The Tipo engines are tried and tested units and in the case of the 1.4 16v 95 FIRE engine & 1.4 120 T-Jet mentioned on this thread, I don't recall people previously reporting oil consumption on other models with these engines. The Fiat 500L and Alfa MiTo have sold in decent numbers with these engines (95bhp in the 500L and both engines in the MiTo) & are well regarded.
The only thing I can think of is they've been tweaked slightly for the Tipo or to meet new emissions regulations, or the oil grade specified for the Tipo is different to that of the other older models that used these engines. I used Selenia K Pure Energy in my T-Jet as specified but I don't think that oil was even around when the MiTo launched with these engines in 2009.