Fiat Stilo 1.4

shamwari

A neighbour has asked me to look at a Fiat Stilo 1.4 petrol which he is thinking of buying. I've plenty of experience of the 1.2 and the diesel versions, but none of the 1.4. This one is claimed to be a 16V and is supposed to be in excellent condition.

Can someone who knows a thing or two about these 1.4's care to comment, particularly from a performance / economy / reliability point of view?

L1011

The engine is grand, I've an uptuned version of it in my own car.

It overcomes the biggest problem with the 1.2 16v Stilo which is that the little powerplant is way too small for the size of the car. Reliability is fine too

Economy wise - my car is designed to hammer it, so it wouldn't be a good indicator, but its not marvellous in it. I'd think it'd be better with the less aggressive map it has on it in the Stilo.

shamwari

MYOB wrote: »

The engine is grand, I've an uptuned version of it in my own car.

It overcomes the biggest problem with the 1.2 16v Stilo which is that the little powerplant is way too small for the size of the car.

And reliability / economy ? And are those 1.4's got a 16v head on them?

EDIT: sorry didn't see the extra bit you just added!!

L1011

Edited my first post. They're 16V yes - the Stilo was never sold with an 8V petrol here if anywhere.

shamwari

There are variants of the 1.4 FIRE with an 8V head in the later Punto Mk2b's (sold in UK) and the Grande Punto. It churns out slightly less grunt than the 1.2 16V. I don't think that motor would be that good in the heavier Stilo.

MYOB

MYOB wrote: »

I've an uptuned version of it in my own car.

....................... my car is designed to hammer it,

What are you driving ?

macroman

All Stilo engines are 16v interference engines.

1.6 is the better engine in the Stilo (aside from the 2.4 Abarth :P)

shamwari

macroman wrote: »

All Stilo engines are 16v interference engines.

1.6 is the better engine in the Stilo (aside from the 2.4 Abarth :P)

The 115bhp JTD is an excellent motor too. The Stilo is a bit softly sprung (for my liking anyway) but the extra weight of the diesel motor makes it ride far better than the petrols. I'd consider the diesel but paying over 600 notes a year to tax it puts me off it. Shame really.

L1011

RoverJames wrote: »

What are you driving ?

Panda 100HP. One of 20 sold in the state, there may be a few imports since.

It pushes more HP out of the same, at this stage aging block - at the expense of fuel consumption; and has features like a button that changes the throttle actuator so that its basically impossible to keep it above 30mpg.

Surely the mpg isn't that bad in it, 100bhp from a 1.4 isn't unheard of.

L1011

RoverJames wrote: »

Surely the mpg isn't that bad in it, 100bhp from a 1.4 isn't unheard of.

Its an elderly block. The mpg is extremely poor compared to the 1.1 Panda I had before it, but it can do an awful lot that the 1.1 couldn't

SIX PACK

Had a Fiat Stilo before & it was more problems than a teenager . . .

kmb

I also had the 1.2 stilo with the full sunroof and it averaged 42mpg and never had a problem bar routine maintenance and a wishbone after 3 years of driving.
The car has tons of clever internal touches and cruise control can sometimes be retofitted even with the use of the alfa stalks.
It never burned a drop a oil and i only changed because i got a great deal on the Bravo 150 sport.
Mofe info on the fiat forum http://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/

Regards,
Kmb

shamwari

I went out with the neighbour today and looked at the Stilo. One owner, two keys, plenty of NCT and service history for it's 60000 miles. The car was in very good nick indeed and drove very well. The 1.4 engine pulls strongly. The seller allowed me to connect the code scanner to it and she came back clean as a whilstle. So the neighbour negotiated and came home with a very clean Stilo for his troubles.

Why is it when you want a nice clean motor like this for yourself, you can never find one....:o

macroman

Sounds like a kosher deal

andyseadog

surely if there were no lights showing there would be no need to plug in the code scanner?

and is the new owner aware of what fiat stands for?

shamwari

andyseadog wrote: »

surely if there were no lights showing there would be no need to plug in the code scanner?

That is not a wise assumption to make with any car. Most cars I am asked to scan have codes stored even though there are no warning lights on.

andyseadog wrote: »

and is the new owner aware of what fiat stands for?

The savvy can look beyond the sterotype and grab themselves a genuine bargain.