Cute and now as 'green' as the grass on the other side of the road the FIAT 500 Twin Air manages to be sporty too.
It is a given that the FIAT 500 is as cute as a little car can be. The convertible ‘500C’ is a particular favourite of ours at Motors and let’s not forget the 500 is a tough little machine with a 5-Star Euro NCAP score in crash tests.
New to the 500 is an important advance in engine technology. Twin Air is the greenest mass produced car engine in the world and with just 95g/km of CO2 it falls into the lowest tax band here. With a tiny petrol powered 875cc 2-cylinder engine Twin Air makes a unique sound that rumbles along nicely and when provoked, creates an entertaining soundtrack for the driver. The original 1957 FIAT 500 had a 2-cylinder air-cooled engine mounted in the rear of the car. It produced a mere 13bhp back in its day, so it is remarkable that the 500 Twin Air delivers better performance than the larger 1.2 litre four-cylinder 500! Sadly despite its greener credentials the Twin Air is not the cheapest 500 you can buy. Ireland does not have sub-100g/km CO2 tax bands so FIAT has to market the car as the sporty 500 to justify the pricetag. You really have to want this particular model over the standard car.
Generally 85bhp isn’t lot of power in a car but when that car is a 500 Twin Air weighing about the same as a bag of spuds, it delivers a laugh a minute on the road. There is a choice of transmission with a manual 5-speed or a ‘Dualogic’ automated manual with a push/pull gear lever. Engine Stop/Start is standard too as is a gear-shift indicator. There is an ‘ECO’ button fitted also that reduces torque and dulls performance to maximise economy also. ‘Blue & Me’ FIAT’s entertainment connectivity system is optional as are other toys. Twin Air engines are available in both versions of the 500 – the hard top and convertible.
So how has FIAT managed to make such a green engine with just two cylinders? The Italian carmaker has invested heavily in reducing engine friction and advancing the study of thermo and fluid dynamics. Balancer shafts do a good job of reducing NVH and help the 2-cylinder engine avoid feeling like a washing machine switching to its spin cycle!
On the road is where MultiAir impresses most as the engine feels far livelier than the performance figures would suggest. 0-100 km/h takes 11 seconds and top speed is over the 100mph mark at 173km/h – a speed unthinkable in the original car! About town you can ‘Buzz’ around and be a traffic light hero as the little car easily monsters larger machinary over short dashes. The spirit of the original car is present in this 500 and as a member of a family growing up that had many a secondhand FIAT 500 and 600 as a second car I have to declare a soft spot for the Twin Air. The original 2-cylinder 500 was economical, fun and perfect as a town car and in truth the only significant difference between then and now is that you don’t have to cross your fingers every time you go to start the new one!
Michael Sheridan
