General One year on .....

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General One year on .....

Ian Stobbs

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Mar 23, 2019
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37
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I have had my Tipo (1.4 95hp) for a year and have done 11k miles. Apart from a minor air con problem (now fixed) no issues up to now. The car drives well and average 36mpg is ok. The styling is good , boot space excellent, and it is very comfortable .
Before I bought my Tipo I researched a lot of reviews from "so called " media experts to gather opinions.
The bias shown against Fiat cars is shocking. At least one point (poss two) deducted for just being a Fiat ,and thats before reviewing any details. Ive had seven new Fiats since 2002 and had no problems with any and I am certainly not disappointed with my Tipo. After a year I can only dissagree with most of the statements in the reviews. The Tipo compares welll with compatable cars and should be advertised more by Fiat.
 
Aye, you pays your money & takes your chance as they say. I've never been bothered about anything that is said about vehicles that I've chosen, but, on the other side of the coin, it's a bit of an eye opener on some views about non Fiat vehicles on here. I consider myself a true petrol head & have a holistic view of any car.

Constructive criticism I can understand, but slagging off a car because it's a non Fiat is short sighted & lacking in imagination & even not wanting to understand how other vehicles work.
 
Same here...I’ve had my 1.4 120hp lounge for nearly a year now. Love it, even though I had a steering rack replaced at 3 months under warranty. Drives smooth and a good turn of speed when needed. Looks good in met grey in top spec. I get just short of 38 mpg in general driving.This is my fourth new Fiat and I have been very pleased with all of them,Punto,Panda,500X and now the Tipo. Not sure what car to get in 2 yrs time..wonder if a new model will be out?
 
I've had my 1.3 easy plus estate for just over a year taking it from 10 to 24k miles and weighing it all up, it vies to be the best car I've owned. It was remarkable value to buy, (2nd hand at 18 months) averages maybe 58 to 70 mpg (it really is cheap to run). It's reasonably comfortable, reasonably solid, spacious and provides a very acceptable driving experience and it's good looking! I drove it down to mid Bavaria from Glasgow cruising comfortably and quietly and very efficiently up and down the autobahns. It's a great all-rounder with...touch wood...no unexpected issues at all. Nothing to report! There are some downsides for me i.e the necessity of garage servicing or buying multiecuscan software to change the oil. The DPF engineering solution doesn't fit with my slow short daily drive to work (I take a long drive at weekends but maybe a petrol 1.4 would have better fitted the daily task) and depreciation...but all cars in this class are going to depreciate. It is altogether a good offer from Fiat and the deals on new low to mid spec Tipos are eye catching.
 
Great to hear these views / experiences.

Were I not a 500X 2015 owner (just before Tipo) then the Tipo would have been a great contender.

Have previously had a Tipo SX (1.6 ie) and a Tempra SX (1.8ie). Both cracking cars, no real issues and great value for money.

When you look at current new Tipo prices then for what you get then there will be cash in the bank for any issues that may occur out of warranty.
 
Its now 2 years since I took delivery of mt Tipo Lounge. There has been no problems and it still drives like a new car. No knocks or rattles and everthing is still tight. Done 21k miles at a average of 38mpg. Going early next year to order new Tipo . Hope there is a dealership open in North East.
 
That's great to hear your positive experience with your Tipo Lounge, thank you for sharing
 
I'm just coming up to two years with my Tipo Easy Plus M-Jet

The only problem has been Arial Base replacement, under warranty.

I agree that FIAT get a bad press in the UK, Alfas do too. The assumption is that something is bound to go wrong, when the German cars break a lot, they cheat the emissions and people still buy them!

I've had 2 Alfas, 2 FIATs and 4 Abarths and would recommend them to anyone.

Hopefully, I'll be in an Alfa Giulia in the next year or so, I just have to have an Alfa next

But I think the Tipo is a very underrated car, if it had a Skoda badge, the press would love it...
 
Just over 2 years (26 months) since I picked up my new Tipo (1.4 T-Jet S-Design) and very happy. Only done 12,500 miles in that time, which is around half of my usual mileage but Covid restrictions have meant it's not been used at weekends for most of the year.

However it's got a very good turn of speed, gets around 35mpg which seems about right considering my very short 2 mile daily commute and has been thoroughly reliable, with only a slightly loose door card & iffy DAB signal blotting its copy book. The alloys are suffering from lacquer peel but as they're diamond cut I believe that's not terribly unusual.

I'm undecided on what (and indeed when) I'll replace it with. I would've liked a new Alfa Giulietta but it looks unlikely that Alfa will launch a replacement, and the facelifted Tipo doesn't appeal - I don't like the new front end and Fiat badge and they appear to be only bringing a single 1.0 engine to the UK - a normally aspirated 99bhp one. Had it been the 1.0 120bhp FireFly Turbo from the 500x I might've gone for it as it's a brilliant engine, but I can't see a 99bhp non-turbo working for me. Very strange engine decision from Fiat (n)
 
Just over 2 years (26 months) since I picked up my new Tipo (1.4 T-Jet S-Design) and very happy. Only done 12,500 miles in that time, which is around half of my usual mileage but Covid restrictions have meant it's not been used at weekends for most of the year.

However it's got a very good turn of speed, gets around 35mpg which seems about right considering my very short 2 mile daily commute and has been thoroughly reliable, with only a slightly loose door card & iffy DAB signal blotting its copy book. The alloys are suffering from lacquer peel but as they're diamond cut I believe that's not terribly unusual.

I'm undecided on what (and indeed when) I'll replace it with. I would've liked a new Alfa Giulietta but it looks unlikely that Alfa will launch a replacement, and the facelifted Tipo doesn't appeal - I don't like the new front end and Fiat badge and they appear to be only bringing a single 1.0 engine to the UK - a normally aspirated 99bhp one. Had it been the 1.0 120bhp FireFly Turbo from the 500x I might've gone for it as it's a brilliant engine, but I can't see a 99bhp non-turbo working for me. Very strange engine decision from Fiat (n)

The 1.0 on the new tipo has a turbo! Its the same as the 1.0 120hp on the 500x but probably a different turbo or only mapping to make it less thursty.
 
The Uk only saw turbo versions of the twinair..
So why we would get non.turbo firefly motors is a mystery

Especially when having driven the Firefly Turbo 120bhp, it's a comfortable match for the current 1.4 T-Jet 120 in terms of pace and economy.

I can understand offering the 1.0 99bhp as a replacement to the 1.4 16v 95bhp entry engine, but it would be nice if they'd cater for us T-Jet buyers too, especially as they've already not replaced the Punto, or Alfa MiTo, or the Alfa Giulietta. I'll be needing to look outside of Fiat Group if I want a new car in future it seems..my first non Italian car since 2003!
 
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Press release says turbocharged:
https://www.media.fcaemea.com/em-en...es-new-design-new-versions-and-new-technology
What surprised me was it has a five-speed gearbox when all the other versions of the engine have six.

Knowing that Auto Express made a mistake and the 1.0 is a turbo makes me a bit more keen as the 120bhp Firefly shifts the bigger 500x perfectly adequately, so the 99bhp ought to be OK in the Tipo. However the 5 speed gearbox is a bit naff. Some great tech though. I'd have to see what deals Fiat would do for an existing owner as the list prices have gone up a fair bit since I bought mine and mine has a lot of kit already, plus I really like the old skool T-Jet engine.
 
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