The test car was actually red ...
... and it was frosty that week!
Taking all this a stage further, the latest generation of small capacity Fiat two cylinder turbo engines are so much more efficient, generating more horsepower that they can be used in bigger cars without any tangible impact on overall performance.
However, they are not intended for cross-continental thrashes with a burd, a bikini, a pair of Speedos and a credit card, and yet most of these wee engines would be up for it if required. If used for such a trip, this twin cylinder engine would probably be getting thrashed using high revs for long periods and require more frequent use of gears on non-motorway roads. So in this particular instance a bigger engine would make more sense.
That’s because a larger engine doing less work to maintain the same cruising speeds would require less effort and not necessarily consume any more juice. In other words, the ideal place for a wee engine is in a commuter car or city centre runabout scooting about in heavy traffic.
So on that basis I threw out my own advice and drove a Fiat Punto TwinAir to Wetherby and back, and it was just the job. In fact, the only thing it lacked was a 6 speed gearbox. That could have made quite a difference to the 40 mpg it was returning at 70 mph (and maybe a wee bit more!) in fifth!
But the best thing about the TwinAir engine is the noise. It growls away like a wee bear with a sore throat. I thought it might get tiring on a long non-stop journey, but it is sufficiently muted when cruising that it wasn’t really an issue although once you start playing with the gearbox and accelerator, the throaty thrum comes back to entertain.
First seen in the 500 and the Panda, the 875cc engine was ideal and it wasn’t overwhelmed in this Fiat for bigger bears, the Punto. It’s a surprisingly roomy four seater and whereas four fit at a pinch in the Panda, they have room to breathe out in the Punto.
It’s also a very capable and surefooted car. It was snowing as I headed south over the A66 to Scotch Corner to pick up the A1 and even in the slushy outside lane on the dual carriageway sections, it didn’t miss a beat or throw a wobbly.
Back home, and on the domestic run, fuel consumption improved although I got nowhere near the published Combined figure of 67.3 mpg, ending my week with the car with 47 mpg.
I suppose much of that is down to the lack of torque produced by a two cylinder engine and any incline from a motorway slip road and upwards requires the driver to poke the internals with the gearstick. Lazy drivers might not appreciate this requirement and they should opt for a slightly bigger engine, but at least driving around in one of these keeps you awake and entertained.
The test car had the optional £200 optional Sport suspension pack which seemed a bit of a misnomer as I wouldn’t have called the ride quality in any way firm, but it darted about the tarmac minor roads with all the gusto of well shaken can of Irn Bru. And speaking of beverages, there was one major niggle. When I stopped at the catering van just a couple of miles short of Scotch Corner itself (only three quid for a bap stuffed with thick bacon and a cup of tea!) there was nowhere to rest my plastic cup except balanced precariously on the dashtop. That’s because the two recesses ahead of the gearstick are so close to the central console that you can’t place a cup in there without spilling the contents. I nearly scalded myself!
What I did like, were the seats. It’s not a big car, but it was comfy enough for a big bloke. The boot isn’t very big either, so that would hamper the holidaymakers, but I still liked it, and it also looks pretty good in Italian red, but would I have one? I could certainly live with it, so I’d e tempted – or maybe I could just get a CD of the wee engine gargling away to its heart’s content.