Fiat has already claimed, with the Grande Punto 1.3 JTD, the crown as the most economical conventional car in Australia and at the Australian International Motor Show it will further extend its lead in economy with the Grande Punto 1.3 JTD DuaLogic, which is both more economical and offers a self-shifting gearbox.

 

“Fiat have called their new gearbox system DuaLogic because it delivers two logical requirements of a small car, better performance and better economy, and its made the Punto even easier and more convenient to drive” says David Stone, General Manager for Fiat Cars in Australia. “Normally performance and economy pull in different directions, but the DuaLogic gearbox is designed to make extremely efficient use of the engines to which it is attached, ensuring that they are always working at their peak effectiveness for the task in hand. This translates into better performance and lower fuel consumption, by way of lower exhaust emissions. The Fiat Punto, with an official fuel consumption figure of 4.6 litres/100 km, is already the most fuel efficient conventional car in Australia. With the DuaLogic gearbox fitted, consumption drops to just 4.5 litres/100 km, a remarkable figure for manual car, let alone one with a self-shifting gearbox!”

 

The DuaLogic gearbox, which is available on the Fiat Punto with the 1.4 petrol engine as well as the Turbo Diesel Punto 1.3 JTD, is technically described as a sequential manual gearbox, which means it has a conventional clutch and gearbox, so there is no power-sapping torque converter and hydraulic gears. Instead there is small, light actuator unit to operate the clutch and move the gears, plus a highly intelligent computer.

 

Thus, the DuaLogic equipped Punto has the performance and economy of the manual car as a starting point, unlike a conventional automatic which is always at a disadvantage to a manual gearbox given its weight and power-consuming technology. To this already efficient system is added a computer that knows the engine to which it is connected inside-out. The computer ensures that the gearbox is always in the most effective gear for the performance required, maximising both performance and economy capabilities. Indeed, the Punto DuaLogic even knows if it is going downhill or climbing a hill and adjusts its changing pattens appropriately!

 

With the DuaLogic taking over the operation of the gearbox and the clutch, driving is easier and simpler. The driver has the choice of placing the Punto DuaLogic in automatic or manual modes. In automatic mode, DuaLogic does all the work, selecting the gears, operating the clutch and getting the best economy and performance. The driver can also select normal mode or economy mode, with, as the name suggests, the latter selection ensuring that the Punto extracts every the maximum energy out of every last drop of fuel.