Could it tow a 1.5 tonne caravan though and carry you, your wife, 3 children and full luggage for a 2 weeks holiday with ease? Exactly...

THought I would have a Stilo over such a horrible car any day

Appreciate your point negotiator but my point, in a round about way was basically if you are happy with your car then all this "mine is better than yours" is a loada poo. I agree a constructive discussion about relative merits is fine but when it gets personal then there is no point.

No I agree with you. However, stiloboy will always say his 1.2 is the best and everybody will say otherwise, it's always the outcome with these threads....lol. He never takes anything on board about the other engines. As was my point, different sizes/engines etc. mean that the car is very different. A 1.2 Stilo is a sluggish car (albiet nice) where as the JTD is a motorway cruiser if you want it to be. Your 4x4 could pull a house and you not notice it....Different people, different cars BUT if you can't simply look at the single element of "how many miles before you recoup your money on the JTD" because obviously there's a large number of other variables.

timr69 said:

JTD Monkey. Are you now going to buy another quality Italian product instead of wasting your hard earned cash on an overpriced, unreliable piece of German rubbish?

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I think the idea of the 156 JTD 16v is appealing, as the 156 seems to be cheaper than the 147 on the used market. I saw a 2.0JTS Veloce (03 53, new shape) yesterday for £10,995, so I suspect give it a couple of months and the JTD 16v will be at a similar level.

And yes, I have stepped away from the panzer-wagon...

The large number of other variables to recoup the outlay of a JTD only serves to make the repay point even further away. I never calculated in Tax, servicing costs etc, insurance because these are highly variable.

The 1.2 makes a fine motorway cruiser, and returns 49.5mpg on a long run with 4 passengers and luggage. The 1.2 might not be the best car for mountain roads due to its lack of torque compaired to the JTD.

I'm not saying the 1.2 is the best car in the Stilo range, clearly the JTD is, but only if you keep the car! If you trade in after 3 years religiously your loosing money hand over fist. Personally i bought the Stilo 'cos its a lot of car for a little money, and it exceptionally cheap to run.

Its something important to bear in mind...

So far i've never told any JTD owner his car is pants, what i have asked a few times is how long they plan on keeping the car. Because the general consensus is just sell it after 3 years, and you'll make loads more money than if it was a 1.2. But generally speaking, the extra you pay isn't repayed when you sell, because you paid 3 grand extra to buy the car!

However it seems that the vast majority of those on this site say the 1.2 is crap. I'd bet half of those folk haven't even driven a 1.2. And those that have have been complimentary, it might not have out and out torque or high bhp, but its got a good revvy nature and its quiet at speed thanks to the extra gear.

So far i've never told any JTD owner his car is pants, what i have asked a few times is how long they plan on keeping the car. Because the general consensus is just sell it after 3 years, and you'll make loads more money than if it was a 1.2. But generally speaking, the extra you pay isn't repayed when you sell, because you paid 3 grand extra to buy the car!

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But you have to put up with a underpowered 1.2 stilo for 3 years....

The very comment I was about to make.

I have driven most of the Stilo range - 1.2, 1.6, 1.9JTD and the 2.4. The 1.2 was a pleasant surprise, having driven one about 50 miles to work and back. The 6th year was very useful BUT, and a big BUT, I personally could not drive it daily on the roads I travel on. Just no guts when you want to overtake, but that is down to my driving style.

The 1.9JTD may be the choice car with some, but again, having already got a 2.2JTD, and coming from petrol cars since 1989, I kept with petrol AND I wanted the toys that go with it.

A great solution would be a JTD/M-Jet Abarth

I have owned a 1.2, 1.8 and presently a 2.4 and I must say that apart from the lack of air con, I found the 1.2 to be a brilliant and economical car. I got great mpg from the 1.2 and the engine was responsive and unless I had known the engine size I would really not have known that it wasnt a 1.6! I have not driven the diesel so cannot really comment on that. The reason for trading in the 1.2 was lack of air con and I can honestly say that was the only downside of that particular car. Good luck on whatever you decide , you will enjoy the features even if you have to put up with a few niggles along the way. I am back in love with the 2.4 again after my coil problems and after having also owned the 1.8 can wholeheartedly recommend that version as well.

Why do people compare it's not a competition. You buy what you like & whatever suits your pocket. I didn't actually mean to buy my abarth because I knew it would cost s**t loads in petrol but personally I could'nt live without that unmistakeable inline 5 roar.

Jesus H, i'm getting sick of this, the comparision was from cost benefit point of view only! Not Performance, not to prove which was the better car...... but to get it into some folks heads that although on the face of it a JTD is cheaper to run that any other model, it is infact more expensive until you hit a certain predetermined milage!

If its 170,000 miles before the JTD costs less than the 1.2, then it probably 150,000 miles before its more economic that the 1.6, 100,000 miles more than the 1.8 and maybe fairly close compaired to the Abarth!

I feel like i'm always defending the 1.2, because there are a lot of 1.2 owners on this site, but they feel they can't speak up for being slagged by anyone in any other model! Even the 1.4 owners hardly say a peep!

I don't think anyones trying to slag off the 1.2, it just seems to come across that way, like Ben says, people buy what they like, lets just leave it at that shall we...

MODERATOR

I think enough has been said

What should we start on next?