Fiat Stilo Multi Wagon review
by Ross Finlay (13 February 2003)
One of the snags about the Fiat range is that, like the group's overall activities, it just hasn't been closely-enough focused. That's about to change, not just in terms of the model catalogue, but also as far as the operations of the whole huge industrial empire are concerned.
Fiat Group and Fiat Auto are slimming down, reorganising, disposing of holdings in peripheral companies, and generally getting a grip of their finances. Company sources insist that we can absolutely forget about some of the loony-tune restructuring schemes being floated by various business tycoons, some of whom have been explaining their plans in expansive detail to the Italian media without having spoken to Fiat beforehand.
In any case, the same company sources say, the real-life negotiations between Fiat and its bankers have already been signed and sealed. All the parties have to do now is deliver.
Well, if the new Stilo Multi Wagon is an example, Fiat vehicle design at least is back on the straight and narrow. This estate with touches of MPV is a well thought-out product, and several planets away from the kind of thinking which resulted in the Multipla. As well as that, it's a very handsome car, right up with the top European opposition in its class for style.
Like the rival Peugeot 307 SW, the Multi Wagon is taller than the hatchback on which it's based, as well as having a longer body offering abundant luggage space. There's plenty of original thinking here, not least in the provision of a horizontal bar on the tailgate, proud of the metalwork, which when grasped unlocks it electrically. Fine idea, no messing about, and no fingerprints plastered all over the bodywork.
The load height is low, the tailgate window opens separately if you press an exterior switch, and the rear shock absorbers are tucked out of the way to reduce the size of the wheelarches and maximise the load space.
As an option on all versions, the Multi Wagon is available with split rear seats which slide independently fore and aft, recline to 30 degrees, or can be folded down. It's a matter, once again, of not only having comfortable rear seating, but also being able to increase the load volume by a considerable amount in a car not fully loaded with passengers.
Up front, there's a comfortable driving position and a driver's seat mounted a little higher than in the hatchback. Switchgear is clustered in individual panels on the centre console, to the far right of the fascia, and on the driver's door, and the great thing is that the whole array is designed "of a piece". Some manufacturers favour switches in all manner of shapes and sizes, but Fiat has gone for a coherent same-style approach, and that wins hands down.
The switches at the right-hand end of the fascia are part of the My Car arrangement which allows the driver to choose settings for everything from the speed limit warning and automatic adjustment of the stereo volume, to the lights-on sensor. As well as that, the Multi Wagon can be specified with the Fiat CONNECT system which links up with live operators able to provide information on everything from flight times to restaurant openings - and CONNECT is about to get even more sophisticated, with the facility to make bookings on request.
One attractive feature of the Multi Wagon which doesn't show up in photographs, but adds to the general air of well-being about the front cabin, is that the fascia trim is not only neatly textured but also lightly padded, "giving" a little to the touch. Asian manufacturers please note.
Fiat is paying a lot more attention to safety features than it did in years past. The Multi Wagon is fully kitted out with airbags, and they can be ordered with dual-stage deployment.
There are two trim and equipment levels - Active and Dynamic, as in the hatchback range. Well, three actually, because one step up from Active is Active Air Con. Fiat has identified a market, especially among fleet buyers, for an entry-level specification plus air-conditioning.
There's an extravagance of engines, with four different types in the six-variant Multi Wagon range. The 80bhp 1.9-litre JTD turbo diesel is available only in the Active at £12,095. The Active Air Con (yes, that's the official model name) comes with either a 1.6-litre petrol engine at £12,395 or the 115bhp version of the JTD engine at £13,395.
Of the three Dynamic models, the 1.6-litre petrol also costs £13,395, the 1.8-litre petrol comes in at £13,895, and the 115bhp JTD tops the price list at £14,395.
Out on the road, the JTD engines naturally have the mid-range pull, but the surprise of the range is maybe the 1.6-litre petrol. You might expect the 102bhp this engine produces to be rather overwhelmed by the extra size and weight of the Multi Wagon bodywork, but it seems to cope pretty well, taking the car from 0-62mph in 11.4 seconds and running very sweetly at a motorway cruise.
Top performer, of course, is the 1.8 petrol, which squirts to 62mph in 10.8 seconds and goes on to 124mph. But for a combination of performance and economy, the 115bhp JTD is the one. It gets from 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds, has a top speed of 118mph, and matches the 80bhp JTD's economy figures of 61.4mpg extra-urban, 37.7mpg round town, and 50.4mpg overall, as well as producing the same 149g/km of CO2.
Anti-lock brakes with EBD are fitted to all six versions. Only the 1.8-litre petrol cars come as standard with an Electronic Stability Programme, although it's optional on the others. If you go for ESP, which you can't do with the Active, then three other systems are slung in with it. They include brake assist, Anti Slip Regulation to control wheelspin, and MSR, which summons up torque to prevent the car from skidding if the driver goes down the box too abruptly on a slippery surface.
Don't worry if searching your Italian language memory banks fails to come up with a suitable three-word phrase with the capital letters M, S and R. They're an abbreviation for the undisguisedly German Motor Schleppmoment Reelung.
A standard feature on the Multi Wagon, as on some other Fiats, is a little "City" button down by the left of the gearlever. This activates the Dualdrive electronic power steering, which has the unusual facility of altering the amount of assistance offered in the different conditions of open-road motoring and about-town shuffling.
I have to agree with CARkeys contributor Malcolm Baylis, who introduced us to Dualdrive in an earlier report, that it's a very ingenious system. In fact, I said that to him directly, as we bombed about together in (sorry, made serious technical appraisals of) various Multi Wagons on the recent launch in Cheshire.
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