(First of a few threads from me today - sorry!)
I really like the Stilo, it was the only car I went to the Motorshow to look at and came away still wanting one.
The diesel one (JTD?) gets great reviews in all the things I've read about it, and the only naff thing about it is the gear lever (what is that popper all about?).
It seems just right for me - bigger than Polo and chunky looking, but not too big. Comes in a 3 door version, which I like. Looks like it will do well in town and when I go up and down the motorways to visit home. NCAP rating isn't as good as the Megane, but the insurance is less, and you get more stuff on it as standard.
So why does it depreciate so much and so fast? And would I be mad to want one?
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Fiat tried very hard to make it a popular car. Front end is definitely VAG looking, back is almost a twin to new Toyota Corolla. Good lines. Good choice of engines. Brilliant pricing. And somehow they just keep missing the target.
Main complaint about Stilo seems to be handling and that everything else is "not average enough". Less than average boot space, more than average fuel consumption etc. Of course being a Fiat it has to suffer from random build quality - it either will run without any issues for years or will feel more at home in warranty repair department than in your own garage...
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v0n, you make it sound like a very good s/h buy, if you find a good 'un.
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JTD engine is good - Fiat's diesels are up with the best (ask No Dosh).
However, Fiat's image at present is about where Skoda was prior to the release of the Felicia; VAG/Skoda did put together a very good advertising campaign which in no small way put Skoda back on the map.
When was the last time you saw an advert of any kind for the Stilo - as the saying goes "it pays to advertise".
Also, I'm not aware of Stilo's being offered as fleet cars by any major rental company - I hire cars on a regular basis and always make sure I drive something different so I can judge for myself.
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Also, I'm not aware of Stilo's being offered as fleet cars by any major rental company - I hire cars on a regular basis and always make sure I drive something different so I can judge for myself.
They do pop up quite frequently in the fleets of the smaller hire comanies. I presume that the small hirers do not have access to the huge discounts offered by Ford etc to the big hire companies, so they have to go for models which are more generally discounted to retail buyers.
A friend hires regularly from a small hire firm, and I notice that the cars she gets seem to be those widely advertised to consumers at a discount. There's lots of retail ads for heavily-discounted Stilos
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I like the Stilo especially the 3dr, but the electronics aren?t reliable (not quite down to Renault standards yet however) and they have problems with gearbox and clutch.
They made a mistake of putting in a 1.2 16v in the low spec cars, its a better engine than some companies 1.4's but it made it look underpowered to the competition (they now supply a 1.4).
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"JTD engine is good - Fiat's diesels are up with the best (ask No Dosh)."
Vauxhalls now have them in their vehicles. Better then the old nails they used.
As stated above a very good VFM second hand buy.
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What's wrong with it - no style, especially the 5-door but of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people esp motoring journalists, it seems, are anti-FIAT medium-sized cars. Build quality and interior plastics are not up to european average. As has been said by others, if you can live with the looks, a used one makes a great buy. Personally I recogn the estate Multiwagon will make a great used buy at 2 years old, especially the JTD engined ones!
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JTD engine is good - Fiat's diesels are up with the best (ask No Dosh).
Wouldn't argue with you there - the JTD 115 bhp version fitted to the Stilo is, I reckon, the best engine they fit to it. 190-odd lbs ft is quite adequate for lugging the Stilo along. If only I'd been able to get a JTD - none available in my price range at the time I was buying.
Also, I'm not aware of Stilo's being offered as fleet cars by any major rental company - I hire cars on a regular basis and always make sure I drive something different so I can judge for myself.
Enterprise had a whole load of 52-reg ones, all with Bristol registrations, mostly 1.2 and 1.6 3-doors in Active trim and 1.6 5-doors in Dynamic trim. I bought a 1.6 Active 3-door, in the process breaking my own rule of never buying ex-hire cars. Not a mistake I intend to repeat!
The Stilo is not in itself an especially bad car, but mine had had a hard life in the 8,400 miles it had done before I got it. I had to replace quite a few bits of interior trim that had been broken off by careless people. It had no air-con, which was a little unfortunate considering that I bought it when the weather was really hot last August, and no sunroof, so the ventilation wasn't great. Also, the paint job was definitely a "Friday afternoon just before the factory closed down for August" effort, and I had to have the front bumper and both front doors re-sprayed, which didn't improve matters all that much. Can't praise the long-suffering dealer enough over all this, but the experience put me off and I got rid of it very quickly in the end.
Having said all that, I found it a very comfortable car and pretty nippy for a 1.6, although not as good and definitely noisier and thirstier than the Civic 1.6 I have now. The only fault with the interior is that there is no left foot rest, which is silly.
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Pg, this falls into one of those categories of what is actually best for you? Yes the legroom in the back and the boot size may not be the biggest, but do you need it any bigger?
But if you are mostly in the car yourself, and you can pick up a one year old car for dirt cheap then it may suit you better than a Focus, Astra etc.
We had a Stilo at work, the spec was great, handling was good, if i remember rightly, the back seat can move forward and back to give more boot space where required.
It may not be the best of the Family hatches, and it may not be the best for residuals, but as with anything else, if you get one at a good price that suits you, then it is the best car for you!
FWIW, I think the 3 door looks very stylish!
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If you want something different from a repmobile, try a Honda Civic or Jazz before you decide finally. In the surveys far more people seem to be satisfied with their Hondas than with Fiats.
I hope that Fiats are better now than 20 years ago when we got one - a Mirafiori wagon - for my wife. It let her down 3 times in its first and only year with us (tho' it was brand new) - Mussolini's revenge we called it. Never again....
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It's an age old problem of the car market - UK buyers not taking to medium sized Fiats. Small ones great, Punto, Uno, etc but when you mention Stilo people look puzzled due to it's low profile image. Traditionally people stick to what they know, eg Focus, Astra, especially fleet buyers in this sector.
They probably are reasonable or even better than the competition in some respects but I would recommend a test drive first to see if it suits you. Beware keeping it a short while then trying to sell it on, the residuals are terrible. Fine as a long term buy but prepare for trouble at trade in time.
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If you want something different from a repmobile, try a Honda Civic or Jazz before you decide finally. In the surveys far more people seem to be satisfied with their Hondas than with Fiats.
At a darn site more money.
I hope that Fiats are better now than 20 years ago when we got one
Funnily enough, things have moved on for most manufacturers in the last 20 years, including Fiat.
I can't speak about the Stilo from massive experience, but have been all over Milan in several Stilo JTD estate taxis. Reasonably good ride quality given the parlous state of the roads there, can't give any valid comment on handling (these were taxi drivers for goodness sake). Fit and finish seemed on a par with other cars in its class, although not quite at Focus level.
I'd certainly consider one if I were in the market for that sized car. Bit of a bargain.
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"..would I be mad to want one?"
Not at all. Rapid depreciation is only bad news for the person who bought it new, and depends on all sorts of factors, mostly prejudicial.
Buy it and enjoy, I would. At least you'll be able to find it in the car park!
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On the current staff pricelist they're offering a 22.5% discount off list. Shows how well they're selling.
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Last summer we hired one (5 dr, JTD) in France for a week. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a Focus TDCi available but I have to say I was impressed with the Stilo. Bags of room, loads of storage, funky slatted sunroof (too many pieces, bound to go wrong some time), really powerful aircon, very good stereo. It drove really well, plenty of power, handled well and ours had a switch to lighten up the steering for town use which was fine provided you remembered to revert to normal when back out on the twisty stuff. Buying used at the right price and living near to a helpful dealer might help minimise the potential pitfalls.
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A 3 door JTD, in Broom Yellow, with alloys & the roof, NeilS mentions, would look real smart.
But nearly all the ones in auction are lower spec. There was the Abarth, HJ mentioned in last weeks Auction Report, good value at just over £6000.Not that many people would want that model, either.
Not keen on the appearance trying to be sooo VW - I actually thought it was a Golf advert, when they covered the Fort Dunlop building by the M6, with a picture, when it was first launched.
Good value for the second owner & if you don't keep it more than a couple of years, you'll avoid nasty bills further down the line.
VB
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Nothing at all ! Hertz supplied Petrol varient for a 130 mile trip to Heathrow this Monday. Not my \"cup of tea\" i thought when i looked at what i had to drive but it was a comfortable drive and i did\'nt breakdown. Sadly the same cannot be said of the Focus CMax for the return trip. It did\'nt breakdown but try as hard as i could i just could not get comfortable in the drivers seat. Nowhere as near as comfortable as my 1997 Mondeo it was as if the seat is to short and does not give enough support to the thighs anyone else had this problem. First ever drive in the CMax andthe brakes awfull, yes they were functional but lack of pressure feeling in the pedal on first application a bit worrying ok when you pump the pedal.
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National have hired these (1.6 Active) to me a couple of times. I liked the outer styling but thought the interior was not up to standard and I really disliked them to drive to begin with. I thought the engine was coarse, I couldn't really get an ideal driving position, handling not as good as others and the brakes fade without much provocation. However, I drove it for 600 miles in one day and by the end of that I was impressed, still comfortable and the car still worked!
Andy
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