FIAT STILO Hatchback 2002‑2006

i had this car around 3 months now and i am quite pleased with it. its is pretty quick and economical as well. there has been a few problem with it. one of the main ones is that it is quite flimsy. for example in the 3 months the panoramic sunroof was leaking and draining onto the fuse box due to the drainage pipes getting blocked. also the other day when the car froze all the doors got stuck and i ended up breaking the inner door linkage (as if the child lock is on) which could be a pain to fix. the handling is ok can roll quite a lot around the corners but on the straight it is a great smooth ride (even with the low profile tyres). however the best thing of all is insurance and tax, before this car i had a mk4 vauxhall astra saloon 1.7td which was good but was a bit slow and expensive on tax (£215 a year) and the insurance on my own would of been (£3000!!! fire and theft). it was a good car but im 19 and it was a bit grannyfied for me. so this is where the stilo comes in. its insurance group 5 and was over 3 times cheaper to insure than the astra and on top of that it was fully comp as well (£825! full comp with no no claims) and the tax is only £135 a year. i think a 19 yo being able to have a powerful 1.9 jtd is amazing especially when my car has fiat 17inch alloy wheels, spoiler and massive sunroof which make the car look good. overall is it a car i a good car to go for if u want power and cheap prices! love it and could rival some of the main stream cars (astra, focus etc). look at one of these before going with the normal selection

from all the bad ive heard had no problems and would own another great handleing.. just engine not big enough

If you can't afford the huge insurance cost of an Alfa Romeo and still want the sport feeling only an Italian car can give you fully, than Stilo is the car to look at. I had the 1.9 JTD for more than an year and apart from having to change the clutch a week after I bought i,t I had no problems whatsoever. Yes, you might find the odd Italian style things like having to remove the wheel arch to change the passenger's side light bulb but then again how often do they go? And when you count the extremely reliable and CHEAP diesel engine which is quite fast, it all adds up. Some people say never get an Italian car, I would say that Stilo is one you should definitely consider. Sporty looks (at least the 3 door version), enough room, not the biggest fan of 3 door but for the looks, one can live with the tiny inconvenience of having to tilt the seat.

All in all, a very happy Fiat owner.

this is the 2nd Stilo owned.had the 5 door before this one and could'nt fault that one neither.the 3 door has a much sporty look to it.its comfortable to drive the seats fold down giving a decent carry area in the back(had a fridge,oven etc transported with it)the on board computer lets you do a multitude of things to your personal taste,set speed locking of doors(which i find a good security extra),check miles per gallon,lots of things you can do with it.get decent mpg, 38 at the moment, service costs are avg,all in all we are quite happy with the stilo and can only comment on my experience with the car.if you are looking for a decent car for silly money then try a Stilo

The Stilo was never really popular in the uk so bargains are out there . Good extras across the rang with good ride and comfort. The Sporting 1748cc model ( mine ) has good "poke" and only criticism is fuel consumption , around town/ traffic under 30 mpg. but driving economically I can still get over 50mpg.

I've had my stilo abarth for just over a year, there,s no mistake that its not cheap to run, you will get to visit a few new petrol stations for sure and they do like a bit of quality oil, servicing costs are ok, find an independent garage and its fine, i've had no trouble with the selespeed gearbox apart from a few electrical connection problems, some wet & dry and a bit of time and good as new, the ride is a bit hard but low profiles and sport suspension and that's what you get, if you really want one do it they are fun and have plenty of kit sat nav on board computer etc, I really enjoy my car.

Purchased the car about 9 months for £1700. It came with a Full Service History and a relatively low 54 000 miles on the clock. The first thing you notice when climbing into the thing is how big it is (more like a mini MPV than a hatchback in my opinion) and how the interior could easily pass for one of its more expensive rivals (quality plastics, leather steering wheel and gear knob etc). Out on the road the Stilo is a pleasure to drive, handles well, smooth gear change, good brakes and the mpg isn't bad either for a 1.6. It sits 5 adults in comfort (loads of legroom in the back) and the back seats slide back and forward and recline too. The car is quite well spec'd with a good sounding CD radio, electric windows, mirrors, electronic air con, city mode, alloys, and the computer even warns you if the roads are icy! I know Fiats have had a bit of a bad rap in the past for reliability issues which made me a bit weary, but up to now (touches wood) I've had no problems. If i was going to nit pick I would say the drivers seating position is set far too high and has to be lowered significantly for your average height person (I'm only 5ft 7) causing a bit of lower back pain on long distance drives (for me anyway) and you get the odd squaek and rattle now and again, but for what you pay for these on the second hand market you really can't complain. I would recommend one.

Bought this car for 2k on a 54 plate a 3door with 17inch alloys and full black and cream leather interior. This Stilo looks exactly the same as the Arbath version.

The engine is very good smooth when you want it to be and quick when you need it, can be a little loud for some people tho

Probably the most comfortable car i've had full leather interior with centre arm rest and plenty of room in the back and loads of space in the boot.

Now for the problems i've experienced in my 2 months of owning the car

1) Computer continuously tells me I have a light out in the front, upon checking all lights are working fine!!! but it keeps warning me every minute, I've found the only way to stop this is to drive around with my side lights on at all times.

2) After leaving it running while defrosting for 10 minutes, when i returned to it, it sounded rough and every warning light was displayed and steering lock was on. So it turned it off and went to restart and for some reason the battery was flat, i left it for 20 minutes and tried again and it started up fine and no warning lights display and drove perfect again. This only happening once and never happened again it had me baffled but also made me lose some confidence in the car, i find myself crossing my fingers when i put the key in the ignition.

All in all a good looking sporty car and very comfortable, has its issues but is there a car out there that doesnt. Good on a run but wouldnt advise for round the door driving as it eats the diesel

If you have a family this car just isnt quite practical enough,, loaded with kit sat nav climate control ect ect watch out for sun roof not working and leaking, aircon compresor failing, exhaust blowing from the manifold, make sure you get the satnav cd and code you cant buy codes or decode them, cloth interiour is nasty hold stains and grime and really hard to clean, fuel economy is pretty naff youll be at the pump quite allot,

If you want a performance motor that looks sharp without the chav theyre really good fun, handle well and when you get to grips with the selespeed gearbox youll find it bringing more exitement, or leave it in full auto if you can be bothered.

Pros - Looks good and fairly modern, feels safe and confidence inspiring, IS safe, cheap to buy, cheap insurance, spacious, comfortable, great driving position- even for the vertically challenged like myself, not too bad on fuel and well kitted as standard (My Dynamic model is anyway) with CD player, electric windows, heated electric mirrors, air-con, alloys and a spoiler.

Cons- Reliability is hit and miss, generally it's great but like most modern cars, when it goes wrong the car just generally dies (probably for the best so you don't wreck the engine or similar). In nearly 20k miles driving giving it plenty of abuse I've had two breakdowns and both of those were very shortly after I got the car (related perhaps?) Since then I've only had to spend money on minor things (A headlight adjustment motor) and general wear and tear items (springs being the worst thing so far)

All in all I love my Stilo though and you'd have to dangle a mint Golf GTI in my face before I'd consider changing it!