General Micheal Schumacher Stilo?

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General Micheal Schumacher Stilo?

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jetweed

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Has anyone bought or Driven a Michael Schumacher Stilo?

If I had the dosh personally - I'd buy an Italian Michael Schumacher Stilo 3door 2.4 20v Abarth with ALL the options - Keyless EasyGo ; Electric Heated Leather Seats ; Skywindow etc...

Then I'd add the Novitec Supercharger to take it to the 240bhp Mark and then pop along to Prodrive in Banbury off the M40 and get them to add there spice... Suspension rework etc..

I think thats an Ultimate Stilo.....

Probably cost around £27k - but for a truly unique car...


Any opinions?
 
Problem is, you would be driving around in a car that only you and your mates know is a £27,000 car.. Would be nice but i wouldn't go to them extremes on a Stilo unless I could show it off properly.
Going to shows would just P me off because i hate people touching my car... So...not for me..

Hey Jetweed, where in Cov are you from ?
I was born there and lived there till i left school..
 
Schumacher, prodrive and Stilo in the same thread?.

I like my Abarth (I cannot love it no matter how hard I try) but it isn't fast and the handling is bad. If I had 27K to spend I certainly wouldn't want to end up with just a Stilo, even 27K wouldn't give you a car you couldn't buy for half the price.

If I had 27K to spend and I needed an everyday car and wanted a performance car I'd get something like a Ferrari Mondial or Caterham 7 (both far better than the Stilo could ever be) and still have enough to afford a 2nd Hand Abarth and insure\tax them both.
 
7zark7 said:
Schumacher, prodrive and Stilo in the same thread?.
I like my Abarth (I cannot love it no matter how hard I try) but it isn't fast and the handling is bad.

Why don't you sort out the handling & performance? It isn't that expensive & then you probably will love it. :rolleyes: I certainly wouldn't say in standard trim the handling was bad just that it was a bit on the soft side all of which you can easily sort out with a set of lwering springs & a strut brace.
 
To be honest I bought it more for the toys and because it was cheap, however as its meant to be the performance model its pretty crap as standard. Before the Stilo Abarth I had a ZT-T190. It was an estate and cornered far better than the Stilo ever could despite being 5 meters long, (and pulled harder and sounded better).

Theres no excuse for a car that costs as much and is advertised as a performance model to corner like it does, its not just soft, it removes all feedback from the road. I like drivers cars, I've had a few in my time and driven even more but the Stilo disappoints.

It does, however, cruise well. Get it on the motorway and it rules. Sadly by giving it an Abarth badge Fiat tried to pitch it at the hot hatch gang (its one of the tamer hatches out there), they should have tried to pitch it as a repmobile, it would have been perfect.

Mines a selespeed, it can be fun on the open road but the lag is inexcusable, coming up to a roundabout\junction you cannot anticipate the traffic conditions, try to get away and your either in the wrong gear or it is trying to change down. You have to assume your going to stop. Also the clutch doesn't behave properly until you get it up to temp.

Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike it but its not and never will be a performance car.
 
7zark7 said:
To be honest I bought it more for the toys and because it was cheap, however as its meant to be the performance model its pretty crap as standard. Before the Stilo Abarth I had a ZT-T190. It was an estate and cornered far better than the Stilo ever could despite being 5 meters long, (and pulled harder and sounded better).

Theres no excuse for a car that costs as much and is advertised as a performance model to corner like it does, its not just soft, it removes all feedback from the road. I like drivers cars, I've had a few in my time and driven even more but the Stilo disappoints.

It does, however, cruise well. Get it on the motorway and it rules. Sadly by giving it an Abarth badge Fiat tried to pitch it at the hot hatch gang (its one of the tamer hatches out there), they should have tried to pitch it as a repmobile, it would have been perfect.

Mines a selespeed, it can be fun on the open road but the lag is inexcusable, coming up to a roundabout\junction you cannot anticipate the traffic conditions, try to get away and your either in the wrong gear or it is trying to change down. You have to assume your going to stop. Also the clutch doesn't behave properly until you get it up to temp.

Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike it but its not and never will be a performance car.
I think you may have a dud car there mate or you simply have not got the hang of the selespeed yet..
I find it amazingly fast for changing gear and in situations like the roundabout you mentioned it's perfect for getting away fast or changing to the right gear. I'm completely confused by your assessment of the car. I find it to be a proper drivers car after I got the eibach springs.

You say you got it because it was cheap ?

Then you say

Theres no excuse for a car that costs as much and is advertised as a performance model to corner like it does, its not just soft, it removes all feedback from the road. I like drivers cars, I've had a few in my time and driven even more but the Stilo disappoints.

Because it's so cheap, it leaves more money for you to make it handle the way you want it.. A set of springs and you will change your mind about the handling.

Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike it but its not and never will be a performance car
I would hate to see what you'd write if you did dislike it :confused:

sounded better
:D :nutter:
 
I agree with Koa. It sounds like you hate your car & no offence but maybe you'd be better off if you sold it & got something different. The abarth was never aimed at the "true" hot hatch brigade by this I mean Seats leon cupraR, VW golf R32,
Alfa 147 GTA it was aimed more at the golf V5, Ford focus ST170, Peuguot206 GTI 180. Also I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on the sound of the engine IMO there is no way a V6 sounds better than an inline 5
I find the engine has so much character it sounds more like a V8. I respect you for your opinion though & there are probably a lot of people who've bought a stilo abarth & been thoroughly dissapointed but me I'm not one of them this is my first proper car (I've never owned anything this new or with low mileage before) & I love it (y) :D
 
KoArAnG, the selespeeds easy mate, got the hang of it in no time, it just isn't as quick as a manual can be and as some functions are automatic I find that it can decide to do the wrong thing at the wrong time.

You find it a proper car after you modded the springs?? my point exactly, its not a drivers car when on paper it should be a great drivers car. Mine was cheap because Fiats depreciate horrendously, the asking price for a new car is pretty high considering that, as you say, you have to mod it to get it to handle.

I'm just giving my honest opinions on the car regardless of whether I like it or not.

The sound the engine makes is nice, one of the reasons I got it is because it burbles like a V8 and I do love the offbeat note, however there are plenty of cars that I have driven that sound far better. The KV6 has a unique note for a V6 sounding a lot like a V12 once you get past 3.5K, a far superior sound, even some 4 pots can sound as good.

If the Stilo was the first "proper" car I had owned (and it could have been if I was a little younger), I'd love it unconditionally, however my eyes had already been opened before I got the Stilo and it had a lot to live up to, which sadly it doesn't.

I don't hate the car at all, I love the toys and its a very good family car for days out but it just isn't what it could be.
 
7zark7 said:
KoArAnG, the selespeeds easy mate, got the hang of it in no time, it just isn't as quick as a manual can be and as some functions are automatic I find that it can decide to do the wrong thing at the wrong time.

You find it a proper car after you modded the springs?? my point exactly, its not a drivers car when on paper it should be a great drivers car. Mine was cheap because Fiats depreciate horrendously, the asking price for a new car is pretty high considering that, as you say, you have to mod it to get it to handle.

I'm just giving my honest opinions on the car regardless of whether I like it or not.

The sound the engine makes is nice, one of the reasons I got it is because it burbles like a V8 and I do love the offbeat note, however there are plenty of cars that I have driven that sound far better. The KV6 has a unique note for a V6 sounding a lot like a V12 once you get past 3.5K, a far superior sound, even some 4 pots can sound as good.

If the Stilo was the first "proper" car I had owned (and it could have been if I was a little younger), I'd love it unconditionally, however my eyes had already been opened before I got the Stilo and it had a lot to live up to, which sadly it doesn't.

I don't hate the car at all, I love the toys and its a very good family car for days out but it just isn't what it could be.
Well each to their own i spose, im certainly not gonna argue, im goin for a beer. Just a shame for you to miss out really... :life:
 
7zark7 said:
To be honest I bought it more for the toys and because it was cheap, however as its meant to be the performance model its pretty crap as standard. Before the Stilo Abarth I had a ZT-T190. It was an estate and cornered far better than the Stilo ever could despite being 5 meters long, (and pulled harder and sounded better).

I don't believe Fiat really push it as some boy race machine, it is their performance model if you can call a family hatch as performance model. I believe it achieves a 0 - 60mph of just under 8 seconds which is pretty respectable. A 5 meter long car probably does handle better by virtue of the longer wheel base. I will say atleast you can still buy parts for the Stilo unlike the poor sods that bought into the whole MG Rover crap.

7zark7 said:
Theres no excuse for a car that costs as much and is advertised as a performance model to corner like it does, its not just soft, it removes all feedback from the road. I like drivers cars, I've had a few in my time and driven even more but the Stilo disappoints.

If they made the suspension rock solid it wouldn't probably appeal to the market it is aimed at. If you want a sledge then the Civic does it better. I think the Stilo is tuned for comfort before outright performance. I've never really understood this whole feedback from the road lark myself but I don't drive like a nut and push the cars beyond their limit.

7zark7 said:
It does, however, cruise well. Get it on the motorway and it rules. Sadly by giving it an Abarth badge Fiat tried to pitch it at the hot hatch gang (its one of the tamer hatches out there), they should have tried to pitch it as a repmobile, it would have been perfect.

It certainly does cruise well, very quite, smooth and refined which is what you want. I wouldn't agree they pitched it at the hot hatch gang. Would fail as a rep mobile due to poor fuel economy. I think it is aimed at someone who wants a resonable amount of performance with sacrificing space, comfort and safety. The toys come in handy too. A bit of an all rounder really.

7zark7 said:
Mines a selespeed, it can be fun on the open road but the lag is inexcusable, coming up to a roundabout\junction you cannot anticipate the traffic conditions, try to get away and your either in the wrong gear or it is trying to change down. You have to assume your going to stop. Also the clutch doesn't behave properly until you get it up to temp.

Lag affects most of these automatic manual hybrid gearboxes - have you seen Jeremy Clarkson slating the Ferrari, Masserati, Aston Martin ones because he does and for the same reasons. It can lag a bit in automatic mode but changes down much much later in manual mode. if you drive it in manual I've never had a problem. In auto I could see what you mean, but what do you expect. By the clutch problem I assume you mean jumpy which had afflicted a few cars but can be fixed.

7zark7 said:
Dont get me wrong, I dont dislike it but its not and never will be a performance car.

You ain't gonna get a "performance" car for £14k or whatever they are selling them for new these days. You do get a hell of a lot of car for your money.
 
thepottleflump said:
I don't believe Fiat really push it as some boy race machine, it is their performance model if you can call a family hatch as performance model. I believe it achieves a 0 - 60mph of just under 8 seconds which is pretty respectable.

Not from a 2.4l 20v engine imo. My dad has a 5 door focus, 2.0l ghia. The spec 0-60 for that is a 8.9 seconds, the stilo is only 8.6 seconds. They're both 5 door family cars, and .3 seconds is all it pulls from 20% bigger engine, and an extra cylinder.

It could have been so much more. On paper, the specs are what - 130bhp vs 170bhp, on paper the stilo is faster - but in tests, it aint.

You ain't gonna get a "performance" car for £14k or whatever they are selling them for new these days

well you can, you just don't buy a new car..

I'm not saying the Stilo is crap - far from it, i intend to buy one a few years down the line - just i belive it could've been much more.
 
thepottleflump said:
You ain't gonna get a "performance" car for £14k or whatever they are selling them for new these days. You do get a hell of a lot of car for your money.

WELL DONE Trev hear hear! Well said.
:D (y)
 
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