2010 Fiat 500 gets a new 0.9 liter motor
12-25-09, 07:05 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
2010 Fiat 500 gets a new 0.9 liter motor
Last month Fiat head Sergio Marchionne put Chrysler's five-year plan on everyone's plate to digest. This month he's done the same with Fiat's 2-year plan. One of the first items to come out is that the dinky Fiat 500 will get an even dinkier motor: the 0.9-liter, 2-cylinder turbocharged MultiAir gasoline engine.
Right now the smallest engine on offer in a 500 is the SOHC, inline 4-cylinder, 1.2-liter petrol with anywhere from 68 to 74 horsepower. The new unit will muster 65 horsepower in its naturally aspirated guise and 80 to 105 horsepower with the turbos on board. In addition to the reduced carbon dioxide output, the engine is lighter and more fuel efficient.
The news here isn't the output – the base three-door Fiesta, for example, has a 68-hp, 1.3-liter engine in the UK, and the Peugeot 107 has a 1-liter, 68-hp lump described as "zippy" – it's the size of the engine. While Ferrari tries to see how much power it can extract from a slightly smaller engine, Fiat, on the other hand, appears to want to see how small it can build an engine and still extract anything.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/24/2...-liter-engine/
Right now the smallest engine on offer in a 500 is the SOHC, inline 4-cylinder, 1.2-liter petrol with anywhere from 68 to 74 horsepower. The new unit will muster 65 horsepower in its naturally aspirated guise and 80 to 105 horsepower with the turbos on board. In addition to the reduced carbon dioxide output, the engine is lighter and more fuel efficient.
The news here isn't the output – the base three-door Fiesta, for example, has a 68-hp, 1.3-liter engine in the UK, and the Peugeot 107 has a 1-liter, 68-hp lump described as "zippy" – it's the size of the engine. While Ferrari tries to see how much power it can extract from a slightly smaller engine, Fiat, on the other hand, appears to want to see how small it can build an engine and still extract anything.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/24/2...-liter-engine/
12-25-09, 09:23 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
12-26-09, 12:39 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
I agree 100%. I did have a 86 civic 4 speed. I looked it up on wikipedia and I think it had 68 hp but probably weighed less than the modern Fiat 500
12-26-09, 06:47 AM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
the fiat 500 is so named because the original engines used to be 500cc (0.5L)!
500 or cinquecento as it's known there, is extremely popular. well in italy it has to be because of crushing tariffs on anything not italian.
for a commuter car it will be fine, and if you've ever driven in places like rome or milan, you know you need something VERY maneuverable and fits in small parking spaces!!!!
500 or cinquecento as it's known there, is extremely popular. well in italy it has to be because of crushing tariffs on anything not italian.
for a commuter car it will be fine, and if you've ever driven in places like rome or milan, you know you need something VERY maneuverable and fits in small parking spaces!!!!
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12-26-09, 01:23 PM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
The standard, non-Clubman Mini seems to be (roughly) the same size as the Fiat 500......and both, of course, are larger than the Smart-for-Two. But, common sense would suggest that if Americans bought the miniscule Smart, they would probably buy the 500, too......at least those Americans who don't still have the memory of the awful, unreliable Fiats of the 70s and 80s.
12-26-09, 02:21 PM
#10
Fiat 500 is premium subcompact, it is quite expensive for what it is... and it is selling quite well. Engine Autoblog refferes to in Peugot 107 is of course, an Toyota engine, lightest engine in the world, at only 68kg.
It is quite popular option for Yaris, iQ and Aygo, as its 68hp are enough for the city and it is quite fuel sipping as well. So this new Fiat engine is good for Fiat as well...
It is quite popular option for Yaris, iQ and Aygo, as its 68hp are enough for the city and it is quite fuel sipping as well. So this new Fiat engine is good for Fiat as well...
12-26-09, 03:58 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Mini is 6 inches longer, 2 inches wider, with a 7 inch longer wheelbase, so the size difference does help explain the weight difference.
Last edited by IS-SV; 12-26-09 at 04:13 PM. Reason: other dimensions added
12-26-09, 04:19 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
btw, the standard Mini and the Fiat 500 seem similar in size and are significantly different in weight. The Mini is over 600 pounds or 30% heavier than the Fiat.
Mini is 6 inches longer, 2 inches wider, with a 7 inch longer wheelbase, so the size difference does help explain the weight difference.
Mini is 6 inches longer, 2 inches wider, with a 7 inch longer wheelbase, so the size difference does help explain the weight difference.
12-26-09, 04:55 PM
#14
That tiny 0.9L engine in the Fiat probably also explains part of it. The Mini's engine, though still small by American standards, is abound 50% or so larger than that. That tiny engine probably also needs a smaller gas tank...which may explain still more weight difference (and gasoline itself is roughly 6.25 lbs. a gallon).
65hp engine is perfectly fine for Fiat 500, afterall, even Mini is sold with 75hp engine in Europe ;-).
12-26-09, 06:46 PM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
As little as the motor is and as tiny as the hp rating is I am sure that this car will be suitable for most city commuters. Most american like a little pep off the line but I think cars like the prius have mellowed a huge population of drivers in the US. Now they don't need hp to brag about, nowadays they brag about mpg and how few trips they make to the local fuel station