General Which one to buy?

[thatsean]

Hello there, I've got a Stilo 1.6 at the mo, and need a second car, one thats a little bigger; so i'm thinking of getting a Marea; I see that there are a lot of 1.6 mareas about, what are they like to drive as the Stilo, although not slow isn't always sparkling. Ref the diesels; apart from half a litre, whats the difference between the 1.9 TD and the 2.4 JTD? I'm assuming the latter is a common rail type engine.

In terms of spec, I want one thats as kitted as poss, airbags a plenty, and climate are a must, are the electrics in Mareas as 'reliable' as the Stilo, and (finally) is ELX or HLX a higher trim level...

Thought of one more, what year did Marea go out of production?

Cheers peeps.

Sean.

 

[HP]

Not really one you've asked, but I'll chip in. I've got an R reg 2.0 20v HLX, tis quick, roars like a lion and gives 29mpg. Has one airbag, 4 leccy windows, PAS, ABS, leccy roof, but no heated seats or air con. Has 90K miles on, cost me just £1100 from a garage.
Think the Mareas stopped production in 2001.

 

[polecat]

Hi,
JTD is common rail and an excellent engine. Nige can remap them for you and release quite a bit of power.
HLX is the higher trim.
Marea comes with option of either sunroof or a/c, passenger airbag is option.
Not driven a Stilo but the Marea has standard Fiat electrics, you can get the 'Friday' car. No problems with mine yet.
If you can afford the insurance the 1.8 is a better power pack.
The Marea generally out specs other cars in its class on performance, e.g. Mondeo, Vectra, etc.