Faults:

One or two rattles, but since the car had exposed screwheads for all the trim panels it was surprisingly easy to rectify trim problems myself!

Brakes wore out very easily.

General Comments:

For a car with a 1.4 engine, tremendous fun to drive. The car's rawness added a real fun factor. Despite this, it was still a good motorway cruiser. Tremendous cabin space for its size eg has more rear legroom than an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series!

It's just a shame the quality of materials used in the car was so poor. Also the stereo positioning at the bottom of the dash was a real pain.

In many ways a landmark car - certainly one ahead of its time considering it was designed in the mid-80s. You can even see certain attributes of the Tipo eg ultra-spacious cabin in modern hatchbacks like the Focus.

Faults:

Very little apart from a new clutch.

General Comments:

Excellent car. I wish they still made them, although the Bravo is a good replacement.

Faults:

Had the cam belt and balancing belt changed, now it keeps cutting out when it gets hot?? Back to the mechanics.

General Comments:

Very underrated car 145bhp. Good top end performance above 4k rpm. Can have a Group N chip put in it to get 172bhp.

Faults:

Many problems mostly related to poor build quality: loose seals; rattles and squeaks galore; poor paintwork; broken seatbelt.

Electrics: heated front seat failure; central locking failure. The car hasn't left me stranded but I couldn't wait to get rid of it.

General Comments:

Potentially a very good car but let down by appalling build quality and even worse dealer assistance. The experience of owning this car has put me off Fiats for life.

Faults:

Persistent rough running & refusal to idle when cold, which main dealer couldn't fix / be bothered with. Central locking doesn't, boot however won't open.

General Comments:

Apart from above, delight to drive (provided you can afford the fuel). Frighteningly quick above 4,000rpm. Lots of space (apart from headroom) & surprisingly durable & quite nice interior.

Faults:

Clutch Cylinder, Engine mountings, catalytic converter.

General Comments:

Good performance for a 1.4i, usually very reliable but has started to become problematic now. It has done almost 90,000 miles and is starting to need regular repairs.

Faults:

Groaning suspension. Leaking clutch hydraulics.

General Comments:

Fuel hungry. A surprising lack of driver headroom if you are over 6 foot tall.

A good combination of 5 door (or 3 door) hatchback with a 145bhp performance engine.