Fiat STILO 1.8 SportING
Fiats latest Stilo may have failed to offer a major challenge to best selling Family Hatchbacks like Fords Focus and Vauxhalls Astra but that doesnt mean that it cant make a very good buy, particularly in its sportier variants. Motoring writers loved the most recent of these, the powerful Stilo Schumacher, but many buyers were put off by the high insurance and running costs. So what about a Stilo variant that looks pretty much just like it but will also satisfy the insurance broker and the bank manager? Enter The Stilo 1.8 Sporting.
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If you get a potential customer behind the wheel of a Stilo, they usually buy one. Fiats problem is going to be getting them there in the first place. The Fiat Stilo Sporting 1.8-litre 16v comes in 3-door styling only and the engine is a fine choice, powering it to a top speed of 125mph via a sprint to 60mph in only 9.
9 seconds. Thats a whole lot faster than an Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 and the Fiats combined fuel consumption of 35.3mpg is marginally better than the smaller-engined Alfas.
Fully Euro IV-compliant, the engine emits 190g/km of carbon dioxide and is mated to a slick five-speed manual gearbox. Priced at £12,896, the Stilo 1.8-litre Sporting easily undercuts cars like Fords Focus 1.6-litre Sport.
This three-door Fiat features 17-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, a rear spoiler, side skirts, electric power steering, audio controls mounted on the steering wheel, cruise control, a front arm rest, ABS brakes with EBD, driver and passenger airbags, front side airbags, window airbags, a leather steering wheel and a leather gearknob. A radio CD player and remote central locking also feature, as well as a third central headrest.
"The 1.8-litre 16-valve petrol engine is lively enough to put a smile on the face of all but the keenest of drivers"
Safety provision is at or near the top of the class and with the availability of up to six airbags including two Multistage bags and window bags, the Stilo is very well specified in the safety stakes. Bar safety, no other area of car design has progressed so far so fast as that of interior fit and finish. Drive a ten-year-old car, even the best built - a Mercedes S-class for instance - and the interior fit and finish will feel cheap next to the Stilo. This is precisely the effect that Fiat were after.
The expensively slush-moulded fascia and the attention to detail paid to the colour combinations, the materials chosen in the cabin and the sheer design input distance the Stilo from the best of yesteryear. It also stacks up favourably against the cream of todays crop, and Fiat have managed to pull this off without demanding too much additional outlay from the end customer. Like the Brava and Bravo lines that it replaced, the Stilo looks quite different in three-door form compared to the five-door models in the range. Lower, more aggressive and to most, more attractive, it shares only bonnet headlamps and grille with its more family-oriented sibling.
Drop into the driving seat of the Fiat Stilo Sporting and youll do just that drop. With a seating position 50mm lower, you hunker down into the car, immediately making you aware of the cars sporting credentials. As for practicalities, there's more space in the back than you might expect - and a decent capacity boot. Inside, the accent is on user-friendliness, with useful storage compartments wherever you look. Small items will always be safely tucked away - but easy to lose. The interior also benefits from the drive to endow the Stilo with a more up-market ambiance.
The two-tone interior upholstery options give the car an airier and sporting feel. All right, so the Stilo Sporting 1.8-litre is not earth-shatteringly fast but driving satisfaction isn't something you measure against the stopwatch. If you want fun behind the wheel, the chassis and suspension are where its at. This Stilo uses a proven MacPherson strut suspension set-up at the front and a lightweight Torsion beam at the rear. The engineers have created a car with the crisp handling that is a fun to drive.
Drive the Stilo Sporting 1.8-litre and youd have to say that theyve made a decent fist of it. The steering is good too, with a power-assisted set-up tuned to react quickly to driver inputs. Does this Stilo 1.
8-litre Sporting have enough to tempt sport-orientated Family Hatch buyers out of mainstream sellers like Fords Focus 1.6 Sport or Vauxhalls Astra 1.6 SXi? Its a better car than either of these two, as well as being better specified and better priced. But that doesnt mean it will sell.
Fiats job now is to make sure enough people know about this car. No easy task.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Fiat Stilo 1.8 Sporting
PRICE: £12,896 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 7
CO2 EMISSIONS: 190g/km
PERFORMANCE: (3-door) 0-60mph 9.9s / Max Speed 125mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Combined) 35.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Six airbags, TCS, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height (5dr), 4253/1756/1525mm
