General TwinAir Thread (including MPG)

[Squadrone Rosso]

At the end of week 2 with my car, £42.97 for 325miles

In my Brera, c£95 for c280 miles so as predicted, my lovely 500 is already paying for itself

 

[Squadrone Rosso]

My wife used the 500 today. 70 mile round trip. Trip B recorded 50.5 mpg

 

[deeyup]

Just a quick update on my twinairPlus.

Almost passed 3000 miles now. As others have said before , the motor has loosened up nicely, got smoother and economy is getting better.

Thought I was going to run out of gas today, and saw the fuel gauge drop to no segments lit.
Did just under 400 miles on the last tank. 52mpg.
Quite regularly getting 60mpg on the way to work and 65 mpg on the way home (different route)

I am finding that the motor has smoothed out to the point that driving at approx 1200rpm is possible at low loads. Eco button is now redundant as it makes no difference to economy unless you're caning it.

I'm really happy with this car, and if I can keep my wife out of it for a full tank I'll be able to see just how economical it can be for me.

Another thing is I'm finding the trip computer very accurate. It jumped from 52.2 to 52.5 just
before I rolled into the gas station, fuelly recorded 51.8
Not bad, seems about 2% optimistic so far.

 

[jimbo118]

Impressive figures! 3600 miles in on my Ypsilon TA and consumption doesn't seem to be improving. Best so far after 2 days of changing at the 'shift up' indicator and not exceeding 55mph was 45mpg. Generally struggling to achieve 40mpg consistently day to day(although I live in a hilly area).

 

[deeyup]

Is the ypsilon heavier then the 500? Your economy does seem poor compared to most 500 TA figures.

Another thing I forgot to mention about my car is the restricted revs whilst stationary with the clutch down. At 1st I thought I liked it, but now I really don't like it.
If I want to really blast off out of a side road on to a 60mph a road (like i do every day)I'd like full control of the power. In a small turbo motor you need boost and being able to rev up to 5000 rpm before letting the clutch out would preferable instead of the 3000rpm rev limit fiat has imposed on us.

 

[Mark JS]

Hello All

How's the general reliabilty of the TA unit -

Wondering whether it might make sense - can't face another diesel car.

I drove a Panda with it fitted and loved the noise...

Thanks

Mark

 

[jimbo118]

Is the ypsilon heavier then the 500? Your economy does seem poor compared to most 500 TA figures.

Another thing I forgot to mention about my car is the restricted revs whilst stationary with the clutch down. At 1st I thought I liked it, but now I really don't like it.
If I want to really blast off out of a side road on to a 60mph a road (like i do every day)I'd like full control of the power. In a small turbo motor you need boost and being able to rev up to 5000 rpm before letting the clutch out would preferable instead of the 3000rpm rev limit fiat has imposed on us.

Ypsilon is circa 975kg so heavier than the 500. Also I have the optional 16" wheels which have wider tyres too so more rolling resistance. The rev limit in 1st & 2nd on it is 5500rpm and as it's the same gearbox, I can't think why they would have limited it further on the 500?

 

[flashyphotos]

Ypsilon is circa 975kg so heavier than the 500. Also I have the optional 16" wheels which have wider tyres too so more rolling resistance. The rev limit in 1st & 2nd on it is 5500rpm and as it's the same gearbox, I can't think why they would have limited it further on the 500?

The limit is only on stationary start.

If you are at Traffic lights and plant the go pedal to the floor it rises to 3000rpm then settles until you raise the clutch, once you are moving the engine opens up to the redline.

I also found it can be a pain at times and would prefer the entire range to be available.

 

[Squadrone Rosso]

46mpg is now easily achieved in ours

 

[deeyup]

Hello All

How's the general reliabilty of the TA unit -

Wondering whether it might make sense - can't face another diesel car.

I drove a Panda with it fitted and loved the noise...

Thanks

Mark

Not much to report as of yet. Early models were fitted with new turbos as a warranty recall, but other than that and a few needing new coils, I've not heard anything else.

Only time will tell regarding long term longentivity.

Welcome to the forum btw

 

[panda panda]

Phew! It's taken me a while (3 days!) but finally finished reading this thread!

I was interested in the Twin Air engine as a potential choice when I spec a new 500 later in the year.

I'm currently driving a 1.2 pop (bought last month used from a main dealer) and averaging low 40's mpg wise but I'm new to the car and the eco driving concept, infact I'm just getting confident enough in the car to drive a little faster on B roads.

I'm no boy racer, just like drive briskly occasionally and economically at other times. The car is used mainly on B roads and urban environment with a monthly blast on the dual carriageway.

It seems that the TA would be a good fit for me, bit of power for putting the foot down and ECO mode for sensible MPG and driving elderly mum to the shops!

I can't wait to test drive a TA!

Test drove a brand new TA yesterday!

Loved it on the motorway, and B roads. I can really see the appeal of the noise and character of the engine. I noted the low thrum (which I gathered from this thread is not invitation to change down!). Engaged ECO mode a few times too.
The car had 20miles on the clock so obviously a lot more performance to be had once loosened up a bit. I drove steadily and kept the revs to a minimum.

The big downside for me was how it handled in stop start traffic, maybe I was to blame and just needed more time to get used to it, but the TA I drove (in eco mode too) just hated (and didn't want ) to creep along in crawling traffic on a slight incline.

Please tell me that it's my fault and a tight engine and an incline! Or is the TA not well suited to the urban grind?
Perhaps I need another test drive!

BTW trip computer said I was averaging 44mpg!

 

[bgunn]

Test drove a brand new TA yesterday!

Loved it on the motorway, and B roads. I can really see the appeal of the noise and character of the engine. I noted the low thrum (which I gathered from this thread is not invitation to change down!). Engaged ECO mode a few times too.
The car had 20miles on the clock so obviously a lot more performance to be had once loosened up a bit. I drove steadily and kept the revs to a minimum.

The big downside for me was how it handled in stop start traffic, maybe I was to blame and just needed more time to get used to it, but the TA I drove (in eco mode too) just hated (and didn't want ) to creep along in crawling traffic on a slight incline.

Please tell me that it's my fault and a tight engine and an incline! Or is the TA not well suited to the urban grind?
Perhaps I need another test drive!

BTW trip computer said I was averaging 44mpg!

They take a bit of getting used to. They're a little soft around idle (especially in ECO mode), and the clutch is quite sharp.

If you do buy one, you'll very quickly get used to it.

 

[panda panda]

They take a bit of getting used to. They're a little soft around idle (especially in ECO mode), and the clutch is quite sharp.

If you do buy one, you'll very quickly get used to it.

Glad to hear that, :idea:think I will take another drive, switch the ECO off and have a pootle through the town instead of a motorway drive

Thanks bgunn

 

[Mark JS]

Thanks...

They are starting to filter through secondhand - might give it a few months to calm down.

Does the "Angry Wasp' noise get annoying after a while? - I really loved it in the Panda...

I wonder if the MPG issue is in part caused by the lovely noise the engines make?

Cheers

MJ

 

[jimbo118]

Thanks...

They are starting to filter through secondhand - might give it a few months to calm down.

Does the "Angry Wasp' noise get annoying after a while? - I really loved it in the Panda...

I wonder if the MPG issue is in part caused by the lovely noise the engines make?

Cheers

MJ

Still love the noise of the TA after 4k miles but then I'm a confirmed petrolhead - other non car enthusiast passengers have been less than complimentary about the noise.....

 

[nytullett23]

Back to MPG

For the last 8 weeks (since new) I have driven my TA making max use of the eco button driving on ave 60mph and achived 53mpg. As a test after 2500 miles I decided to not use the button and expected to see my MPG drop. Very strange, but I now getting 58 to the gallo, same speed, same route. Has anyone else found this.

 

[RobinPJ]

Back to MPG

For the last 8 weeks (since new) I have driven my TA making max use of the eco button driving on ave 60mph and achived 53mpg. As a test after 2500 miles I decided to not use the button and expected to see my MPG drop. Very strange, but I now getting 58 to the gallo, same speed, same route. Has anyone else found this.

You are running your car on cheap Californian wine?

 

[deeyup]

Back to MPG

For the last 8 weeks (since new) I have driven my TA making max use of the eco button driving on ave 60mph and achived 53mpg. As a test after 2500 miles I decided to not use the button and expected to see my MPG drop. Very strange, but I now getting 58 to the gallo, same speed, same route. Has anyone else found this.

The eco button does not make the car better on fuel, what it does do is extend the throw of the throttle pedal by about double. The pedal still only physically travels the same amount of course so that when you have it floored you are only on about 1/2 throttle.
I found that the map change using eco made the car smoother at low revs when my car was new, but now after a few thousand miles I can't feel a difference.
I rarely press the eco button now.

You are getting better mpg because the car is loosening up as the miles go on.
I'm unsure at what mileage the mpg peaks as I suppose all cars fully run in at different miles dependent on driving styles.

 

[wigit]

have to admit mine his hitting 47-50mpg on a constant basis at the moment even with the climate on and really impressing me, generally below 40mph i use eco as car is way better to drive and smoother

 

[arseofbox]

Does the "Angry Wasp' noise get annoying after a while? - I really loved it in the Panda...

I drove a TA'd piece of American labelled Italian Tin today (Chrysler Ypsilon). Impressed understates how I felt about this.

Aside from the fact that I though it had a misfire initially, I have never known anything shift quite that well, or make such a satisfying noise (before you ask, the GrpN Cinq is a good definition of annoying noise)...Now I want one of those units for the Cinq too...

I wonder if the MPG issue is in part caused by the lovely noise the engines make?

Theres probably a nice big dose of misunderstanding in there somewhere. What people dont understand is that Extra Urban (for EC type approval) runs are based on very specific conditions that just don't come anywhere near fast intercity driving - ie: 50mph constant on a flat run with a set passenger and fuel load, then its best of x runs... In reality it's more like 30-70mph bounce around at 65-70 behind lorries etc, then filter off and sit in traffic for ages, so it needs to be understood that you have no hope in hell of meeting the book mpg figure unless you drive as per the book. Not that anyone can, mind!