Why would you buy a Fiat 500 TwinAir when it returns worse fuel economy than the 500 1.2?

Further to our discussion about the FIAT 500 TwinAir, ‘Autocar’ only got 37mpg out of the car on its first drive of the Lounge and 35.7 mpg on the full Autocar test, which is far worse than you get in your FIAT 500 1.2 (as per your website). I cannot understand this. Are you still going to buy a TwinAir? You got better mpg from the 1.2 TSI Polo in your video test, which is my other option for a city run around. I’m confused. Mpg is not critical for me because I'm not a high miler, but you want it to do what it says on the tin.

Asked on 8 November 2010 by JRS, London

Answered by Honest John

I put a TwinAir to a 610 mile test against my 500 1.2. Running in Econ mode most of the time I managed an average of 48.3mpg, checking brim to brim rather than trusting the fuel meter (though that was accurate). Against that on similar runs in my 1.2 I get 47mpg. I have seen up to 64mpg driven Eco style and around 54mpg average over the summer. The reason why the TwinAir is poor in town is that it lacks torque below 1,900rpm and you actually need to run it in third in a 30. With the TwinAir you get your cake and eat it. It's low CO2-based tax and London Congestion Charge exempt. Switch Econ off and it’s a hoot to drive, though obviously far less economical.

Tags: fuel economy city cars real mpg london congestion charge

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