Just watched Top Gear from the other night ... and was pretty disappointed to see the Stilo Abarth ignored from the hot hatch line up yet again ..... do they really not rate the car at all .... The Stilo is a far better looking and cheaper alternative to the hot hatches they were advertising ... On the flip side I'm starting to see a lot more 3 door fiat Stilo's about in the Blackpool area .... does anyone know if the Stilo is starting to sell better?

It's not in the type R/megane 225/golf GTI sort of league though is it for out and out performance.

yaeh we know its not in the performance catagory of these others vehicles, but what car can it rival?? i mean its a bit in no-mans land really. donn't get me wrong i love the car, but it looks like it should do 0 - 60 in about 6 sec 7 at least but it doesnt. and the 2.4 ltr engine gives the impresion that it should but it does not. i think fiat should have put more power into this car and made it what it deserves. a big fcking engine. then it would be on programs like top gear (big fan)

But a 2.4 should easily make enough power

Look at it over the years

2000cc engines used to make less than 100bhp now you can get that from a 1400cc etc.......

although IMO italians have always been ahead on the power for CC front...

You have to realise there is so much torque and grunt in that 2.4 - it is more than just pure power!

I love it everytime I turn the key and drive it - that burble is lovely, enhanced even more with a CDA on - oh yes....

It states o-62mph as being 8.5 seconds for the Abarth but officially its 7.9 and I found some independant tests yesterday and they were quoting it a 7.6 seconds.. I would say in my experience of the car so far its easily the later.. and then with a few mods like the remap and CDA i recon it should be in the low 7 seconds bracket.. Im gonna go out in the next few days and do a propper test on this if the old bill stay out the way.

hat eto disagree guys but torque is desribed as basically you r 0- 60 time or what you feel in you arse, having never driven an abrath (would be nice, any offers) all i can see is the 8.3 or something time to 60. little bit dissapointin for a sexy looking italian car like this.

Totally agree on Torque but power is useful after all if you were only interested in torque you'd have a diesel right

Er, torque is more than the 0-60 time!

The overtaking is amazing, 50-70 and then onwards and upwards. And at 4000 rpm there is a massive surge......

jamie86 said:

after all if you were only interested in torque you'd have a diesel right

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I do own a 2.2JTD pushing out 165bhp as well......

weight difference as well though come into play......

Also a lot of cars with High bhp are totally unusable eg max power between 9-10k on norris designs evo.......

But my point is that it's not the same type of car as the ones tested on Top Gear.

pghstochaj said:

But my point is that it's not the same type of car as the ones tested on Top Gear.

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Yes Paul, you are right - it is not a 225bhp super hot hatch, but still pretty damn good.

Sorry for going OT

jamie86 said:

weight difference as well though come into play.......

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Oh yes, the Stilo is heavy, but has soooo many toys to play with!

And the Ulysse - don't even go there, lol.....But still gets a few stares when it is booted off the lights

Have to totally agree with Stu.. I have never been in a car that can pull as hard as the Abarth... when your doing anything over or around 30mph and you put your foot down its awesome... maybe one day you will get to have a go... then judge it... I think a lot of people judge the car on very 1st impressions..but with the selespeed it takes quite a while to get used to it and how to get the most out of it..

Well, I took Alex Ghost for a spin in it on Wednesday, and I think he was pleasantly surprised.

And tonight, Jules took it for a spin with her friend - first time she had really booted it on the dual carriageway! They could smell it

All i can say is... everyone think what you like and spread the word that its not up to much..
I really like my car and the more people that think its crap then the less people will buy it...and that can only be a good thing as far as im concerned..
It already feels like im part of a unique club that only the owners know the true ability of the car...
Keep up the good work guys while we sit back and enjoy our babys'

Yet another thread knocking the Stilo. I would be well pissed off if I owned one!

possibly time for a Stilo 1.8 Turbo .... as the new Golf is just as heavy as the Stilo...

Out of interest what sort of power does the 1.8 Stilo Rally car develop?

I don't think the thread in general is knocking the stilo abarth, just telling the truth, it's not a hot hatch and people buying it know that, it also has problems, people again know that.