Driving Miss Fiat: We Sample Engines Likely to Come to the U.S.

On a recent trip to Italy with Fiat, we drove a number of cars with engines that may well be seen in the U.S. in Alfa Romeos and Fiats or in Chrysler products. Fiat’s a leader in diesel engine technology—it introduced common-rail diesels to the market in 1997, but then made the mistake of licensing the tech Bosch, who then sold it to everyone else—but we were most interested in its gasoline engines. Like automakers such as VW, Ford, and BMW, Fiat has decided that the only way to meet impending emissions and fuel-economy regulations in Europe and the U.S. is to downsize and use turbocharging. It calls its solution Multiair. It utilizes a variable intake-valve lift system that uses electro-hydraulic control and, like BMW’s Valvetronic, dispenses with a conventional throttle body. We sampled a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine fitted with the Multiair cylinder heads in  135- and 170-hp forms in Alfa Romeo MiTos, and were impressed by their refinement, power delivery, and raspy exhaust notes. The 135-hp engine picked up well from around 2000 revs; the 170-hp unit was flat below 3000 rpm but propelled the MiTo with alacrity at the top end. The higher-output engine uses a larger turbo and is boosted to a lofty maximum of 22 psi, according to the Fiat engineer present at the test track. We also drove an Alfa Spider, Brera coupe, and 159 wagon fitted with the new 1750 turbocharged four-cylinder

engine. Harking back in name to both the Vittorio Jano–designed six-cylinder engine of the 1920s and the iconic twin-cam four from the 1960s, this 1742cc engine has direct injection, variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust sides, and a power output of 197 hp at 5000 rpm. The peak torque of 236 lb-ft is delivered at 2000 rpm, impressively low for a turbocharged engine. Although the 1750 engine runs into its redline at just over 6000 rpm, it picks up amazingly well. It’s as smooth as a Honda four and the exhaust sounds very sporty. Like every other automaker, Alfa says that its engine combines the fuel economy of a small displacement four with the power of a larger V-6, but so far we’ve been disappointed by the mileage from the latest generation of small-displacement/turbocharged engines. Still, the engines are far more refined and responsive than the four-cylinder clunkers that power Chrysler’s current small and mid-size vehicles, which bodes well for future Chrysler products. The worry, of course, is that by the time Chrysler and Fiat get decent products to market, Chrysler’s market share will have whittled away to nothing, taking revenues with it. Read About the Alfa Romeo MiTo: 2009 Alfa Romeo MiTo – Mini Test Road Test [View with PicLens] No related posts.

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Driving Miss Fiat: We Sample Engines Likely to Come to the U.S.