The Stilo is Fiat’s way of expressing its desire to beat the main stream competition. By leaving the budget cars of the past behind Fiat has designed a major contender. The Stilo’s high quality is able to compete with the best of them.
Judged solely on sales the Stilo doesn’t do as well as the mainstream competitors, but judged on merit alone the Stilos more than able to compete.
Three door models look and ride better and are considerably more fun to drive. The five door variant is more practical and family friendly because it is designed more for comfort. A multi-wagon estate is also offered.
The Stilo is an easy vehicle to drive. On the road the difficult is accurately judging the car’s width. Fiat included their famous ‘city’ button which initiates feather light power steering and makes maneuvering the wide car into parking spaces much easier.
The car’s 1.9 JTD is an excellent engine. The Stilo has many added creature comforts. With improved styling, performance, and added comfort it seems that the Stilo may be able to close the gap between Fiat and the other major brands. The Stilo also boasts some of the best safety equipment in its class.
Practicality
The Fiat diesel variation outperforms the petrol engines in cost worthiness. Fiat’s diesel variation is also likely to be easier to resell due to the fact that they have such a good reputation. There hasn’t been a significant amount of buyer interest so not many Stilos are being sold. Buyers should be able to make good deals and get them at really reasonable prices. The Stilo has low running costs and insurance rates are low as well.
Rear seats are split and can fold down. Rear seats are also reclineable similar to airplane seats. There are well over a dozen cubbies scattered around the cabin, and the front passenger seat folds over and can be used as a table.
The Stilo features monochromatic multifunction LCD instrumentation that only takes a short time to master, but the multi function remote control takes quite a bit longer to master. The Fiat Stilo features a speed limit warning alarm that can be configured as part of the My Car system.
The driver’s seat is completely adjustable and the steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake. The cabin is extremely spacious and rear passengers can place their feet underneath the front seats similar to the seating arrangement of an airplane. The rear seats are very unique and recline for comfort.
The stilo is a tall car for its class and makes access and egress simple. Passengers are able to slide into the seats quite easily. The rear seats slide forward in order to create more cargo room.
Parking the Stilo is one of the easiest cars in its class to park. This is due largely to the button that adjusts the level of power steering offered by the vehicle. The lighter the steering at low level speeds the easier the Stilo is to park. Judging the cars extremities and width just takes some practice.
Life Style
It’s clear that the Stilos focuses on comfort. It delivers a smooth ride but the steering offers little feedback. The smaller petrol engines have some trouble effectively powering the Stilos but the diesel engine delivers much better performance.
Five door models could make really decent family cars, they’re spacious and comfortable. The Stilos would also make a good second vehicle or commuter car.
This would probably not be a good first car. It is large and somewhat costly and doesn’t offer any of the personality that new drivers usually look for in a car. Even if a new driver could afford the Stilos it is unlikely that very many new drivers would find the car appealing.
Fiat’s is associated with making cheap, low-budget cars. Even though the Stilo has many of the noble characteristics of the leading brands it is unlikely that they could tempt many buyers away from the more prestigious brands. All said and done it is about as appealing as a Daihatsu YRV.
Security and Safety
The Stilo includes central locking with deadbolts and a locking fuel area, an engine immobilizer, and buyers who want an alarm will have to select it off of the options list.
The Stilo features twin front airbags and front side airbags. The car is equipped with special sensors that sense when a crash is inevitable and prepares the car for impact.
The Finishing Touches
The Stilo comes standard with a stereo and cassette unit. Many technological upgrades exist for the Stilo. The core Dynamic models come with many more standard features.
The Stilo’s exterior style seems to be better suited for metallic colors rather than lighter ones.
Summary
The Stilo is a good car but given that it is about as desirable as a second hand Suzuki Splash it will be difficult for the Stilos to effectively compete. Fiat produced a very high quality vehicle, but it needed something truly amazing to get the edge on the competition.