Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £13,255 to £17,650
Handsome-looking hatch; nicely finished interior and efficient new 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engines; good new 1.6 diesel.
Lumpy ride on the biggest wheels, engines could be quieter at speed, no external boot release, optional sat nav has ultra-vague instructions.
A vast improvement over the unloved Stilo but no more than an average car in its class.
Servicing is needed as infrequently as every 18,000 miles, depending on how the car is used, and Fiat says maintenance costs will be much lower than for the Stilo.
The 1.4-litre T-Jet engines are more economical than comparably-quick larger-capacity units; the 1.4 T-Jet 120 returns a good 42.2mpg and the T-Jet 150 39.8mpg. There's no advantage going for the non-turbo 1.4 16v 90 - it does the same 42.2mpg as the 120. Carbon dioxide outputs for these petrol engines are 158g/km (1.4 16v 90 and T-Jet 120) and 167g/km (T-Jet 150).
The diesels are good, too: the standard 1.6v MultiJet 105 and the 120 both return 57.6mpg and 129g/km, but the 105 with optional Eco pack does 62.8mpg and 119g/km, slipping it into the Band B tax category.
