Greg123
Member
What year did the 1.2 go to low tax and did that include the duologic?
General £35 tax 1.2?
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General £35 tax 1.2?
I believe it was 2009 it went to the low tax with the Eco versions of the Active & Dynamic, I'm not 100% sure if it included the Dualogic, it definitely didn't include the top of the range Elegenza though
That's correct; I have just checked with an original copy of the 2010 sales brochure. The move to the £35 tax band came with the introduction of the Euro4 engine; that, combined with lower viscosity engine oil and low rolling resistance tyres, enabled Fiat to just sneak it into the B band with 119g/km CO2.
You can't get any 169 dualogic Panda with £35 tax; it was never available as an option on either the 1.1 Active Eco or the 1.2 Dynamic Eco. If you wanted a dualogic in 2010, the Eleganza was your only choice, and the Eleganza never made it into the £35 tax band, not even with manual transmission and the Euro4 1.2 engine.
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Greg123
Member
I guess the air con made it slightly too heavy?
I thought that was the case as I'd never seen or heard of an Active or Dynamic Eco with the Dualogic gearbox, I just wasn't completely sure
It's not the air con as I know someone who has a Dynamic Eco which is £35 tax & also has air con
Greg123
Member
Whats the difference in the 1.2 FIRE for Euro 4?
No, from 2009 aircon came as standard on the 1.2 dynamic eco.
My guess is that those 155x13 ecotyres were absolutely needed to make the numbers, and marketing thought it more important to put the Eleganza onto 14" alloys.
Interestingly with the introduction of the Euro5 engine in late 2010, its slightly lower CO2 numbers enabled the 1.2 Dynamic (by now the myLife) to be fitted with alloys as standard. The 1.1 was never made in Euro5 form, so the last of the 169 Actives have the Euro 5 1.2 engine.
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Greg123
Member
But there was never an Eleganza euro5 2010 with the lower tax?
To be honest there's hardly anything in it to really notice any differences apart from the 1.2 getting variable valve timing with the introduction of the 500 in 2007, anything from Euro 5 onwards though was when it started to go a bit south although the FIRE engine is still very reliable & parts are reasonably priced you get the well known problems of flat spots when pulling away due to Fiat cutting the emissions, my car is Euro 6b & it's really noticeable at times, apparently the firefly is meant to be a lot worse in terms of emissions & pulling away
That's only for the 500. Although the 500 had VVT from launch, curiously Fiat chose to homologate it as Euro 4 until the 2010 model year, despite the 69HP VVT engine meeting all the Euro5 specs.
Euro 4 (and earlier) Pandas don't have VVT, that didn't happen for the Panda until the introduction of the Euro5 engine in late 2010. Fiat didn't need to use VVT to meet Euro4 with the 1.2 FIRE.
Quite a few folks here, myself included, think the Euro 4 version is the better engine.
If you're looking to buy a 169 Panda, the 60HP Euro4 Dynamic Eco from 2009-2010 is probably the best of the bunch (you get remote central locking, A/C, rev counter and mp3 CD player as standard, plus £35 tax and ULEZ compliant), though sadly they're all getting a bit long in the tooth now.
Euro6 was probably one iteration too many for the 1.2 FIRE and is well known for its flat spots and inferior driving characteristics, but the Euro6 1.2 was never fitted to the 169 Panda.
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I'm almost certain the Eleganza was dropped once the last of the Euro4 engines had gone; I've never seen a 69HP Eleganza.
There's no mention of the Eleganza in the 2011 Panda brochure, but it's in the 2010 one.
By then, Fiat were running out the 169, producing only the basic variants, my guess is there wasn't any market for a higher spec model. New Pandas were being heavily discounted at the time, but there was a waiting list, and no discounts, for the 500.
In 2010, the 1.2 Dynamic Eco was one of the best buys in the UK car market, you could get an unregistered one for well under £7000.
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I couldn't agree more, the Euro 4 is the pick of the bunch for me as well, I've driven our family friends Dynamic Eco & to be honest thought it was better to drive & had a nicer ride than my 18 plate Panda, although the interior on the 319 is much nicer, I agree about the Euro 6 it was the point they'd gone too far with it, although my car doesn't seem too bad now it still manages to catch me out now & again, things did improve a little though when I installed a BMC air filter element, I am going to be looking eventually into giving the car a better throttle response & make it a little more with it, am thinking a slightly bigger throttle body & inlet manifold from a 1.4 8v FIRE engine say from a Punto as all the airbox etc is the same so will still look factory standard to the untrained eye
& also when the exhaust rots away it'll be getting a complete stainless system to standard specGreg123
Member
I understand. I'm after an auto and ex tech, so if I'm dead set on it a 1.2 dynamic Eco sounds the best bet and possibly buy a breaker Eleganza auto and swap things like the climate and auto over.
Don't underestimate the amount of work involved.
Just changing over the climate will involve removing most of the interior forward of the B pillar, including all the dash, both front doors and the steering column.
Also be aware that dualogic transmissions are not known for their reliability in later life.
Greg123
Member
Did that on a Range Rover just to change the fan lol
