Fiat Stilo
by John Harfitt 03/05/02
Having moved on from a Brava Trofeo (all the whistles and bells) to a Stilo Activ 5 door I was expecting to be a bit disappointed with the level of finish and specification. Not so, however. I bought my Stilo from an import company and thus got a European spec model which includes single CD player and air con. I am amazed that the British model has no sunroof or air con as standard and a cassette player. Can you buy cassettes any more?However, back to the Stilo I bought with the EU spec. It handles really well, is much tighter and rolls far less than the Brava. The 1600 engine is quite nippy but not quite as fast as the Brava which I suspect was a tad lighter. There are loads of safety features, which I like (ABS, Traction Control, Dual Level power Steering) to name just a few and there are some nice touches like the rear wiper that comes on automatically when you engage reverse gear and the front wipers are switched on. The engine revs slightly higher than the Brava and petrol consumption is slightly worse (I am getting about 37 mpg against a frugal 42 mpg with the Brava.One small criticism I have is that the radio in FM mode picks up a lot of interference. Perhaps this can be resolved - maybe someone knows. All in all a fine car and at a bargain £9,499 with a/c and CD player I am looking forward to my improved residual value when I renew in 2 year's time.
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