General Stilo 5 door vs Vauxhall Meriva

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General Stilo 5 door vs Vauxhall Meriva

Argonought

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Stilo 5 door vs Vauxhall Meriva

I hired a Meriva whilst taking a holiday in France recently. It struck me as being targeted at a similar buyer as both cars have mini-MPV pretensions. The comparison would be between a top-end 02 Stilo JTD 5 door and a top-end 07 1.6 petrol Meriva which perhaps is rather unfair as the JTD engine is in a different class completely to the lowly powered 1.6


Looks - A no contest win for the Stilo here I’d say
Handling - little doubt the Stilo outclasses the Meriva in this area
Ride - I have to admit the ride quality of the Meriva is quite superb and easily outclasses my lowered Stilo. In fact, I was so impressed I’ve started to consider putting the softer springs back on the Stilo (No; not the rusty set I’ve just taken down the tip :p) to as least offer some competition
Noise - seemed very good but not tested at very high speed
Performance - was pretty dire and I suspect it would have still come off very badly if compared directly against a Stilo 1.6
Practical Features: Like the Stilo the Meriva has sliding rear seats but these seats can be almost completely flattened so it seems very likely the Meriva could handle a larger load than the Stilo (that said, the amount of stuff you can get into a 5 door still amazes me). Like the Stilo it has many useful pockets.
Driving - the rear view when reversing is terrible and why they don’t fit reversion sensors to a high-spec model amazes me.
General Impressions - The car almost matched the Stilo in some respects such as remote closing windows and dead-locking but in others it seemed years in the past. No timed cabin lights, no onboard computer, simple LED dash display looked crude compared to LCD display of the Stilo.

Summary: On my last holiday we hired a Panda and I was very impressed (although still glad to get behind the wheel of the JTD) but other than the few positives I was decidedly unimpressed with the Meriva which is very reassuring when you consider the Stilo is giving away 5 years :spin:
 
We had one and it was Junes pt/ex for the disastrous grande punto (n) we found it was no good for the grand kids either as the rear belts wernt any good being fixed high up and not at shoulder height ..I didn't like the vehicle from day one ..not for me ..and a comparison against the stilo 5DR well there simply isn't one ..no contest (n)
 
If im dreadfully honest, i dont really like the Meriva. I think it is slow and underequipped at the botom of the range. If i was to choose a car that size and price (start from around £9000), im afraid i would either spend my money on a Nissan Note, or a very stylish Grande Punto. I would sooner give the Panda 100 a look as well.
 
I've had a few different cars through work (not company cars, but MT Fleet vehicles or hire cars), usually Vauxhalls, Fords or occasionally Peugots, and I'm yet to find a car to rival the Stilo. It may not be the most reliable, mine may not be the quickest, but there's something about the Stilo (and indeed most Fiats) that other cars just don't have. Character I think mostly.
 
all fiats have got character. when you find out that somthing is broken its like it is a human being, and thats what i like. it would be a bit boring if i had a car that just stayed perfect all the time.

When my car last went wrong i got a Grande Punto from the garage as a courtesy vehicle, and even that had a bit of interior trim missing, but what still a perfect spirited car.
 
I've had a few different cars through work (not company cars, but MT Fleet vehicles or hire cars), usually Vauxhalls, Fords or occasionally Peugots, and I'm yet to find a car to rival the Stilo. It may not be the most reliable, mine may not be the quickest, but there's something about the Stilo (and indeed most Fiats) that other cars just don't have. Character I think mostly.

yeah totally agree... took me a while to get used tot he stilo.. bit of aquired taste really.. but im one of those peolpe who has to strip the car to bits to really get to know it... had it since feb.... spent about 650 quid on it since... and plannig on keeping it for the next 3.5 years at least... even then i dont thing it will look dated at all..

we have a 57 plate mondeo at work... considering my cars 4-5 years older... you cant really tell... mine seems more solid...
 
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