SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


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For fleet and family: 2017 Fiat Tipo 1.3d Easy sedan

Slightly wicked.

Posted: 24 July 2017

The numbers
Price: R274 900
Engine: 1248 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, inline four, turbodiesel
Power: 70 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 200 Nm at 1500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 183 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.5 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 520 litres (seatbacks up)
Warranty and service plan: 3 years / 100 000 km

Last week, we drove a Fiat Tipo hatchback with 1.4-litre petrol motor and entry-level Pop trim. It’s a solid and spacious family car not too cluttered with gadgets - which is either good or bad, depending on your expectations.

We enjoyed driving it although some people might feel it requires too much involvement; keeping the revs up to extract its full potential. That's because it’s Italian, first cousin to Alfa Romeo and baby step-cousin to Ferrari. You need to work it. Capisci?

This week we got to drive a sedan - mid-spec’ Easy trim, 1.3-litre Multijet ll diesel and five speeds, rather than six, in its short-throw, butter-smooth manual gearbox. Multijet ll brings with it a variable geometry turbocharger and more injection pulses per combustion cycle - as many as eight if needed. That translates to the same 70 kilowatts of power the 1400 puts out but at lower revs, 4000 rather than 6000, and much more torque – 200 Nm vs. 127 for the benzina burner and again at much lower rpm, 1500 not 4500. Lazy drivers will love it. The single disadvantage is that this engine is only available, for now at least, in a sedan. This sedan. But that doesn’t necessarily mean hardship.

The saloon body, longer by 164 mm, provides 80 litres more boot volume and the psychological reassurance of added crumple space behind the back seat – for the safety of the bambini, you understand. Unlike the hatch its bootlid doesn’t just unlock when you double-click the button on the key fob, it opens completely.

It features a 2/3, 1/3-split seatback that folds down to create an extended loading space. Again, unlike the hatch, you have only a through-loading “window” rather than full-width and full-height accessibility. That’s why, spec-for-spec, hatchback Tipos are priced slightly higher than sedans.

Out on the open road, the little diesel turns over at about 2900 rpm in top gear but, despite being a little beyond its best torque output (the curve is almost flat between 1500 revs and 2000), it rolls on strongly. It also maintains road speed up long, 100-km/h restricted hills without effort. Latent Alfisti will enjoy its ability to spin freely up to 5000 rpm when they feel slightly wicked.

Easy trim adds 16” alloy wheels; chromed door handles; body-coloured mirror caps; front fog lamps; leather trimmed steering wheel; reversing alarm; a third rear head restraint; a second visor mirror; cruise control and automatic, but still single channel, air conditioning to basic Pop specification. It opens the door to a wider range of options too.

Buyers may tick boxes for the more sophisticated VP2 music provider with touch screen (with or without TomTom satnav), a backup camera, or lumbar support for the driver’s chair.
The boot opens at a height of 70 cm with a sill about 17 cm deep, so loading and emptying should be painless. The volume is long, wide, rectangular, and up to 56 centimetres deep so there’s plenty of space for bulky luggage. It is lit but does not feature lashing rings or bag hooks. All Tipos have fully sized spare wheels.

It may have been imagination, but head space for rear seat passengers felt slightly less than in the hatchback. The SA standard tall passenger’s hair brushed the roof lining, although knee room and foot space remained the same. The triple-tone grey and charcoal fabric seats were nicely shaped for comfort and the central tunnel wasn’t too high. Headroom up front is more generous than in the rear. Vertical, and fore and aft, adjustments allowed for bodies longer than that of our 6’1” tester.

Controls are neatly laid out and easy to reach, pedals are small but well spaced and it’s easy to get the clutch foot to its resting pad. Our overall impression was of good fit and finish, solid build, comfortable suspension and that Fiats deserve better reception than they get in South Africa. This particular model fits its role as a family- or fleet car well although, if we were greedy, we'd ask for a bit more power and sportiness – an 88-kW MultiAir perhaps.

Test car from FCA SA press fleet

Our report on the 1.4 Hatchback is here

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What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.