Test drive Fiat Stilo 5 doors 2001 - 2006 hatchback

Vunderkind

He is still inexperienced and young, but what opportunities are hidden in him! Behind the stylish appearance of this representative of the new formation of golf class cars lies an extremely versatile nature. Well, it is not surprising: early familiarization with high technologies turned a young man from a simple Italian family into a kind of monster of technical thought, ready to easily argue with leading specialists in this field. He easily operates with terms such as Brake Assist, ESP, ASR, forcing those who are much older than him to fall into a stupor. Eh, youth! And we are in their years

 

The new Fiat Stilo, which replaced the Bravo/Brava/Marea family of the Bio -Mobi Fashion, is most able to surprise with its ultramodern filling. Even in the very standard configuration, the machine flaunts such amenities as the Dual Drive steering electronic distribution system EBD, the wheel slipping system when the MSR engine is braking, and other service electronics that most classmates cannot boast of even in as options. For example, on which car can you find advanced cruise control, using a radar supporting a safe distance to ahead of the car? Only on elite Mercedes and the new BMW of the seventh series. The same story with the Easy-Go automatic identification system, which allows you to open and start a car without a key. But there is also a panoramic five -section hatch with an electric drive, and a rain sensor, and a system of personal settings My Car and so on, so on

 

A five -door Fiat Stilo in the point of view of the Absolute came to us for the test, but not in the maximum equipment for fiat. We will call only some of the most interesting positions: serious music with eight speakers, a subwoofer and a CD changer, a two-zone climate control, parking sensors and an outdoor light on the inclusion sensor. For the study of everything that the car is stuffed, more than one hour can go.
 
The simpler in appearance of the five -door externally differs from the three -door Stilo not only by the number of doors, but also to the design of the back of the body and even with dimensions it is slightly higher, and longer. The modern vision of the fiat design in the case of Stilo means prevailing straight lines and chopped shapes, so that the car as a whole looks very expressively felt by Appeninsky roots. The architecture of the body is such that it seems like the roof and side glass was hoisted onto a tightly knocked cart with wheels.

  

The door opened, and at the moment I melted the interior of Stilo pleased with the good quality of the assembly and expensive in appearance and to the touch materials of the finish. The driver's seat has all the necessary adjustments, and give the body the optimal position for driving is not difficult. It remains only to adjust the steering wheel for yourself, which moves in two dimensions.

 

And at this time, the inhabitants of the rear seats selflessly organize their living space, since all the resources necessary for this are available. The rear sofa is divided into two unequal parts, which are adjusted in the length and angle of the back of the back or are completely folded if necessary to transport a super -baggeant amount of the necessary things. By the way, the useful capacity of the car can be increased a little, folding in half the front chair, which, incidentally, is provided with a retractable table of 3 kg of live weight with a cup holder. However, the trunk itself is quite spacious (410 liters), but the already mentioned subwoofer occupies a considerable part of it. And for trifles, niches and containers are scattered throughout the cabin: a small boxing box between the driver’s and passenger seats, a box under the right front seat, two glove boxes, one of which is cooled by air conditioning, etc.

But the devices come to life and flash in red light the engine wound up and works almost silently. Touching from the place immediately reveals the drawback: the lightest clutch pedal is squeezed out literally under the weight of the boot, and guessing the moment of closing the disks is very problematic. However, after a few kilometers you get used to this feature and stop paying attention.

 

The accelerated dynamics does not cause a storm of delight, but there is also nothing to complain about: the power of the 1.6-liter motor is enough. The engine capabilities to some extent limit the transmission with sufficiently long gear rates. To squeeze the maximum from the engine, it has to be twisted, and at high speed the motor becomes noisy. By the way, the volume of music increases with growth in speed, and therefore you no longer pay much attention to the voice of the engine. But you have to focus on the surrounding space: small external mirrors force the neck to actively work only in this way that you can compensate for the lack of visibility.
 
Separate mention deserve brakes, they are just dead! A delicate brake pedal requires extremely delicate circulation, and from habit there is a danger of restraining.
 
Fiat engineers probably tried to reach the balance between controllability and comfort, and as a result, this was what. STILO suspension settings are such that the car simply does not notice the small defects of the roadway, only indicating their presence with soft, insinuating slap of tires, but on the irregularities of the larger fiat informs passengers in the most thorough way. At the same time, it is felt that the suspension has a serious supply for energy intensity.

 

Stilo in the standard is equipped with an electric power steering with variable Dual Drive. In normal mode, the steering wheel has a pronounced zero and a good sensitivity, and after activating the City mode, the steering wheel becomes just weightless, how can you twist it with a little finger on faithful American machines. And, despite the almost complete lack of feedback, it is a pleasure to drive a machine with such a light wheel in the city. The mode is valid up to 70 km/h, after which the steering wheel is poured with weight, allowing you to better feel what is happening with the car in the bend.
 
So, what will the buyer of Fiat ultimately get? He will receive a truly European car of modern appearance, which, even in standard configuration, will be equipped with unattainable so far for cars of a similar class for such money level. Comfortable, sharpened under a family citizen, free from prejudice and not burdened by the thought of the super -fraud of German technology.


During the test, the car is insured ASK Trust.
The car is provided by Eurosib-Avo.
 

Text: Kirill Brevdo
Photo: Roman Ostanin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Source: Wheel magazine [No. 59/2002]