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Fiat Stilo 5-door Abarth Review

Normal_aspirated

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Normal_aspirated

Normal_aspirated

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nice.. fiat seems to have a thing for 5cyl cars eh? the fiat coupe for instance..
saw one Fiat Coupe at my old friend workshop at Sin Min AutoCare, turbo-charged one but of the older engine design. [cool]

 

New Stilo engines of completely new, modern and fuel efficient design and yet very torguey & powderful. [thumbsup][thumbsup][thumbsup]

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Picantorianhub

Picantorianhub

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Exactly... Seldom euro cars can hit that Fc... Can also onli manual....

After i tested with my wife ,i was like telling her how gd the car is.... [thumbsup]

The onli models that also make me look were Vitz and of course Picanto la...

After my car angry [lipsrsealed]

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Normal_aspirated

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Got another review from an Irish UK webby & here goes:

http://irishcar.com/fiatstilabartbb.htm

 

If there was ever a reason for building the Fiat Stilo, then perhaps to have the Abarth version is that reason.

 

They don't come much more interesting at under E30,000. And they don't come much brighter than the yellow review model.

 

In the 3-door format that is the sexiest of the three Stilo variants (the wagon is due this month), and with the skirts and front dam, the Abarth is aggressive and uncompromising in intent.

 

The wide profile tyres on the slim-spoked wheels don't do the image any harm either.

 

And the discreet red-and-yellow shield that denotes the Abarth performance end of Fiat products is neatly done on the rear, just a flash will be seen by the prolecar that has just been dusted.

 

Mating its power to the bits that get it on the road is a five-speed gearbox using the Fiat Selespeed system, which takes a bit of a learning curve to get used to but then proves to be a real neat way of shifting the cogs. It can be used in a fully automatic manner, or in a couple of manual ways. And you can pretend to be leading ahead of Michael Schumacher on the M50 and change your gears by F1-type paddles.

 

All the above is pulling along a car that looks the part on the outside, but the Abarth also has some interior wrinkles so that you can feel the investment even when stopped in traffic. Like no less than THREE LCD screens - a main one in the centre dash for all the trip info, radio selections and satellite navigation (the review car's only worked inside the M50, but could take you right to the door of any house address you keyed in).

There's also a screen for the climate control functions and one in the instrument panel for essential basic info, like what gear you're in, the speed limit warning, and which door you've left open.

 

Truly, though, there's maybe information overload, so I preferred to leave the big main screen just showing the radio station and the time.

 

The interior trim is good, to my eye and feel, and some techie treatments of bezels and surrounds work well, and are of a high quality. The seats are very supportive and adjustable is a wide range of ways, but the control to move the backrest is too tight and at an awkward angle to use.

 

On the road, this baby retains all the essential good bits of the wide-stanced basic car - good roadholding and a decent ride. They've tightened up the underpinnings, but not uncomfortably so. The steering feels solid and direct, more so than the standard Stilo, which is as it should be with all this grunt available. You can very easily cause the traction control systems to flash at you on a fast take-off.

 

The engine itself has very good low-down responses, and showed them well in a number of overtaking situations where I wanted to get the business over with quickly.

 

There are just two pedals, of course, and I think I'd have liked a little more separation for my rather wide size 11s. But that's just a bit of getting used to.

 

As I've said, the Selespeed takes a bit of learning. Firstly in that the car WILL roll back on an incline, unlike a proper automatic, and since the automatic clutch requires some revs to come into play, be sure you've got the hang of it somewhere uncrowded.

 

If you leave it in automatic mode, the car shifts its own gears according to engine load and other factors. The shifts are not as smooth as in a regular auto, but you get used to anticipating them and slightly lifting off before the shift.

 

And if you boot down hard from, say, fourth, the engine decides which gear it needs to be in and shifts down directly to that, with an unexpected smoothness. So, paradoxically, the harder you hammer the loud pedal, the better the shifting will be.

 

And, of course, the more expensive, because the fuel will be gurgling into the beast an awful lot more quickly.

 

Which, though, is a good cue to say that we achieved a good 29mpg average across the review period. Not at all bad considering what's out there in front of you, and the temptations in driving pattern.

 

You don't have to be a speed jerk to enjoy this car - at 60mph it actually feels much faster, and the fun is in the acceleration, while using your skills of getting and holding the correct gears for safe and progressive motoring on the more challenging roads is a very satisfying experience in itself.

 

let me be straight here. I wouldn't be the fastest or hardest driver around, and there are people out there who might suggest that the high points of a Stilo Abarth might be wasted on me.

 

Maybe they're right, maybe not. But I take pride in my driving, and in trying to do it in a safe, efficient, and fun manner. There will be occasions when you can put an Abarth to its limits, and not necessarily over the relevant speed limit. That's where this particular Stilo can come into its own.

 

But in the meantime, one other observation has to be made. The only way I could consider buying one for myself would be in a midnight blue colour, and with those skirts removed. Because otherwise, even keeping as within the speed laws as much as is reasonable, I would be a target for every radar gun and camera in whatever part of the country I happened to be driving through. Just because of the visibility.

 

Just before I sat down to write this, I saw another bright yellow 3-door Stilo up in front of me. Another Abarth? Nope, a 1.2-litre basic model, with the trappings of a driving school on its roof.

 

Could be just as big a target, I suppose. Colour is nearly everything ...

 

This Abarth version come with the sky-roof. [cool]

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Normal_aspirated

Normal_aspirated

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yeah, i noe about search engines..........but one thing i noticed very distinctively tat most of 'em are from UK websites, all about Fiat cars reviews & support. [nod]

 

Dun u think SG will be similar.....as we're ex-British colony before? [cool]

Edited by Normal_aspirated
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