RE: Fiat Stilo 2.4 Abarth | Shed of the Week
Discussion
FA57REN said:
J4CKO said:
Blearghh, would be ok apart from the fact it looks like an "Not original Artists" Audi at the front.
Probably the harshest comment I heard about a Stilo was that it's an Italian car trying to look German, so that's appropriate.Had a Stilo for 5 years and it was a brilliant little car. Still regret getting rid as it did everything and replaced with a Focus which bored me. Bought pre-reg with 15 miles on the clock for £9k and with typical Italian depreciation, gave it away for buttons.
Never broke down in my care but as a mechanic told me, “if the sight of a warning light scares you then the Stilo is not for you”. Never had so many false warning messages! Most solved by a well charged or new battery but you learned to ignore them. Didn’t do the car any harm.
Suspension, radiators, air-con and electrics all weak points but all easily and quite cheaply solved. Engines are tough as are gearboxes but avoid sillyspeeds.
Cars have been scrap territory for a few years now so you’ll be lucky to find a decent one (maybe a Schumacher) and those you find risk looking like the above shed.
I've honestly never gotten the hate for these things, though previously owning a 1.2 version myself, I'm biased.
That version was "boggo" spec but probably one of the best versions. Light engine at the front meant turn it was great with the decent Dunlops I ran at the time with Eibach springs and dampers and the cat-back and breathing mods made that revvy little engine get heard, surprising many. It wasn't quick but it was fun and I've driven plenty of "fun" cars over the years.
It was well built (yes I did get the airbag light but that was it), felt refined, looked good in my eyes and many others and was different and not in a bad way. It was better than the 147, better interior and exterior IMO and better drive even if they were based on the same platform. Think a blown version of the 5 cylinder would've been a good opposition for the GTA in the same way the Coupe was for the GTV.
This is a pretty poor example, with some iffy mods though the headlights look nice. I think. That upper glove box is cooled by the an air vent inside, which the air con can help of course but it ain't a fridge. Oh and those hinges snap off and to sort it, the dash needs to come off...
Always fancied a Schuey GP but they're rare now and most I've seen are proper ropey with the Scuderia paint badly lacquer peeling. Doubt the Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs and OMP back boxes would count for much after 10 plus years. I do remember an influx of 18" Super Turismo alloys being sold from dealers for £250 a set at the time with the 4x98 fitment and being tempted though from them lol
But yeah, an in line 5 is always going to raise a smile in a tunnel and from the drivers seat you won't see the iffy mods.
That version was "boggo" spec but probably one of the best versions. Light engine at the front meant turn it was great with the decent Dunlops I ran at the time with Eibach springs and dampers and the cat-back and breathing mods made that revvy little engine get heard, surprising many. It wasn't quick but it was fun and I've driven plenty of "fun" cars over the years.
It was well built (yes I did get the airbag light but that was it), felt refined, looked good in my eyes and many others and was different and not in a bad way. It was better than the 147, better interior and exterior IMO and better drive even if they were based on the same platform. Think a blown version of the 5 cylinder would've been a good opposition for the GTA in the same way the Coupe was for the GTV.
This is a pretty poor example, with some iffy mods though the headlights look nice. I think. That upper glove box is cooled by the an air vent inside, which the air con can help of course but it ain't a fridge. Oh and those hinges snap off and to sort it, the dash needs to come off...
Always fancied a Schuey GP but they're rare now and most I've seen are proper ropey with the Scuderia paint badly lacquer peeling. Doubt the Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs and OMP back boxes would count for much after 10 plus years. I do remember an influx of 18" Super Turismo alloys being sold from dealers for £250 a set at the time with the 4x98 fitment and being tempted though from them lol
But yeah, an in line 5 is always going to raise a smile in a tunnel and from the drivers seat you won't see the iffy mods.
Gez79 said:
My first car was a 1997 Fiat Bravo HLX, it was a good car for the money and I have to disagree with the article, the styling was much better than the boring competition especially in 3dr format.
Not sure how related the 5 cylinder engines between the Bravo and Stilo were as the former was a 2.0 and the latter a 2.4?
Never liked the Stilo though as it was so ugly, ironic as I seem to remember Stilo meaning Style in Italian?
Power isn't bad, golf V5 was 150bhp at the time, later upgraded to 170bhp, so on the money really.
This is also a bit of a chavvy example for my liking.
I think you’re a bit out on your timeline Not sure how related the 5 cylinder engines between the Bravo and Stilo were as the former was a 2.0 and the latter a 2.4?
Never liked the Stilo though as it was so ugly, ironic as I seem to remember Stilo meaning Style in Italian?
Power isn't bad, golf V5 was 150bhp at the time, later upgraded to 170bhp, so on the money really.
This is also a bit of a chavvy example for my liking.
170bhp V5 Golf was out by the time the Stilo Abarth was launched
The 170bhp Golf V5 managed to turn in a 7.4 second run to 60, 20.2 seconds to 100 and topped out at 135
Stilo Abarth was 8.9 seconds, 25.6 to 100 and 124 vmax.
The Golf is on a different level performance wise. As was last week’s Corsa SOTW!
I had to google the car to see what an unmodified one would look like (not bad actually)... what a shame this seems to be the special Abarth HCB Line model (Halfords Clearance Bin) as otherwise not a bad car.
Back to standard though, including a bonnet respray, if it could be done easily for a few hundred quid, might still be a shed worth looking at for its rarity value... so rare in fact my google search had this very one appear on the first page of images!!!
...and just what is it with black alloy wheels these days?
Back to standard though, including a bonnet respray, if it could be done easily for a few hundred quid, might still be a shed worth looking at for its rarity value... so rare in fact my google search had this very one appear on the first page of images!!!
...and just what is it with black alloy wheels these days?
Gez79 said:
I think the change on the golf occurred 2001, so similar age to this really.
The official 0-60 of the 20v V5 170bhp with a manual was 8.2 and I can confirm the one I owned last year certainly didn't feel any quicker than that. Made a nice noise though as I'm sure the fiat does too.
Golf V5 figures I quoted were from a timed test at Millbrook with timing gear - driver and passenger, half tank of fuel - same with the Stilo - figures taken from an actual test with timing gearThe official 0-60 of the 20v V5 170bhp with a manual was 8.2 and I can confirm the one I owned last year certainly didn't feel any quicker than that. Made a nice noise though as I'm sure the fiat does too.
I’d tend to say that’s about right for a car of that weight/power - see 306 GTI-6 and Focus ST170 - about 20/21 seconds to 100
The Stilo’s performance looks decidedly slow for 170 bhp whenever it was tested in a mag.
I had a Bravo HGT and a nearly new Stilo Abarth mainly for the 5 cylinder noise to which i was addicted having previously owned an Audi quattro. Weirdly, both cars had catastrophic oil leaks and i mean puddles of the stuff on the driveway.
I remember the Stilo giving me backache too. The seats looked great but were fantastically uncomfortable. I think that might have been a common criticism.
EDIT: just googled an old Auto Express from 2004 and it says:
"Despite this, the cabin styling remains a little plain. Overall practicality is excellent, but the driving position isn't - everyone who tried our test car commented on how uncomfortable the bizarrely shaped seat was"
I remember the Stilo giving me backache too. The seats looked great but were fantastically uncomfortable. I think that might have been a common criticism.
EDIT: just googled an old Auto Express from 2004 and it says:
"Despite this, the cabin styling remains a little plain. Overall practicality is excellent, but the driving position isn't - everyone who tried our test car commented on how uncomfortable the bizarrely shaped seat was"
Edited by OddCat on Friday 15th November 19:45
cerb4.5lee said:
Cheers for that and I never even knew that any car manufacturer fitted them as standard to cars. I did have a wind deflector on the roof just in front of the sunroof on my Sierra xr4x4 years ago, but I'd never noticed them on the windows of any car until last year.
I presume the idea of them is to have your window down a little bit and it removes the buffeting then.
Subaru SVX went for a crazy take on the wind deflector as a design back in the 90’s. I presume the idea of them is to have your window down a little bit and it removes the buffeting then.
I’m amazed you’ve not come across them before, they’ve been quite mainstream in the UK for probably the last 10 years but most Japanese import 4x4’s will have oversized wind deflectors on.
ecsrobin said:
Subaru SVX went for a crazy take on the wind deflector as a design back in the 90’s.
I’m amazed you’ve not come across them before, they’ve been quite mainstream in the UK for probably the last 10 years but most Japanese import 4x4’s will have oversized wind deflectors on.
I do seem to be good at missing the obvious at the best of times in fairness though! I’m amazed you’ve not come across them before, they’ve been quite mainstream in the UK for probably the last 10 years but most Japanese import 4x4’s will have oversized wind deflectors on.
I also can't believe that I've not noticed them before as well. I love cars and I like detail usually too, but these have slipped through my net for some reason for sure.
Picked up a cosmetically challenged but mechanically sound one of these in 5 door version a few years ago ( 5 door didnt get Abarth branding) as a work/station/airport hack, handling wasnt great on the 5 door but the 5 pot 2.4 was a pretty decent engine IMHO and was mostly reliable, in fact my mechanic still uses it as one of his many daily drives.
greenarrow said:
I actually quite like this. Shame this particular example has been butchered a bit though.
I'm pretty sure if you bought a standard one, you wouldn't lose money - rarity will ensure that. The few Tipo 16 valves that are left in the UK are fetching pretty decent money, so no reason why this curiosity wouldn't appreciate either.
After last weeks pretty awful shed, much more interesting this week IMO.
This incessant talk about old cars rising in values gets very tiring. Some cars might rise after a while, but we're talking about an Italian shed with sI'm pretty sure if you bought a standard one, you wouldn't lose money - rarity will ensure that. The few Tipo 16 valves that are left in the UK are fetching pretty decent money, so no reason why this curiosity wouldn't appreciate either.
After last weeks pretty awful shed, much more interesting this week IMO.
t steering feel (a vital aspect versus modern cars) and which has been barried up. It's an interesting shed and worth the money but it just feels like a stretch to talk about how this shed is going to make some money...I've got mixed feelings about these cars. On the positive side it's something different and, if it's in good mechanical order, it'll still be fun to drive.
Negatives:
1. Reputation for very high spares prices.
2. Rarity means that secondhand parts will also be hard to find.
3. Probably higher than average insurance costs.
4. Poor reputation for reliability (maybe unjustified).
5. Almost all British FIAT dealers are w*nkers, and you'll usually get very poor support in the event that you ever need to fall back on them for help.
By modern standards the performance data is all a bit meh. But in reality this thing probably has all the go you really need in a daily driver or local-hack. The problem is that you can buy a surprisingly good Focus ST170 for similar (or much less) money, and that's arguably a better car in most every way while being much less expensive to run.
Negatives:
1. Reputation for very high spares prices.
2. Rarity means that secondhand parts will also be hard to find.
3. Probably higher than average insurance costs.
4. Poor reputation for reliability (maybe unjustified).
5. Almost all British FIAT dealers are w*nkers, and you'll usually get very poor support in the event that you ever need to fall back on them for help.
By modern standards the performance data is all a bit meh. But in reality this thing probably has all the go you really need in a daily driver or local-hack. The problem is that you can buy a surprisingly good Focus ST170 for similar (or much less) money, and that's arguably a better car in most every way while being much less expensive to run.
This has been for sale at shed budget for 6 weeks, but if a surprise the one chosen was chav instead of this...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...
braddo said:
This incessant talk about old cars rising in values gets very tiring. Some cars might rise after a while, but we're talking about an Italian shed with st steering feel (a vital aspect versus modern cars) and which has been barried up. It's an interesting shed and worth the money but it just feels like a stretch to talk about how this shed is going to make some money...
t steering feel (a vital aspect versus modern cars) and which has been barried up. It's an interesting shed and worth the money but it just feels like a stretch to talk about how this shed is going to make some money...
I don’t know how they manage to make 170 horses so slow but the chassis doesn’t seem to want to help
BFleming said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Cheers for that and I never even knew that any car manufacturer fitted them as standard to cars. I did have a wind deflector on the roof just in front of the sunroof on my Sierra xr4x4 years ago, but I'd never noticed them on the windows of any car until last year.
I presume the idea of them is to have your window down a little bit and it removes the buffeting then.
Some markets like them more than others. Japan for example - a large quantity of JDM imports seem to have them. Allegedly it's about ventilation without the noise. I have no experience though.I presume the idea of them is to have your window down a little bit and it removes the buffeting then.
Get that debit card out, Christmas is coming... https://e-heko.com/en_GB/index
My friend has been after some of these for ages for his Clio 197. Not entirely convinced about the look myself, but he really wants them, so I'll get him some. He'll be very happy with that present.
I had one of these for a couple of years. Needed something cheap at short notice, but wanted something a bit interesting and this was available.
I thought it was very competent and easy to live with. Mine had the two tone leather, which was smart enough. I put a new exhaust box on it, the only problem mine had was the fuel gauge. It kept going off the scale, not difficult to work around once you know.
I recall being impressed with the two zone climate control, the chilled glovebox, the rear wiper coming on when selecting reverse if the front wipers were on and the stereo volume adjusting depending on how quickly you were going.
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