Fiat STILO 1.6 ACTIVE RANGE

The Fiat Stilo Active Models Offer Excellent Value, Especially In Popular 1.6-Litre Guise. Andy Enright Reports

Sales charts tell you much about national tastes. That the Fiat Stilo has performed modestly is more down to promotion than product. We cant get enough of aggressively marketed Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic models, but we ignore perfectly good cars like those in the Stilo Active 1.6 line-up.

Think about this. 2000s biggest grossing movie was The Grinch while 2001s best selling album was Hotshot by Shaggy. Were they the best? Draw your own conclusions. Likewise the Toyota Corolla is the worlds favourite small car, Richard Nixon was voted in on a landslide and the most popular meal amongst death row inmates is double cheeseburger and fries.

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Value

Based on this sort of popularity contest, the Stilo Active 1.6 models that we examine here must have a good deal going for them. The Active trim level is Fiat-speak for entry level, but given that the Stilo has quickly built up a reputation for being somewhat well-stuffed with standard equipment, one can safely assume that youre not going to end up in a car as sparse as a squash court. Fiat have wisely chosen to leave the Stilos safety provision pretty well alone, and all Active cars feature ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, no fewer than six airbags - the front ones featuring multi-stage deployment - ISOFIX child seat fittings and seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters.



"On typical scabby British roads and driven by the average buyer, the Stilo feels far more composed than a Focus or an Astra."

Dualdrive electric power steering (the so-called girly button), fog lamps built into the headlights and a trip computer also make the starting line up. With six speakers and a speed sensitive volume control its a shame Fiat saw fit to include a radio/cassette deck only. This is probably the only obvious sign of de-contenting in the whole of the Active trim level Thankfully Fiats bean counters resisted the temptation to strike electric front windows from the trim sheet and remote control central locking is a welcome feature. Body coloured electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors are an unexpected bonus.

Much of this booty of standard equipment comes down to the cars sophisticated electronics which means that it would cost more to strip the features off than it does to leave them on. If thats the price of progress, sign us up for two. Priced from £11,395 in three-door guise or £11,995 for the more family-friendly Multi Wagon (5-door Active customers must settle for the 1.4-litre petrol or the JTD diesel), the Active 1.

6 squares up nicely on price with some of the most popular family hatches out there. Fiat have rethought the Active trim level and have split it into two distinct versions. First up is the clumsily-titled Active Air Conditioning which is much like the original Active but adds an additional feature that escapes us at present. Mirroring the Punto range, theres also an Active Sport trim variation available.

This adds 15-inch alloy wheels, a leather steering wheel and gear lever, and a CD player. With the 1.6-litre engine, Active AirCon is only available in the Multi Wagon bodystyle and the Active Sport trim is the preserve of 3-door buyers but theres more choice if youre prepared to consider the other powerplants. The 1.

6-litre engine punts the Stilo to 60mph in a reasonable 10.8 seconds on the way to a 112mph maximum. True, theyre not figures that will set your pulse racing, nor will the torsion beam rear suspension setup, which compared to the multi link arrangement worn by a Focus is somewhat state of the ark. To grouse about such failings would be missing the point.

Its soft, comfortable, safe transport for five with an enviable level of quality, a sharp suit and a number of slick ideas. On typical scabby British roads and driven by the average buyer, the Stilo feels far more composed than a Focus or an Astra. Whereas a Golf will have your rear seat occupants wearing their McFlurries after taking the back way home, that certainly wont be the case in the Stilo. Like the Brava and Bravo lines that it replaced, the Stilo looks quite different in three and five-door guises.

Although the two variants sit on the same floorpan, the engineers have cleverly teased the five-door bodyshell into a shape 50mm higher, 28mm wider and 66mm longer. The three-door model is a different proposition. Lower, more aggressive and to most, more attractive, it shares only bonnet headlamps and grille with its more practical sibling. Drop into the driving seat after driving the five-door and youll do just that drop.

With a seating position 50mm lower, you hunker down into the car and it offers a radically different feel to its five-door sibling. Should you need yet more space, the Fiat Stilo Multi Wagon should impress with its class leading luggage capacity. The Stilo 1.6 Active models are cars that do all thats asked of them.

In offering fine value coupled with reassuring quality, a willing engine and a choice of markedly different body styles, Fiat would seem to have a winner on its hands. And yet the message fails to get through. Stilos are still outsold by far less competent rivals. Maybe right here we can strike a blow for this underrated car.



FACTS AT A GLANCE

CAR: Fiat Stilo 1.6 Active range
PRICES: £11,395 - £11,995 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 5
CO2 EMISSIONS: 173-179g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 10.8s / Max Speed 112mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (5dr) (urban) 26.9 (extra urban) 48.7 (combined) 37.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Six airbags, TCS, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4182/1784/1475mm