as any other modern engine ie should be absolutely fine.

 

[Blue2U]

I have an oportunity to buy twinair for a really reasonable price, so that's why i am interested in it. but my main concern is durability and realability. I need a family car, who will be driven for at least 6-7 years. considering twinair pretty new engine, how it will be after 50k, or 100k miles ... i like the sound, like the feeling. But is it "big" enough to last for 6-7 years and not to "wear and tear".

thanks for the good wishes

To be honest that depends on you, or to be precise, how you drive, if you're doing high mileage, high speed/hilly and fully loaded up then I don't think I'd be looking at a TA, it's mainly you driving with the odd loaded trip on which you can drive the TA with sympathy then it's probably worth considering.

I was interested in the the TA when considering a 500 but overall I tend to agree with MJG that a TA doesn't seem to be the right choice for a 500L.

My car has settled on 0,7l/10 Km. This includes a lot of city driving.

= 40.35mpg I get 0,62 (43mpg) in the City with a heavy right root

On long drives riding 80 km/h my record is 0,49l/10km

= 57.64mpg...I honestly can't do a long trip at 80kmh, but I can easily get this figure at 100kmh in my 1.3 diesel auto Trekking using the cruise control.

 

[lsgraham_uk]

Well I have this engine in my mito, and its pretty good.

 

[varesecrazy]

I have an oportunity to buy twinair for a really reasonable price, so that's why i am interested in it. but my main concern is durability and realability. I need a family car, who will be driven for at least 6-7 years. considering twinair pretty new engine, how it will be after 50k, or 100k miles ... i like the sound, like the feeling. But is it "big" enough to last for 6-7 years and not to "wear and tear".

thanks for the good wishes

being a "modern" design,

it has Dual Mass Flywheel = like a diesel

Cam-chain = more expensive to change than a belt.. but being twincylinder should not be too complicated

turbo,
last for years if oil is kept clean

same with the multi-air unit

I've bought my Punto TA with the intention of 10 years 100K miles,

Charlie

 

[acfunduro]

Fiat are experts in small engine technology going back years. A lot of those old very small engine cars are still on the road. The Twin Air is 100kg lighter than the 1.6 diesel and is cheaper to buy and cheaper to service. Keep it well serviced and it should be fine. My wife has one and in 6th gear it flies along on the motorway. We're pleased with it. I don't plan on towing a caravan or a load of sand!