Fiat maybe be stretching the use of it’s 785cc, 84bhp 2 cylinder engine a bit far by fitting it to a Mito and the new Panda but time will tell.

EVO Magazine have just taken delivery of a new Fiat 500 TwinAir and apparently the car is an absolute riot to drive. Unusual engine sound, doesn’t fell slow and it sounds like it is the kind of car you can thrash mercilessly without worrying too much about wear and tear.

The question is, is 84bhp really going to be enough to move a Panda or a Mito?

Now I have written that sentence I realise how silly it sounds. It wasn’t so long ago when 84bhp was respectable.

A MK1 1.6 Ford Focus managed to with a little under a hundred bhp so maybe 84bhp is not such a handicap.

But having said that the 0-60mph time for the Fiat 500TwinAir is 11.2 seconds, which is this day and age is borderline for being able to keep up with the traffic.

What the acceleration times will be in the Mito & Panda is the question. Almost certainly slower, perhaps over 12 or 13 seconds. If so, that really is slow.

On the plus side, if you live in London, there is no congestion charge to pay with the TwinAir and also no road tax which is a bonus. Personally I think I would rather take the hit for more performance but if you have the car just for sitting in traffic, 84bhp could be plenty.

If you have a Fiat 500 TwinAir, let us know your thoughts on its performance, is it too slow for today’s traffic?

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