Fiat - it's a Stilo (a steal! - geddit?)

Advantages: Economical to buy and drive, many added extras and gadgets
Disadvantages: Plenty to go wrong, a bit square to look at

...I bought my Fiat Stilo 16v 1.6 Dynamic in May 2006 for £5800 from a private dealer, using the Autotrader website (www.autotrader.co.uk) It was just two years old and billed as 'under 3 year warranty' It is a nice looking car, although quite sensible looking with nice paintwork and alloys. The interior is impressive, with a cloth interior, comfortable seating and the most interesting thing is that the back seats are adjustable to allow either very generous legroom in the back or a very large boot. Even if you go for the middle ground you still have a decent boot size for a hatchback and enough legroom for your average to tall adult. It has nice little touches like cupholders in the rear centre console/armrest and a pull down picnic tray on the back of the passenger seat. It will seat five adults. The front seats are very...

Mericat 14.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Stilo 1.6 16v

STILO Part 2

Advantages: Well Priced Lots of room
Disadvantages: none

...Stilo Part 2 Some months ago I submitted an opinion on the Fiat Stilo car, The op was based on what I had read about the car and the 2 test-drives I had in it . Some members quite correctly pointed out that an opinion should be based on personal experience over a length of time so hopefully this op should now correct this. I bought The Fiat Stilo 1.6, 16 valve Dynamic in metallic blue, in July and have been putting it through its paces ever since. I must admit I didn't buy a brand new one as this would have cost me £12000.00, what I got was a one year old model with 11000 miles on the clock for £8400.00, which in my opinion was a bargain. Now to the important bit, How the car drives . The first thing you notice when getting into a Stilo is how high up you feel ( this is with the seats at there lowest setting) , this in...

NIGSY 21.05.2003 (05.11.2003) · Read review
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Review of Fiat Stilo 1.6 16v

Glad I didn't buy one

Advantages: Economy, comfort, extra gadgets, cost
Disadvantages: Looks, interior finish, computer problems

...I was out looking for a new car last year and eventually bought an MX-5, but during my investigation I test drove a 3 Door Stilo 1.6 Active. When 6 months later my boyfriend decided to purchase a new car he went for a special offer pre-reg'd Stilo 1.2 Active (3 door/dark rose coloured). Now the 3 door version looks much nicer from the side and back than the 5 door and there the complements end. equipment the 1.2 active comes with electric front windows and mirrors, a radio cassette player, trip computer, front foglights, 15" alloy wheels, abs, ebd, esp, remote central locking. the are various options available including cs playet, parking sensors and automatic wipers, height adjustable passengers seat, satellite navigation etc. it is well equipped for the price of £9,750. exterior the 3 door version looks great...

julie1973 18.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Stilo 1.6 16v

Never Again!

Advantages: Lovely to drive with good driving position
Disadvantages: A total let down

...I purchased a second hand Stilo Dynamic 1.6 back in June 06. I love everything about this car but I've had nothing but trouble with it over the past 5 months of owning it. It has had 2 coils replaced on it within a month of each other, we have been told by Fiat that the other 2 coils will follow suit as once one goes they all go but they won't replace them with the RAC warranty until they actually go. This is a nightmare as I need a reliable car to get me to and from work everyday but I just don't know when it's going to go again. Everyday I switch the ignition on I get warnings come up on the onboard computer that something has failed, the computer has actually been up-dated by the Fiat Dealer since owning the car but it has made no difference, on some occasions I've had up to 4 warnings at a time. The latest being ABS failure...

shell67 18.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Stilo 1.6 16v

Fiat Stilo Problems

Advantages: Nice drive, lots of space, tons of features, fuel on motorways
Disadvantages: Too many computer problems, fuel in town driving

...My experience with my Stilo, which I bought 4 months ago, is somewhat depressing. I have had it in the garage 3 times now. Shortly after I bought the car it started to report airbag failure and also told me, mainly at high speed, that my engine had failed (scary!). I took it into the fiat garage, who cleared some errors off the computer and replaced the sensor on the passenger seat - £180 Next visit to the garage was a couple of months later when the computer light came on and told me I had engine failure, ABS failure and traction control failure. Took it to a non-fiat dealership this time who said it may need a service (and as the MOT had a week or so to run got both done). They told me the spark plugs were mashed even though it had been serviced only 1k miles and 6 months earlier - £150 Two months go by and it runs fine...

gavinburke 23.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Stilo

Fiat Multipla 1.9 ELX I am a convert

Advantages: Space, economy, comfort
Disadvantages: Ugly, Too much interior cloth

...The Fiat Multipla has to be one of the ugliest cars on the road well, from the front at least. However, once inside you will not believe the amount of room there is and how easy it is to drive. My Fiat I have the 1.9 Diesel ELX which is a very nippy and economical tool. I is a 2001 Y reg which I bought 2 years ago. It is so nippy that we call him Rocket. I travel 55 miles each day to work (round trip) for 5 days in a week and with the current fuel price of £1.17 per litre it only costs me £30 all week. Inside the Fiat you have 6 adult sized seats. The 3 in the back are multi position and they are easily removed to make what is essentially a van. If you just need to remove one seat that is possible too. The load space is quite high too so when I collected my fridge, washmachine and TV there was no problem fitting them...

Howesmob 25.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Multipla 1.6 16v

Ford Focus Flight 1.6 16v

Advantages: Ease of use , smooth gear changes , good price
Disadvantages: None as of yet

...plus Ford give you 1 weeks Free Insurance with the car to allow you to sort out your own insurance (Ford did quote as well , over £300 more than i currently pay !!!). Great value for money and in the short time i've had it a pleasure to drive....

Smurf1873 26.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ford Focus 1.6

Fiat Marea 1.6 weekend automatic

Advantages: Roomy, good loading space, nice to drive
Disadvantages: VERY expensive on parts and insurance :-(

...Earlier this year I bought a 1997 R reg Fiat Marea 1.6 elx auto estate, with 70,000 on the clock. Prior to this I owned a Jaguar XJ6 and was shocked when the insurance company wanted MORE to insure this !!!! The Fiat, however, is very nice to drive with lots of creature comforts, although Fiat did not put a cd player in the car which I think is a bit of a shame. Although the car is only 6 years old there is already some signs of rust - on the roof and wheel arches which is a bit of a let down. The car recently failed to start and being automatic I was unable to bump start it. The starter motor was knackered and Fiat wanted around £170 for a new one (at first I thought the price must have been in Lira !!!!), but I managed to get a reconditioned one for about £100. Be warned Fiat parts are notoriously pricey :-( If you are...

Buenosdias 19.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Fiat Marea Weekend 1.6

Ford Escort 1.6 16v Estate mkV

Advantages: Cheap to buy, cheap enough to run, cheap insurance, space.
Disadvantages: Rust, comfort and looks

...steering. The 16 valves certainly made a difference especially if you only ever owned 8 valve cars. The petrol consumption was quite good until I started getting problems 2 years later. The acceleration is quite slow at about 11 seconds but i'm sure if you try you will beat that by a second or 2. As it is an Escort 1.6 16v EFI engine, you can add upgrades to give you a bit more of a performance boost than standard. I found using Redex in petrol tank and now and again directly into combustion chambers improved performance as well as giving the pipes and engine a good clean out. Very easy to do, just remove spark plugs and pour some in through the spark plug hole, put the park plugs back but not ignition leads, start engine a few times and then connect leads(this will smoke alot for a mile or so or simply run car for a few mins on your drive...

lostsworld 13.05.2006 (12.06.2006) · Read review
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Review of Ford Escort 1.6 Hatchback

1999 Phase 2 Megane Coupe 1.6 16V Sports Alize

Advantages: Looks, handling, individuality
Disadvantages: space (but you are buying a coupe!)

...The car: MEGANE COUPE 1999 1.6 16V Sports Alize phase 2 I have had the car for 4-5 years now and guess I can judge how well the Megane Coupe has faired for me. Many reviews here don't seem to distinguise whether it is the phase 1 or phase 2 models. Phase 1 models are usually 8V whereas the phase 2 models are 16V and have a slightly different front and back styling. The picture shown above is of a phase 2 car and is the hatchback version NOT the coupe! Here I review my car which is the phase 2 Coupe model. In the review I'll talk about ownership and possible problems...including those which I have had :-) THE LOOKS I have owned the car for about 5 years now and still find driving it a joy, the individuallity, the styling and those double optic headlamps really do something for me! I have not seen a car, since the 5...

alnug 17.06.2004 (18.06.2004) · Read review
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Review of Renault Megane 1.6 Coupe