Where has the 1.4 Multiair Engine Gone?

[Ganger]

Can someone not forward this thread to fiat UK or Italy, I don't want to buy German car but it's looking like it more everyday

There be thousands of people thinking the same way. If fiat didn't have the sporty looking punto 3 door GBT version in the UK, I wouldn't of bought my new punto and would of looked else were. The 1.4i 8v suits my needs but in basic trim, they would be no way I would buy a punto

 

[FiorinoDan]

My son has a 170bhp, 1.4 multiair Alfa Giulietta and that has the DNA control (Dynamic, Normal, All-weather) I drove it the other day and when I put it in Dynamic mode the thing was like sh*t off a shovel. For a 1.4 it pulled like a train. Now that's an engine I would like to transplant into a smaller car.
Back to Fiat. It did lose it's way towards the end of the 80's and suffered from a poor reputation for rusting (a bit like Lancia who pulled out of the UK market altogether following some huge warranty claims) and Fiat had a number of factory strikes (just likes BL). To be fair to Fiat, they concentrated on what sold well at home, and that was small, economical motors. Fiat went back to it's roots (or tried to) with the new 500, Cinquecento and Seicento and left Alfa to provide the larger cars. They did though develop the Tipo sedicivalvole, which was faster than the Strada Abarth, and introduce the Punto which has been very successful. The Brave and Stilo were not, IMHO, best sellers but the new Panda appears to be popular. So Fiat, like any other maker has tried to keep ahead of the game but the buyer has, sadly, shifted towards other marques. Maybe, just maybe, we will see a change in direction from Fiat, starting with the new 4wd due out shortly.

 

[s130]

They did though develop the Tipo sedicivalvole, which was faster than the Strada Abarth

Hmmmm. Faster? ... Top speed only

Stilo 2.0ie 16V: 0-62mph @ 8.4s : 128mph : 130 ft-lbs torgue
Strada Abarth : 0-62mph @ 8.0s : 122mph : 130 ft-lbs torque

Yes were are talking minute differences in terms of numbers but from a pure point to point cross country / terrain / etc. (even race circuits) the good old Strada Abarth is respected as "the car" for overall performance in handling, tractability and HUGE flat torque band coupled to its close ratio gearbox.

A specification never quoted is "leg shake". No seriously

I've owned and driven the following performance Fiats:

127 Sport, Strada Abarth (still have), Punto HGT, Barchetta (still have), Stilo 2.4L Abarth, Coupe 20V.

Of all of these the only one that delivers the adrenalin and leg shake is the 130TC.

Even on race tracks with 500+BHP Cosworth and Metro 6R4 and Ferrari 355 the only car to make my leg shake is the 130TC.

This is a fun post by the way.

As far as I'm concerned the Fiats I have mentioned, PLUS the Tipo 16V, are all great examples of Fiat producing performance cars with fun & serious characteristics to fire up the driver and enjoy the Italian buzz.

Sadly the current Fiat range is just FLAT, BORING and purely orientated around sales and revenue.

Most car companies these days can still provide the big sellers at good prices but also have one or two real performance models on the books. These may not make money but they keep the general public and enthusiasts well aware of what is available even if they don't want it.

 

[FiorinoDan]

Wholeheartedly agree with you. The 131 Supermirafiori was a great rally car but the Strada Abarth was the 'performance car'. The Tipo never really caught the public eye although my 1.4 DGT was roomy, comfortable and easy to drive. The galvanised and plastic panels should have been the shape of things to come, but sadly, the buying public were "going German".

 

[jim cooper]

Ford has a Focus, VW a Golf, Opel/Vauxhall an Astra, Hyundai an i20, Kia a C'eed, Honda a Civic, Renault a Megane, Peugeot a 308, Citroen a C something, Fiat a great big 0.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

Fiat lost it's way in the 2000 period onwards.

The GP should of been a fantastic car, however was launched at a time of lack of money. And this clearly shows with a large number of engineering faults and design flaws that are apparent on the car. Furthermore, it was rushed onto the road before the jointly developed Corsa, which was better designed and built and fundamentally better to drive despite being based on the same chassis. The GP only had looks on it's side and could not compete with its competitors.

The Bravo, again very nice looking car, however again Fiat with a lack of money dumped it onto the old Stilo chassis and running gear thus producing another below par car.

I don't know how many times I took my GP in for warranty work, but I would guess 1/3 of the price of the car Fiat paid back on warranty work.

Such a shame and so frustrating that Fiat is getting left so far behind these days when other manufacturers have moved on like Renault and Peugeot these days.

The 500 and Panda to be fair are good cars, but again no competition beaters now.

The 500l and MPW really deserved a better chassis then the old GP's one. Car would of been so much more competitive if it was on the Guilietta platform.

The GM era of Fiat really did not help it at all, and brought about things like the 1.8 159 - engine from a Vectra and a chassis derived from an Insignia, even the 2.2 is a GM Eco-tech engine.

Hopefully it's new partnership with Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep may bring some benefits.

 

[jim cooper]

It's not so much that Fiat are getting left behind despite their best efforts. It's more that they are putting themselves behind when they don't have to. In the Multiair they have an engine more than equal to the competition and they were the first to develop this type of small capacity/high output unit (we can forget the disastrous VW turbo+supercharger effort). Yet they drop this engine from the entire Fiat range - a simply unbelievable step.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

I had a N/A 1.4 multi air Punto EVO as a courtesy car once and a Mito.

It was a very good engine for better than the 1.4 in the Corsa and Fiesta of the time.

 

[JTD_Liam]

I definitely agree that they've lost something by not having any Sporting/HGT/GT models anymore. The Cinq/Seicento Sportings, Punto Sporting/GT/HGT, Grande Punto Sporting and Panda 100HP were all reasonably respected, some (like the Panda) very much so, yet there's nothing like them at all in the current range.

It would've been so easy to re-create the Panda 100HP in the new Panda, but nothing. Similarly the Punto Sporting, gone. They've got nothing for young-middle aged male buyers now, and generally speaking it's those that are enthusiastic about cars. They're turning themselves into a bit of a one-trick pony. If you don't want a tiny, slightly feminine car (500) or an MPV (500L/Qubo/Doblo), there's very little to buy. And what there is certainly isn't what you could call 'drivers' cars. Our 500 is quite 'fun' to drive, but it's not what I'd call 'good' to drive. The pogo stick suspension sees to that! You can't even turn to Alfa, coz the Cloverleaf versions of them are all Auto now!

 

[FiorinoDan]

I suppose I'll have to settle for a Panda C-cross or a Doblo

 

[kingchris]

There is nothing in the current Fiat range for me to buy.

I've enjoyed my Punto Evo 1.4 Multiair. But can't buy another Punto as everything is under 100hp. Plus it is still the same car I own, and the only reason to change is due to being bored.

The 500 or 500L is not for me.

Previously owned:

Punto Mk2 (new)
Stilo
Stilo Multiwagon
Punto Evo GP

First time I'm not going to buy another Fiat.

I'm in a weird position of reading other makers forums and seeing all the problems and worrying anything I buy won't be as reliable as my Fiats

 

[santa]

There is nothing in the current Fiat range for me to buy.

I've enjoyed my Punto Evo 1.4 Multiair. But can't buy another Punto as everything is under 100hp. Plus it is still the same car I own, and the only reason to change is due to being bored.

The 500 or 500L is not for me.

Previously owned:

Punto Mk2 (new)
Stilo
Stilo Multiwagon
Punto Evo GP

First time I'm not going to buy another Fiat.

I'm in a weird position of reading other makers forums and seeing all the problems and worrying anything I buy won't be as reliable as my Fiats

It's funny how different the offerings are from country to country.
Here in Denmark we get the 1.2 (with 67bhp) and the Twinair (with 100bhp) in the Punto but I can see on fiat.co.uk that all You can choose from (in petrol) is 1.2 69bhp and 1.4 77bhp.

 

[GrandeGuy]

Seriously how hard would it be for fiat to put the 1.4 multi air in the punto give it 130 bhp and stuff a sporting badge on it, not that hard . . .

 

[JimbbobW1977]

Would be pointless. It's becoming a run out model now.

Stripped it right back, as it's ageing and not competitive any more and would not sell in sufficient numbers in right hand drive.

On another note have you seen the horrible facelift of the upcoming 'new' Corsa...

 

[The Beard]

I know it's not quite the same as a brand new'un, but there are half a dozen on here, although all seem to be 105 bhp versions, some are Sporting and the odd one or two are Lounge versions.

Having said all that, I do know what you mean about there being a lack of FIAT cars you actually want to buy. I was looking at a 500L the other day and thought it was quite a clever car, but I don't know if I could look at it every time I got into or out of it.

Citroen's (washes mouth out with soap) DS range are all quite good looking cars, and even Hyundai are starting to look more attractive than FIAT

 

[JTD_Liam]

There is nothing in the current Fiat range for me to buy.

I've enjoyed my Punto Evo 1.4 Multiair. But can't buy another Punto as everything is under 100hp. Plus it is still the same car I own, and the only reason to change is due to being bored.

The 500 or 500L is not for me.

Previously owned:

Punto Mk2 (new)
Stilo
Stilo Multiwagon
Punto Evo GP

First time I'm not going to buy another Fiat.

I'm in a weird position of reading other makers forums and seeing all the problems and worrying anything I buy won't be as reliable as my Fiats

You could try a pre-reg/12 month old Bravo, perhaps?

Looks like a bigger Grande Punto, drives like a slightly more developed Stilo.

There's a handful (literally only a handful though) of MultiAir 140 petrols, otherwise quite a lot of T-Jets (120 & 150bhp) and plenty of diesels. There'll be some deals to be had too, as they've just stopped making them. Make sure you do get a deal though, as I'd imagine they'll drop like a stone to about £7000 and then hold-up a bit. Seems to be what's happened with them so far.

Trouble with the Punto is Fiat did offer the MultiAir and TwinAir engines in it, but hardly sold any. They never put the 105bhp TwinAir in it, which is a bit short-sighted, but when most of the Evo's and early 2012 ones that sold were the basic 1.2 and 1.4s, you can see why they cut the other engines.

They do desperately need a replacement Punto though. The 500 bubble won't last forever & when it does burst they'll be left with nothing as back-up. Even the new Panda, which sells well in 4x4 mode in the UK, is said not to sell as well as its predecessor overall. That's probably because they ramped the prices through the roof and put everything on the options list though

 

[GrandeGuy]

They are not making a new punto,
But yep you guessed it, a model will come out called the 500 5door
They are trying to make a brand like MINI, and just milking the 500 name, which is ruining the original 500.
They should have
Fiat 500
Fiat 600 (punto)
Fiat mulitipla (500L)

 

[puntofan01]

I wanted the Multiair or T-jet engine when I bought my punto last month. I only went in to get a price for my car service but ended up buying another punto for some unknown reason. I though I get t-jet or sporting but it seemed I only had a choice of 3 engines 1.2, 1.4 8v and diesel plus they had no sporting model as yet. So ended up buying the 1.4 8v GBT 3 door punto and to my horror fiat released the jet black version with 17" wheels only a few weeks after picking me new car up (man I missed out on that).


Anyway, drivers in the UK love sportly, hot hatch motors and fiat; time and time again are just not delivering. Even Abarth have stopped doing the Abarth punto evo and is only doing a 500 model. Fiat need to get off their butts and start releasing a 2.0 punto sport or something like that.

There is only one multiair engine on offer - a 170bhp version for the Giulietta. The Mito has only twin air and diesels. The Punto offering is pathetic, with just 8v petrol engines with max bhp 77. They don't even offer a T Jet version. I have a Stilo 1.4 95bhp and there is now nothing in the Fiat or Alfa ranges that I can switch to. The main question is why did they spend such huge amounts on developing the mutiair concept and then drop it so quickly?

My Grande has the 1.4 8v, and I think it's a superb engine. People concentrate too much on power outputs, and it does annoy me slightly. Yes, my car may only have 77bhp, but it's still a nippy car to get around in, and it makes a great noise, which makes for an enjoyable drive.

Punto stocks in the UK are run out models if the "while stocks last" on Fiat's website is true - and the cheaper ones at that since no one is really going to splash out much on an old soon to be replaced model.
Ideally, this car's replacement needs to offer a far broader range of engines and trim choices to be competitive, however I rather fancy Fiat are not remotely interested in the UK market.

NOOOOOO!!! Fiat can't leave the UK, I'll be forced to start buying Vauxhalls! The Corsa is the only other good looking supermini, since the trend these days is to make weird, ugly looking superminis. For me, the current Punto still stands out as being a great looking car.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

My Grande has the 1.4 8v, and I think it's a superb engine. People concentrate too much on power outputs, and it does annoy me slightly. Yes, my car may only have 77bhp, but it's still a nippy car to get around in, and it makes a great noise, which makes for an enjoyable drive.





NOOOOOO!!! Fiat can't leave the UK, I'll be forced to start buying Vauxhalls! The Corsa is the only other good looking supermini, since the trend these days is to make weird, ugly looking superminis. For me, the current Punto still stands out as being a great looking car.

Have you seen the new Corsa - it's hideous.

 

[puntofan01]

I've seen pics of it. It's not the best facelift, but it's still better looking than the fiesta, clio, 208, etc.