Fiat STILO JTD 115 range
If You Want The Sensible Virtues Of Diesel But Dont Want To Be Branded Boring, Try
Fiat's JTD 115 Stilo. Andy Enright Reports
The full rehabilitation of diesel is on its way but were not quite there yet. Time was when mention of diesel ownership meant certain social death, marking you down as somebody whod break out a calculator to split the bill in McDonalds. Then diesels became fun, stylish and desirable. Though some lingering dissenters remain, the Stilo JTD has enough verve to convert the cynics.
Fiat have rethought the Active trim level on the five-door Stilo JTD 115 models 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 £300 to the price and an additional feature that escapes us at present. The other option is the Dynamic trim level which now gives the five-door versions the same 16-inch alloy wheels the slinkier three door body shape gets. If you need more room, the Stilo Multi Wagon JTD 115 is priced at £13,195 in Active Air Conditioning trim or £14,295 as a Dynamic.
| Build |
 |
| Comfort |
 |
| Depreciation |
|
| Economy |
 |
| Equipment |
|
| Handling |
 |
| Insurance |
|
| Performance |
 |
| Styling |
|
| Value |
|
Like the Brava and Bravo lines that it replaces, 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 airiness of the interior is helped by the option of a full-length sunroof, dubbed the Sky Window by
Fiat, which makes the five-door cars interior feel as spacious as current class leaders such as the
Peugeot 307 and
Honda Civic. What the Stilo five-door pulls off more cleverly than both these rivals is the incorporation of a number of ideas from MPVs such as sliding and reclining rear seats, folding tray tables and a multitude of cubbies, drawers, boxes and cupholders.
You probably wont notice them but the 5-door Stilo sports a few minor styling modifications on its tailgate. The fog lamps have moved and the bumper grooves are gone but overall its about as minor as car facelifts get.
"Although most will probably opt for the 1.6-litre petrol engined models, the 1.9-litre JTD engine is a far more attractive purchase."
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.
Drive the cars in the opposite order and youll feel as if youre perched on a barstool. Safety is well taken care of, with even entry-level models fitted with no fewer than six airbags, plus five three-point seat belts, anti-lock brakes and a traction control system. Move up the range and the sportier models get electronic stability control. The cabin is unfussy with clean lines and quiet confidence in the styling.
One innovative touch that may yet have Bill Gates on the phone to his legal team is a My Car function which remembers your personal settings for central locking, automatic headlamp settings, speed-limit warning and so on. Elsewhere you can see the technology that seemed so incredible when the Mercedes S-class was introduced in 1999 being incorporated into a family saloon. "Easy Go" is Fiats answer to Mercedes Keyless Go, a system that allows the car to detect the presence of a transponder, unlock itself and start at the press of a button. Expect British insurers to want this function disabled. Although most will probably opt for the 1.6-litre or 1.
4-litre petrol engined models, the 1.9-litre JTD engine is a far more attractive purchase. Take the sporty looking three-door variant. In Dynamic trim it looks nicely aggressive, those origami creases and edges combining with a purposeful stance that suggest something that has an equal appetite for corners and petrol stations.
Appearances can be deceptive. The Stilo is softly sprung, the ride geared towards comfort, while you may well be astonished by the advances in forecourt technology, so seldom will be your fuel stops given the cars 53mpg thirst. A 58-litre fuel tank gives a theoretical range of nearly 700 miles between top ups. Able to run to 60mph in a mere 10.
3 seconds, the Stilo JTD isnt all midrange either, the turbocharger spooling up quickly to bring the Fiat off the line without that bog, pause, wheelspin cycle of many less competent diesel installations. Handling isnt particularly sharp, the electrically assisted steering (which can be set to super-assisted City mode) isnt overly feelsome and the chassis feels inert if undoubtedly benign. Indeed, drive the Stilo as if youre taking a treasured pet to the vets and youll get the most from it, savouring the ride quality and the smooth throttle action without asking the suspension to perform tasks its clearly not happy with. Driven in this manner, the Stilo makes enormous sense.
Youll revel in the cars build quality, surf along on the hefty slug of torque and have enough time to press a few buttons. The Stilo is not under endowed here. Of perhaps greater importance is the sheer variety of safety features. Fitted as standard are twin front and side airbags as well as curtain bags which stretch the length of the interior, whilst rear side airbags appear on the options list.
Anti-lock brakes and traction control are also fitted as standard, making the Stilo the envy of class rivals such as the
Ford Focus, the
Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic. With emissions falling into the lowest possible banding, the Stilo JTD is clean, economical, well equipped, safe, superbly built, good looking and an extremely cosseting drive. And the downsides? Well have to wait and see what residual values the car commands whilst to some it will lack a sporting edge, but Fiat may just have gauged the market better with the JTD than they have with the Stilo range as a whole. Style and diesel are no longer mutually exclusive, nor it seems are Fiat hatches and the demands of the driver with an eye for quality.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Fiat Stilo JTD 115 range
PRICES: £12,795-£14,295 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 5
CO2 EMISSIONS: 140-143g/km
PERFORMANCE: [3dr] 0-60mph 10.3s / Max Speed 119mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [3dr] (average) 53.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Six airbags, TCS, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height (5dr), 4253/1756/1525mm
<< Back to Fiat car reviews
<< Back to car reviews homepage
Find New & Used Cars in the UK |
New & Used Fiat Cars For Sale UK
