Low-Tax Special
by David Finlay (02 Jun 08)

The 1.9-litre MultiJet turbo diesel engine which has done such excellent work in a great many Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall, Saab and Cadillac products is gradually being replaced by a more modern unit with the same name but a lower capacity. For the cost-conscious, the most important model resulting from this changeover so far is the Bravo Eco, which occupies a similar position in the Fiat line-up to the various Volkswagen BlueMotion cars (and their equivalents elsewhere in the VW Group).

The new 1.6 engine is being offered with maximum power outputs of 105bhp and 120bhp, and it's the 105bhp one that concerns us here. Eco versions (there are two, identical except in the amount of equipment supplied as standard) have their ECUs remapped in the interests of improved fuel economy, along with higher gear ratios, improved aerodynamics and tyres with lower rolling resistance.

Fiat says there is no difference in performances compared with the non-Eco cars, so we're talking about a top speed of 116mph and 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds. More on that later: for now, the figures we're really interested in are the ones relating to fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

In the other 105bhp MultiJet Bravos, these are 57.6mpg and 129g/km respectively. The various revisions to the Eco cars have a dramatic effect on these statistics, which improve substantially to 62.8mpg and 119g/km. The 5.2mpg improvement in economy is good news in itself, of course, and the CO2 figure brings the Eco down from VED Band C to Band B, which for this year means an £85 reduction in car tax (£60 for the following two years) and renders it exempt from the London congestion charge as from October, assuming that there isn't a change of policy under the capital's new administration.

With other eco-friendly models you have to pay a lot for this sort of improvement, but not in this case. You can't make a direct comparison for the higher-specification Dynamic model, since the only other 1.6-litre diesel Dynamic has the 120bhp engine; however, there are Eco and non-Eco versions of the same car with the Active trim level, and from that you can see that the Eco revisions add £295 to the list price.

More . . .

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