impressed with a 1.2

[HarriBanjo]

This thread is brilliant!

I do love my little 1.2 8v, especially because I'm 19 and insurance would rob me blind on anything with a meatier engine!

It's really not very fast, and I honestly can't overtake anything unless the other driver lets me / doesn't put up a fight...
but, like people are saying: it's fun to throw into corners once you've got up to speed, and 45 to 50 mpg is decent on the motorway (not amazing, granted, but decent) considering the amount of fun I have in it.

Anyway, just wanted to put my 1+ in that 1.2L 8v's can be impressive (although how impressive depends on how much you expect of them when you draw an opinion!)

Oh, also, my mum calls my car "nippy"... which, if I correctly understood, means that it whines rather than roars through the gears and pulls away faster than her auto Lexus IS200 (when I'm ragging it and she's feathering the pedal)...

Harri

p.s. ^^ Nervous 1st post, please don't hurt me!

 

[gaz44]

This thread is brilliant!

I do love my little 1.2 8v, especially because I'm 19 and insurance would rob me blind on anything with a meatier engine!

It's really not very fast, and I honestly can't overtake anything unless the other driver lets me / doesn't put up a fight...
but, like people are saying: it's fun to throw into corners once you've got up to speed, and 45 to 50 mpg is decent on the motorway (not amazing, granted, but decent) considering the amount of fun I have in it.

Anyway, just wanted to put my 1+ in that 1.2L 8v's can be impressive (although how impressive depends on how much you expect of them when you draw an opinion!)

Oh, also, my mum calls my car "nippy"... which, if I correctly understood, means that it whines rather than roars through the gears and pulls away faster than her auto Lexus IS200 (when I'm ragging it and she's feathering the pedal)...

Harri

p.s. ^^ Nervous 1st post, please don't hurt me!

Good first post.

 

[Curtis!]

Good first post.

+1. :approve:

I didn't think the 1.2 was overly slow when I was in a 16v, it's not a major pusher but for in town it's not bad. First time drivers aswell it's as fast as you need.

 

[tomtaffa]

gotta 'lol' at some how peaople are putting 1.2's any where near a 172 in there minds, i have a 172 i then drove a 1.2 16v and to be honest you really really cannot try say that it would be that close on a track my 172 handles alot better and tbh honest 100 more bhp comes into play a fair bit dont you think??

 

[Chapppers11]

well i love my 1.2 more than anything in this world :approve:

 

[tomtaffa]

Best way to be am not saying theres anything wrong with them, there spot on for low insurence, cheap fuelled fun! but common keep with a 172??

 

[Martin_172]

i drove my mums 1.2 16v twingo the other day, cant beleive i actually owned a car with that engine lol

i LOLed hard the full way to work

 

[RDH]

They are s**t slow really.

But in fairness, I would never upgrade to anything less than a 2.0 petrol or a diesel, as I had a 1.6 Mazda 3 as a courtosy car, and apart from when on the motorway above say 60mph, there wasn't much difference between my car.

But to put into perspective, when I drove my dads Vectra 150 diesel, which in its self isn't a fast car, it felt like a rocketship.

1.2's are cheap and resonably well equiped in the right spec, hence why people buy them and not for the 'speed'.

 

[AlexS]

They handle well standard out of all the superminis and there is something immensely satisfying about thrashing the tits off a small engine and maintaining momentum, I used to love mine.

 

[J03]

until you drive something faster ul realise there s**t unless its for town driving.. i hate pulling out on slips where theres no power.. or overtake on the motorway that would take me ages to do just to get 5-10mph faster...
fun to rag about as a first car though

 

[AlexS]

I think there are fast ones and slow ones, mine had done 60k with decent service history, was quite free revving, I did 10k between home and uni it it, you could floor it in 5th and it would pull steadily round to 110 no bother. My ex girlfriends identical car was slow as anything though.
Completely different ball game though to a 1*2 ( i ve had both).

 

[Martin_172]

I think there are fast ones and slow ones, mine had done 60k with decent service history, was quite free revving, I did 10k between home and uni it it, you could floor it in 5th and it would pull steadily round to 110 no bother. My ex girlfriends identical car was slow as anything though.
Completely different ball game though to a 1*2 ( i ve had both).

you mean there are slow ones and slower ones lol

 

[tomtaffa]

I think there are fast ones and slow ones, mine had done 60k with decent service history, was quite free revving, I did 10k between home and uni it it, you could floor it in 5th and it would pull steadily round to 110 no bother. My ex girlfriends identical car was slow as anything though.
Completely different ball game though to a 1*2 ( i ve had both).

Its all about how they get driving from new cause they learn, if u drive too slow your engine will never be loose free reving if u drive too fast the car will be faster just not as reliable in the long run drove my mums fiesta 1.25 down motorway today, some t*sser in a 316 beemer just kept speedin up every time i went to over take wish i was in my car!!

 

[gaz44]

Its all about how they get driving from new cause they learn, if u drive too slow your engine will never be loose free reving if u drive too fast the car will be faster just not as reliable in the long run drove my mums fiesta 1.25 down motorway today, some t*sser in a 316 beemer just kept speedin up every time i went to over take wish i was in my car!!

What a load of bs!

 

[tomtaffa]

y's that then?

 

[gaz44]

y's that then?

Driving too slow doesn't allow the engine to loosen up. This is rubbish.

 

[tomtaffa]

the ecu doesnt use the full potential it's not the engine it's the ecu!

 

[Plummer]

Driving too slow doesn't allow the engine to loosen up. This is rubbish.

I thought the same happened with sports?

 

[tomtaffa]

as far as i know the ecu learns to your driving and doesnt let u use the cars full potential if u drive too slow and use low revs from the off but i may be wrong im not sayin im deffo rite gaz may be rite it's just what i heard when i bought my motorbike from brand new that is what they told me to do!!

 

[SlowLow&Sideways]

driven hard. a 1.2 can put a simle on your face. at 17-18 thats all you want. Ive driven 1000000000000x faster things. but as a day to day run about its cheap to run. and does the job perfectly well for 2k. and its french so has plenty of character

 

[tomtaffa]

'Ive driven 1000000000000x faster things.' :O :O thats a really fast car lol

 

[SlowLow&Sideways]

the 0 buttons sticky...... if u want a precise indication. 4x faster.

 

[gaz44]

as far as i know the ecu learns to your driving and doesnt let u use the cars full potential if u drive too slow and use low revs from the off but i may be wrong im not sayin im deffo rite gaz may be rite it's just what i heard when i bought my motorbike from brand new that is what they told me to do!!

I've never heard this. If this is the case, why do manufacurers advise a running period? Usually something like 2000 miles not above 3000rpm or similar.

 

[c__w]

I think he means during running in periods the engine shouldn't be babied and run really gently as thsi can result in lower power when it's bedded in. It needs some WOT (not necessarily high revs, just wide throttle openings) to bed the rings in etc.

I found the 1.2 16v was pretty good, and felt pretty quick "for a 1.2". It was also very easy to drive.

 

[tomtaffa]

ye thats it they do say take it easy just not too easy, so dont drive like a granny, and dont drive like you stole it and it will be all fine!! C W worded alot better than me haha

 

[Martin_172]

as far as i know the ecu learns to your driving and doesnt let u use the cars full potential if u drive too slow and use low revs from the off but i may be wrong im not sayin im deffo rite gaz may be rite it's just what i heard when i bought my motorbike from brand new that is what they told me to do!!

ive heard some s**t on this forum but thats the best lol....

The ecu is self learning to a slight degree, ie it will learn over a period of time what fuel your using, what different levels of air its getting (obviously can be affected by air temperature/air filters etc) but this just allows it to run smoothly, its nothing to do with not letting you use the cars full potential.

driving a car hard with loads of load on it will wear the engine out quicker (and of course run it in quicker) so you might find a car with 20k thats been driven hard is just as "run in" as a easy drivin car is at 40k (obivously although one cars done half the miles, its also been driven at twice or more the RPM, so in theory the pistons and rings have twice as much or more wear)

its like a hill, the engine gets better over time/miles but then eventually it hits its peak and starts to go downhill again!, regular servicing and of course letting it get up to temperature first so the oil is giving maximum protection will help prolongue how big the hill is....

 

[gaz44]

Good analogy, Martin.

So to sum up...1.2's are slow but are still fast for 1.2's. They are "nippy" and should you run one in correctly, it might be a really fast one.

They can stay with 1*2's on tight tracks because 'that' video proves it and they can keep up with 1.6 Focus's.

I think I know what my next car is!

 

[Plummer]

^^
You'll probably find that the 1.2 in the video has coils.

 

[Cooksport]

corsa 1.2's are quite a bit faster imo.

At some point, i will be getting a 1.2 clio, stripping it fully, plastic windows, ast coilovers, yoko a048's and spank some rs's on some track days.

They are by no means a fast car, but hell of a lot of fun to chuck around!

 

[Brett]

With regards to the video, if Fred was in the 172 the 1.2 wouldn't get close. From what i've heard Fred overtook a Lambo in a ph1 172 at Oulton Park. Mind you ph1 172's are the fastest cars in the world, actually no thats a cup

 

[tomtaffa]

ive heard some s**t on this forum but thats the best lol....

The ecu is self learning to a slight degree, ie it will learn over a period of time what fuel your using, what different levels of air its getting (obviously can be affected by air temperature/air filters etc) but this just allows it to run smoothly, its nothing to do with not letting you use the cars full potential.

driving a car hard with loads of load on it will wear the engine out quicker (and of course run it in quicker) so you might find a car with 20k thats been driven hard is just as "run in" as a easy drivin car is at 40k (obivously although one cars done half the miles, its also been driven at twice or more the RPM, so in theory the pistons and rings have twice as much or more wear)

its like a hill, the engine gets better over time/miles but then eventually it hits its peak and starts to go downhill again!, regular servicing and of course letting it get up to temperature first so the oil is giving maximum protection will help prolongue how big the hill is....

well like i said i may be wrong thats only what i was told when I bought my motor bike.

 

[Poopensharten]

This thread has got me thinking (and laughing) that people are under any kind of disillusion that 1200cc cars are fast/nippy/pokey/nimble etc and so forth but with every car the limitation is cubic capacity, end of.

Like the 172/182's there is in my opinion no difference in 0-60 times and top end, bottom line is 1200cc's like V8's have limitations, those limitations are again cubic capacity. If you want to go fast, buy a fast car.

Anyone who uses terms like nippy/pokey etc are just devating from the truth, and that is there not quick, not at all, not even down hill.

To add there are "good" and "bad" engines out there doesnt mean that some special 1200cc's left the factory with 90bhp and others with 60bhp, thats aload of shite, it will variate,absolutley, but to suggest it would be noticeable to the humble owner would be absolute panda shite.

Rant/Point over/

 

[Android]

my 1.2 is fabulous fun to chuck about

not fast, but i love it on nice bendy roads at a good speed with the coilies, strut brace & poly bushes fitted

 

[Cliotoby]

Id go as far as saying that a 1.2 would be impressive against a minature daschund, although i rekon the pooch would have the advantage up to about the 4mph it could achieve with its little runty legs.

Pic related.