BY JONATHAN CROUCH
The Fiat Uno may not have rewritten the rules that underline the supermini concept, but you have to say that it achieved just about everything else. By the time the car went out of production in 1994, over five million had been sold and it was often the best selling car in Europe. Which means of course that there are plenty about on the used market. However, quality is patchy and you'll need to buy with great care.
A capable supermini with good packaging. It's cheap to buy and maintain but not as satisfying to drive as, say, a Peugeot 205.
Prices vary from they pay you to not very much. The best of the very last Unos will still fetch in the region of £400. But its best to price each model on an individual basis.
In two words, electrical headaches. Like many Italian cars, the Uno has a poor reputation on this front. A rather tinny feel, tatty trim and patchy build-quality also afflict it. Don't be surprised to find much evidence of rust on poorly looked after older cars. A service history is worth its weight in gold. Even if you have this, you'd be wise to steer clear of the petrol turbos, most of which will have been thrashed to near-death. The diesel is worth avoiding too, its noisy, slow and not particularly frugal.
(approx based on 94 Uno45 1.0) Front brake pads are around £18, a rear exhaust section about £37. A headlamp is about £52 and an alternator is £68 ish.
Only later Unos offered any kind of impression of solidity. Owners of older models will be familiar with facia shudder over bumpy lanes, something usually accompanied by an orchestral melody of twitters from the rear parcel shelf. Well kept later cars however, feel taut and easy to drive, mainly due to their light steering and excellent visibility. As we've suggested, the Uno can be a perky partner on the open road but by no stretch of the imagination is it as enjoyable a driving companion as would be a Peugeot 106 or a Citroen AX. No, the Uno's strongest suit is a more practical one: interior space. At 143 inches, it's 4 inches longer than a Metro, with a high roofline affording impressive headroom and a 60/40 split rear seat facility to boost luggage space. Later Unos, as we've said all through this guide, were much better built. By the end, Fiat had learnt a great deal about longevity and saw to it that the tailgate, like the nose section and the lower front wings, was produced using rust-resistant galvanized steel.
The Uno may have been one of Europe's favourite small cars but it's a minefield of potential problems unless you buy carefully or opt for one of the very last ones.
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