General performance comparison bravo 150 t jet sport v stilo abarth

[decypha77]

Is the steering in the Stilo that bad? I know it's not the ultimate set-up, owing largely to being electrically assisted, but in my JTD 3dr it feels a heck of a lot better than Renault Megane's I've driven which share the same TRW system, and is much less vague than my Sisters 13 plate Alfa MiTo.

Even a Mk2 Focus I had as a hire car didn't feel a great deal better than the Stilo, which noisy suspension aside still feels quite fun. I think the trouble is that 3 & 5dr Stilo's and petrol & diesels all felt quite different, so it depends what version people tried. A mates 1.2 petrol 5dr felt dull and artificial compared to mine.

I think it's not the worst I have driven, my worst has been a Renault as well, there is zero feedback on that. The Stilo is just inferior to the Bravo when it comes to steering feel, the Bravo feels better to drive in than even the new Audi A3 imho, the previous generation A3 was also quite light and uncommunicative till you got up to about 100mph , then it was well-sorted.

The Stilo Abarth 3 door isn't the worst car I have driven, the handling on it is quite sorted but it just has steering that has you guessing about what is really happening with the front wheels, it is not reassuring when you are trying to hustle it - upside is that when you throw it into a corner and close your eyes, it will probably get through it better than you expect.

 

[aurick86]

Sorry but I've got to revive this old thread:

So much fussing over the steering... nobody mentioned what size wheels, tires, pressure etc... all important factors.
I'm going to say that all thing being similar (age, condition, usage etc) they will both feel similar.

All i can say is that the rear torsion beam suspension is the worst thing about both cars... not the steering.
As soon as you get into a bumpy corner with any speed, the back will get upset, you will loose grip=>confidence=>speed.

I've been under both Stilo and Bravo and i will bet that if both had new/similar age suspension they both will feel about the same.. maybe you could feel the extra few kg in the 2.4.. but i'm going to say that it's not something that you can't get used to.

One would also need to know that the Stilo Abarh had some uprated suspension components vs the standard Stilo, off the top of my head: it had better shocks, sport springs, bottom control arm was made from cast iron (much stiffer), thicker knuckles, and bigger brakes.

The comparison with the Bravo t-jet Sport is ok.. as they share most components except the lover control arm. I've not see a cast control arm on the Bravo.. they might exist.

 

[gadge]

Holy thread revival batman!

I've been lucky enough to have owned both, well almost both my bravo is a multiair not a T-Jet but the multiair is probably a better test to compare to the stilo 2.4. As much as I loved the stilo it was a poorly built car IMO. It under steered terribly and creeked around corners. I thought it was a great looking car though and that 5 cylinder unit sounded glorious. It had a huge amount of torque (just like the multiair) and wasn't bad on fuel. The bravo on the other hand seems to me a much better built car even if it does share a lot of the stilos underware. It's not as powerful in standard guise but can be tuned to meet the stilos power output. In the stilos defence though I lowered mine and fitted braces on the front and rear struts and it totally transformed the car so I suppose the stilo could be a great if you spend some time on it.