[powertrain]

It was somewhere in Feb 2011 that MUL plonked the VGT version of the 1.3MJD on the SX4. Got my SX4 ZDi in Aug 2011. Haven't looked back since. Currently the odo stands at 1.53L kms. Absolutely reliable. Consistently gives me above 18kmpl even after so many miles. Always serviced at the authorized service station.

MUL should be thankful to the MJD! This engine has seen the height of petrol-diesel price disparity. MUL milked the MJD like no other, and laughed away to the bank!
Thank you Fiat! Thank you MJD!! You'll be missed!!

Odo on 24/07/2019. My SX4 saying "I love you" to the MJD!!

[srikrishna717]

All Great things have to come to end and Fiat indeed did a great Job on this Engine and was aptly called the "National Engine". It certainly had a major role to play in the sustained growth of many Car manufacturers and Maruti certainly needs to be ever grateful for this Engine.

[aniketi]

Very very sad news indeed. Being proud owner of this engine for last 3 years, i can say it's gem of a engine. It's little lethargic at low RPM's but gets into life once you cross 1800 RPM. Very good to drive and cruise in mid range. Once its driven more than 10-20K KMS, it becomes butter smooth. Once you drive for first 5-10 mins and engine is warmed, difficult to guess it it's petrol or diesel under the bonnet. FE is really great, I can easily get 20+ on highways when driven sedately at 80-90 KMPH. Sad that Fiat is not making this BS6 compliant, i think they should do it as it still has lots of potential for hatchbacks and sub 4 meter sedan's like Dzire.

[Swap_Abarth]

RIP 1.3 MJD... Absolute legend!

The engine was revolutionary at the time when it came. It had managed to change the small diesel engine scenario In India. I have fond memories of this Engine with Grande Punto (60k km), which was sold last year. It used to run like locomotive in triple digit speeds all day long on highways. Very reliable and efficient. Never had even a single issue with the motor in 5 years of ownership. Credit to MSIL for fully utilizing the potential of this engine.

[Anwesh]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Fiat, even with their 90hp version of this engine, was nowhere near as fun to drive due to gearbox. The ratios were too far apart and the shift quality was not a patch to Suzuki's

If you are talking about the Punto, I agree but not the Palio Stile. In fact the Stile is an all round Swift beater. It is only because of partners who were not interested in service and had their own hidden agendas that FIAT brand name suffered irreparably, FCA had realized that in 2008 itself and that is why they agreed to supply the engines to Maruti.

Regards,

[PrasannaDhana]

The lovely 1.3 Fiat engine

The engine that I have used in 3 forms.

1.3 FGT in my Swift
1.0 FGT in my Beat (derivative of 1.3 with 1 cylinder less)
1.3 VGT in my Ciaz

Total of 3 lakh km of usage without a single issue, let alone a breakdown. Not even an incident of check engine light showing up. Mind you, I have extracted the very last bit of juice from all the 3 engines, and 50% of their lifetime, they were pushed hard. But there were no complaints whatsoever.


I still use the 1.3 in my ciaz, which is at 1.07 lakh km, and I hope to use it till 2 lakh km.

It is a gem, a little noisy, and a little laggy beneath 2000 rpm, but it is also quite reliable, extremely fuel efficient and reasonably fast if you can work it up.

Bye bye 1.3 diesel. Not the hero we needed, but the one we deserved

[NiInJa]

The one most important thing this diesel engine did was changing the perception of diesel engines amongst us Indians. Many believed that Diesel engines required a lot of maintenance, are very sensitive to fuel quality or the way they are handled, would smell of oil fumes in cabin, would be expensive to maintain and make a lot of noise. Laying all these doubts to rest, especially for a common man who is not an automotive expert but is a conscious buyer was a tough task and the 1.3 MJD did it with aplomb.

Still miss the cruising ability of the engine in our now-sold Linea. The best moments was the last big trip I did with her before selling her off. At 78000 kms on the odo, I left Goa at 5 in the evening and reached Pune by 10.45 PM, just to realize the next day that there was an oil leak for quite some time and the car was running at minimum oil level for the whole trip without any issues. The engine had taken my stupidity into consideration !

[RonXRi94]

Rest in peace. This is the end of an era indeed.

Over the years, I’ve made many trips to Goa. However, my trip in 2017 was the most memorable one ever. It was the time when I rented a 1st gen swift vdi, and drove it all over Goa for 4 days.

That was when I got to experience what a gem of an engine the 1.3 MJD was, especially the turbo kick post 2000 rpm. Reliable, powerful and fuel efficient, the MJD is what made the 1st gen diesel swift such a superb car. I had heard a lot about this engine over the years, but never got to drive it over a longish period, until in 2017. That was when I fell in love with the 1st gen swift, and more importantly, our National engine. I can never get enough of that diesel clatter!

Although many cars have used this engine, I believe the 1st gen swift had the best application of all. Not owning one will probably be the biggest regret of my life.

To this day, I look back at pictures and videos of this car during my Goa trip with a smile on my face. If this car was still available in the market, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Here’s a couple pictures of my rental vdi, after 4 days of fun and hard driving, mostly above 2000 rpm

[varoon9999]

Deeply saddened to see MJD bidding adieu, that's "end of an era".

I must say Thanks to FIAT for giving us gem of a engine, you'll be missed badly.


My MJD getting smoother with age, standing strong @ 1,44,298 kms.

[TorqueKnight]

1.3 MJD is absolutely a legend among engines and fondly called as National Engine of India. Our family still owns 2 cars with 1.3 MJD and we love it. As said in Matrix movie, "Every Beginning has an End and Every end has a new beginning". Let's cherish the past, welcome the future and live the present.

Thanks,
TK

[Radiator]

I still remember the first experience of this gem. Was 15 and sitting on the passenger seat in a swift. Elder brother was driving and i was looking at the scenery outside. He floored the throttle in the middle of an overtake and man, i was caught unaware. That was the strongest pushback I ever experienced in mass market car till date.
Still driving a 1.3MJD but it has become very tamed now.

1.3MJD, 2nd gear and full throttle is Unmatched.

[groom]

My heart felt condolences for this heart, the heart of India.
It made lives bloom, gave jobs to thousands of people, full field aspirations and dreams of many, this dream of engine is no more produced soon to be no more sold.

Many congrats to all those people who made such an icon possible in our country. I hope many more such dreams bloom and aspirations rise with the 1.5L and further with the 2.0L.

As the old folds, the new unfolds.

[romeomidhun]

My question to the experts: since the 2 methods used for reducing the diesel engine emissions are 'external to engine' methods, why cannot it be applied to an MJD? Or are the emission levels so high that even those 2 methods (NOx trap, Urea injection) can't do much more?

[84.monsoon]

Great little engine, a benchmark in reliability. It has had a huge role to play in shaping out economy - especially the taxi industry. Right from the Indica Vistas, Suzuki Dzire Tours, the TATA Manzas, the Zests and on and on. Millions of taxi drivers made their livelihood thanks to the economy and reliability this engine offered and will continue doing so for years to come. Thank you MJD and, Rest in Peace.

I have experienced this engine in my mother's Fiat Punto - a bit peaky and laggy for my liking since I drive the Ford DV5 TDCI engine in my Ecosport every day (which is so linear and torquey from low RPMs) but the MJD has a nice shove once it gets going.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

My question to the experts: since the 2 methods used for reducing the diesel engine emissions are 'external to engine' methods, why cannot it be applied to an MJD? Or are the emission levels so high that even those 2 methods (NOx trap, Urea injection) can't do much more?

My wish too! It was a wonderful efficient engine. Would have been good to have the SDE in BSVI era. Its Fuel efficiency itself makes it "green" in a way with less fuel burnt per km. If it could meet the emission norms, would have been perfect.

I think the JTD 1.3 was EuroV compliant with changes in the combustion chamber, injection cycle etc. Not just the DPF/NOx trap, AdBlu etc. Also - I am not sure if globally also Fiat made the engine EuroVI compliant. If they haven't - which seems to be the case - I guess its safe to assume that they were not able to make it compliant with minimal changes. Probably it was on the limit with emissions. I don't see any other reason why they'd pull the plug on really a bread and butter engine that was used by a lot of other brands elsewhere in the world too.