Alex Unleashed on Cars- Fiat Stilo (Fiat's Big Flop)

I know I’m normally positive here, singing the graces of cars but today I wanted to do something different as I have a lot to say about the Fiat Stilo and how it partially put Fiat into trouble in the early 2000s.

The Stilo was the replacement for the Brava/o and whilst that pair had brought some flair to the normally dull family car sector the pair had ultimately become old hat compared to the new Focus, Golf mk4 etc. So, Fiat decided to model their car on the Golf, and why not? It’s a very good car that’s solidly built and offers a good range of models. Fiat even went as far as to use the same suspension set up as the Golf MK4 (semi-independent torsion beam) instead of the fully independent rear suspension that had been used by it’s predecessors and the brilliant Fiat Coupe which along with a 50KG weight disadvantage over the equivalent Ford Focus along with soft springs and dampers meant copying the Golf’s homework had meant it was simply not as nice to drive as said Focus. It did pack aircon as standard, which was a plus point, but it lacked the fun factor of the Focus or the safety and unique looks of the Renault Megane II.

So the regular models weren’t anything to write home about but what about the Abarth version, the Strada, Uno and Punto mk1 were so-so as cooking models but made fantastic hot hatches, maybe they’d put the turbo unit from the old Coupe or go the way of Renault and VW and use a V6, this was the era of 200 BHP 150 MPH hot hatches after all. But what we got was a 2.4 litre 5-cylinder engine, no turbos, just 168 BHP and a clunky early semi automatic gearbox that gave a poor 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds. Oh dear. It was even slower than both the old Bravo HGT & turbocharged Punto GT. Even at the less extreme end of the hot hatchback world it was demolished by Mini’s supercharged Cooper S, Renault’s back-to-basics Clio 172 and not to mention the great value SEAT Leon Cupra. The Stilo had little ground to stand on and little to recommend to a buyer. 

Reliability wasn’t its strong suit either, it debuted in 133rd/142 cars in Top Gear’s 2004 survey right at the top of the bottom 10, with the electrics being particularly poor, a very poor showing for what was a brand-new car, it did better than the Peugeot 307 (141) and Megane II (134) along with the Citroen Xsara & Saxo, Peugeot 206, Fiat Bravo, Renault Espace & Laguna II and the Mercedes ML. But the less said about them the better and that’s hardly an achievement considering where the Focus (66), Golf (89), Astra (77) & Civic (24) finished and even the Brava which came 101st.

So, in the end the Stilo failed on all fronts, people will put up with the issues of owning an Italian car whether it be a Fiat or a Maserati, except the Stilo has neither the flair and excitement of other Italian cars or the solid build and reliability of the car it was trying to emulate. The Stilo performed so badly Fiat lost roughly £2000 on every car sold and but Fiat in a very poor financial situation that was saved by the Panda, Grande Punto & 500. The Stilo is now very rare despite being a mass made car from just over 20 years ago with only 619 left in the UK with MOT’s, but considering it doesn’t offer much to the motorist on any level, are you surprised? 

Year Produced: 2002-2007

Engine: 1.2 4-Cylinder – 2.4 litre 5-Cylinder

Top Speed: 8.5- 13.8 Seconds

Power: 79 BHP – 168 BHP

Torque: 84 -1 88 Ib/ft

Weight: 1090 - 1320 KG

Rivals: Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra, VW Golf, Peugeot 307, Renault Megane, Honda Civic