The New FIAT STILO

Fiat Press Release

Fiat’s new compact hatchback, to be called Stilo and destined to replace the Bravo and Brava, made  its international public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in February 2001. The newcomer represents a generational leap forward in the medium-sized compact car sector.

Central to the Fiat range, and encapsulating the spirit and values of the marque, the Stilo is set to re-establish Fiat as a major player in this sector of the European market.

The new car's name is easy to pronounce in any language, yet sounds unmistakably Italian. It immediately conjures up something fashionable and trend-setting because it evokes an idea of style as the French and English would say, stile as the Italians would put it, stil to the Germans and estilo in Spanish and Portuguese. Stilo also evokes associations with the kind of emotions one would expect to be aroused by a friendly car that is fun to drive, compact, modern and hi-tech. It is not an invented name but one which brings to mind down-to-earth items such as stylistic creations, and yet could also be associated with definitions as different as the versions of a whole family of cars.

Stilo will become available in three and five-door versions, very different from each other in terms of styling, character and size: the length, and more importantly the height, has a crucial impact on available internal space.

Even the driving position is different, because the height of the driver’s seat above the road (the H-point) is lower in the three-door version, as you would expect in a dynamically styled car with a lively character. The increased height in the five-door brings with it the advantages of easy access, spaciousness and a mastery of the road that only a car with such a unique personality can offer.

So it is easy to see why these two cars have such different characters, even though they are, in effect, the same model. The three-door centres on individualism, performance and driving pleasure. The five-door is all about comfort, spaciousness and safety, together with an innate versatility and the fact that it has been designed to be among the most competitive packages in terms of running costs, not just in its own sector but across the whole market.

So the new Stilo gives the immediate impression of being a car which will meet all the needs of customers in this market sector.

The new five-door will also appeal to those customers who have shown an interest in the MPV sub-sector, which has recently emerged as a growth area of this market. Stilo brings the advantages of an MPV to a more traditional formula: it is easy to get in and out of, there’s a lot of space inside, and the driving position is higher, to make the driver feel more in control. The car is modular and adaptable because one front seat can be folded forward and the two rear seats moved fore and aft and reclined independently, making it easy to adapt the car to the needs of the moment.

Although there are three and five-door versions, both cars are the same when it comes to the level of safety systems and specifications on offer - both of which make it a winner, not only in this sector of the market, but also in many cases when compared to models in higher segments.

The five-door Fiat Stilo is 4.25 metres long, 1.76 metres wide and 1.51 metres high, with a wheelbase of 2.60 metres. The three-door Fiat Stilo has the same width and wheelbase, but is 4.18 metres long and 1.46 metres high. Both will become available with a choice of four petrol engines and two Common Rail turbodiesel power units.