Are Fiat Stilos any good?

[Fruitcake]

Basically what it says on the tin. I'm still dithering about what should be my next car and thought about a Stilo.

A few questions:

1) I'm assuming that the 1.2 litre engine in a car that size means it can't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Right or wrong?

2) Is the next size up a 1.6? If so, what's that like?

3) Reliability?

4) Costs on insurance? I'm 22, no NCB and 3 points for speeding in Aug of this year.

5) Is it bearable to live with?

Basically, I'm looking for a car that won't rape me on insurance, is decent enough to drive, a usable amount of space (doesn't have to be cavernous, though) and something which can ferry me round as my only car. I do just under 20,000 miles p.a.

Another idea I had was a Seicento Sporting as most of my milage is done on country roads, not motorways.

Dan

[MrMoonyMan]

Don't do it. Seriously, just don't do it - they're cheap for a reason.

[MrMoonyMan]

[redacted]

[Wacky Racer]

Well I like 'em, I think they are quite stylish and different.

Over the years I have had a new Punto, Uno, Panda and Brava, never had any trouble with any of them, although it has to be said Fiat residuals are not the best BUT if you are buying secondhand this obviously works in your favour...

Personally I would pay a bit extra and get one from a main Fiat dealer backed up by a decent dealer warranty..

[Fruitcake]

MrMoonyMan said:

Sorry, I should really add my reasons for that /

I worked at a fiat/alfa specialist just as those came out and had the dubious pleasure of driving the 1.2 (yes, it is woefully underpowered) and the 1.6 (boomy and not much quicker). As for reliability - I think I could have designed a better car myself the first one we got broke, then it broke again and the second one wasn't any better. We nearly lost a customer of 15 yrs! As for insurance my advice is ring around lots and you can barter with them. The seicento is okay (in fact it can be quite fun) but for me personally size was an issue (not headroom, elbow room!) - but the boot is nearly non existant.

Get a Ford Fiesta/Focus if you like car's with F in the name. But if I was in your position I'd look at a secondhand Honda civic.

I hope this helps and all the best!

Thanks for your input, I will consider whether or not I can afford a 1.6 Focus but chances are I can't.

As for the Civic, I'd rather shoot myself in the face.

But thanks anyway

[Fruitcake]

Wacky Racer said:

Well I like 'em, I think they are quite stylish and different.

Over the years I have had a new Punto, Uno, Panda and Brava, never had any trouble with any of them, although it has to be said Fiat residuals are not the best BUT if you are buying secondhand this obviously works in your favour...

Personally I would pay a bit extra and get one from a main Fiat dealer backed up by a decent dealer warranty..

I'd definately be buying second hand and they're quite cheap for a car that size which is why I'm considering one. Have you had any experience with them?

If I get one will you swap your Morgan with it for a week?

[Gompo]

Fruitcake said:

Another idea I had was a Seicento Sporting as most of my milage is done on country roads, not motorways.

Dan

Great little cars, not entirely reliable but they're not bad and a lot of fun on twisty roads. We ran one for about 25K, nothing major went wrong but we did have trouble with out local Fiat dealer.

If they were a bit safer I'd consider a tuned/transplanted one for myself.

[gorvid]

Fruitcake said:

As for the Civic, I'd rather shoot myself in the face.

[pwig]

Go for 04 reg onwards, they actually started building them properly then They did a 1.4 then too.

[abarthchris]

MrMoonyMan said:

Sorry, I should really add my reasons for that /

I worked at a fiat/alfa specialist just as those came out and had the dubious pleasure of driving the 1.2 (yes, it is woefully underpowered) and the 1.6 (boomy and not much quicker). As for reliability - I think I could have designed a better car myself the first one we got broke, then it broke again and the second one wasn't any better. We nearly lost a customer of 15 yrs! As for insurance my advice is ring around lots and you can barter with them. The seicento is okay (in fact it can be quite fun) but for me personally size was an issue (not headroom, elbow room!) - but the boot is nearly non existant.

Get a Ford Fiesta/Focus if you like car's with F in the name. But if I was in your position I'd look at a secondhand Honda civic.

I hope this helps and all the best!

It really annoys me when people just say 'it broke' well, astons break and they're still good cars.

Anyway, to give you some decent info...

I'd steer clear of the early cars i.e '01 -late '02. from then on the build quality got a lot better. some of the main problems were coil pack failure, uneven tyre wear, and electrical faults. Most of these are easy to fix but can be a pain in the arse.

I would stay away from the 1.2 as well, and the 1.4. I'd go for a 1.6 dynamic which has decent trim levels.

I was considering the usual golf/civic/focus etc but i wanted something a bit different that IMO looked better than the usual hatchbacks (in 3dr form anyway!)

The stilo didnt do well against its competitors and as such were heavily discounted which means they can be a bargain. check out fiatforum.com for some really helpful info. Theres all the details of model specs and problems/fixes and the people on there are quite friendly!

i personally have an'04 2.4 which i love and havent had any major problems in 20,000miles.

hope this gives you some reasoned advice!

[Fruitcake]

Cheers for the help guys, I'm now looking at prices (I'm not in a real hurry to be honest) and I will see if I can get a 1.4.

Thanks.