The new Fiat Fiorino goes on sale in the UK with a choice of two powerplants; the latest, 75 bhp derivation of Fiat Group’s widely acclaimed, state-of-the-art 1.3 litre 16-valve MultiJet turbodiesel, and a refined and economical 73 bhp 1.4 litre 8-valve petrol engine.

Both units are Euro 4 compliant, the 1.3 16v MultiJet also meeting the emissions limits which are expected to be set by forthcoming Euro 5 standards, more than a year before the legislative deadline.

Each powerplant is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox while, unique to the small van segment, the 1.3 litre MultiJet unit may also be optionally equipped with Comfort Matic – a clutchless, electro-hydraulic, 6-speed sequential manual shift with a selectable fully automatic mode.

1.3 16v MultiJet

    * 1248 cc
    * 4-cylinders, 16 valves
    * Power:                                                 75 bhp @ 4000 rpm
    * Torque:                                                            140 lb.ft @ 1750 rpm
    * Top Speed:                                           97 mph
    * Acceleration 0-62 mph:                                    15.4 seconds
    * Fuel Consumption:
                      # in town:            49.6 mpg
                      # out of town:     74.3 mpg
                      # combined:        62.8 mpg
                      # CO2:                119 g/km

Weighing just 130 kg, the 1.3 litre 16v MultiJet – a 1248 cc, 4-cylinder in-line unit with a bore of 69.6 mm and a stroke of 82 mm – is an advanced second generation Common Rail direct injection turbodiesel, of which over two million units have been built to date.

It features twin overhead camshafts, a chain driven timing system, hydraulic tappets, a cast iron crankcase with an aluminium base, a steel crankshaft and an aluminium cylinder head. The cylinder head is equipped with highly efficient directional intake ports to ensure an optimum fuel mix despite the small bore. The 1.3 MultiJet engine is boosted by a Borg-Warner fixed geometry turbocharger with wastegate and intercooler, and possesses an electronically controlled exhaust gas recirculation and cooling system.

The engine offers two highly innovative features: extremely compact dimensions (460 mm long, 500 mm wide and 650 mm high) that enable it to be installed in city cars, and the sophisticated MultiJet technology of second generation JTDs. The latter is the fruition of groundbreaking development work at the Fiat Research Centre, itself responsible for the introduction of the world's first UniJet Common Rail diesel engine in 1997.

Within a UniJet engine, a pilot injection raises temperature and pressure inside the cylinder to improve combustion at the time of the main stroke. However, by dividing the main injection into a number of smaller injections, a MultiJet engine affords a fuller, more gradual combustion whilst the amount of diesel burnt at each stroke remains the same. This promotes smoother, quieter combustion, reduced emissions and increased performance.

A MultiJet engine differs from its UniJet counterpart in two essential areas: the injectors and the electronic control unit.

To facilitate multi-injection, the new injectors can both reduce the time lag between injections from 1500 to just 150 microseconds, and reduce the minimum quantity of fuel injected from 2 to less than 1 mm3. In tandem, the new control unit modulates injection strategy continually to adjust to changes within three parameters: engine rpm, torque required at any given time by the driver and coolant temperatures.