(G) New member, and new Tipo owner

Hi folks. I just picked up my new (for me) Tipo. It's a 1.4 T-jet Easy Plus, and I think it's had the Safety and Comfort pack fitted as it's got adaptive cruise control, auto climate control, and heated seats.

I had to drive it a fair distance home from the dealer, and had a good run it, on A roads and motorway, and I'm pretty happy with it.

So I thought I'd join this forum to now find out what I've got myself into

The Tiguan behind it, is our other car.

Hi I have been considering purchasing a Fiat Tipo as it checks all the boxes for me i.e. plenty of legroom for both driver and passengers and great boot space. However, since we tend to keep our cars for 7 or 8 years I am concerned re long-term reliability and especially rattles and squeaks! Reading through the forums there are Tipo owners with 3 and 4 year old cars who have had no problems whilst others have experienced problems particularly with steering and suspension components. My main incentive for purchasing a Tipo would be value for money but with dealers currently unable to shift cars in general there are some amazing offers around, including for premium brands like Honda and Seat. It is noteworthy that Alfa Romeo cars built in Italy now benefit from a 5 year warranty whilst the Turkish built Tipo only has the standard 3 years. I should add that over the years I have owned several Fiats starting with the 128 which was a revolutionary car for its time and was the first family car able to cruise all day at 70 mph without the need to stop to open the bonnet every 50 miles to let the engine cool!

Not sure about rattles but engine wise Fiats are hard to beat. My experience with a 1.4 16v Stilo over 110,000 miles tells me that engine is a masterpiece. Used next to no oil, never dripped any oil and was easy to service. I had that car for 13 years and just changed it to a new Tipo 1.4 Easy.

@Thoullis

Did you make a purchase ?

(Never seen anybody term SEAT like that..)

Hi varescrazy yes but I purchased a Skoda Scala SE with 1,000 miles on the clock back in January. Managed to pick up a 19 reg for less than £13k. Same length as a Tipo but with more legroom and even bigger boot! Fantastic build quality and superb drive. Worth the extra £1k or so.

Can't help thinking the Scala is Skoda's attempt at a Tipo. Rear lights, side sculpturing, dashboard? Engine options are pretty similar in terms of power output if not capacity. Main difference is £16,500 for the base model!

I was shocked reading the other day that 500k topos have now been produced

Pretty good considering lack of Fiat publicity and a generally unenthusiastic press coverage.

The Tipo’s are a lot of car for the money and nice looking imo, I think as you said, it’s down to Fiat not doing more to get it out there along with the small engines, shame really but it’s good for us buyers as they’re cheap as chips!

I’m still patiently waiting to pick mine up from the dealership don’t look like it’s going to be anytime soon either unfortunately.

I totally agree that the base Tipo represents unbeatable value for money. However, when you move up a trim to Mirror with metallic paint and 1.4T engine the RRP increases to £18350. The corresponding RRP for a Scala SE 1.0T 115ps with metallic paint is £19530. I was happy to pay the difference but I can see why others would have opted for the Tipo. As usual, horses for courses...