Mundane Italian needs more oomph
Fiat SA is again trying its hand at the hotly contested C-segment of the market by making available the Tipo hatch and sedan variants. Launched in Port Elizabeth, the model is offered as a valuefor-money proposition in a segment that has strong contenders, ranging from the Ford Focus and Kia Cerato to the Opel Astra.
Looking back at Fiat’s recent history, say about a decade-anda-half, it had advocates in the form of the so-so Stilo, succeeded by the promising Bravo. The latter was mostly good, featuring a punchy 1.4l turbo T-Jet engine in the topspecification models, while the diesel was thrifty, if suffering from turbo lag, but the Bravo was an honest proposition nonetheless. It was priced relatively well too, but it never quite managed to upset the apple cart of the establishment nor did it have the mainstay to remain in the game.
Fast forward to 2017 and the Bravo’s successor, the Tipo, is aimed more at the lower end of the segment spectrum, with a starting price of R229,900 for the sedan (R249,900 for the hatch) and topping out at R274,900 and R294,900 respectively.
It does overlap the top-end of the B-segment and the midspec C-segment. Pound for pound the Tipo takes direct aim at the Ford Focus range from a pricing point.
So does the Italian offering measure up? We drove the Tipo range over varying tarmac that included rippled sections, which is a great barometer for testing suspension damping and overall build integrity.
This being an Italian offering, styling remains a key element of that country’s vehicles, at least in most instances. In that light, the Tipo seems to have taken some design elements from the previous-generation VW Golf from the front, while in the instance of the hatch derivative, the C-pillar is a nod to the first-generation BMW 1 Series. Moving rearwards, more than a whiff of current Opel Astra can be seen, particularly with those boomerang-shaped light clusters. It is not a bad thing as European markets have a distinct styling preference.
Available in three trim flavours — Pop, Easy and Lounge — the two latter models we drove at the launch were reasonably well specified with the Lounge adding items such as a U-Connect infotainment screen, complete with navigation, while USB ports, Bluetooth connectivity and voice inputs are standard fare across the range. The Lounge also offers chrome door handles and even deliciouslooking 17-inch alloy wheels.
While the cabin is well equipped, the materials are hard and grainy and reflective under sunlight, although overall fit and finish is good. The cabin is fairly spacious with decent head and legroom for both quarters, while boot space is one of the model’s fortes with the hatch measuring in at 410l, while the sedan offers 520l.
Petrol engines come in the form of two normally aspirated engines: a 1.4l pushing out 70kW and 124Nm and a 1.6l making 81kW and 152Nm, both allied to a six-speed manual transmission.
The lone diesel is a 1.3l multijet variant putting out 70kW and a useable 200Nm through a five-speed manual gearbox. That engine is exclusively offered in the lowest-specification (Pop) sedan, which is primarily aimed at the rental and fleet markets.
At launch, we drove the hatch in 1.4 Lounge specification over varying road conditions and at coastal altitude and one
thing was quite evident — the engine is underpowered and offered a rather lacklustre performance, necessitating rowing the gearbox to a lower gear to extract every ounce of the available 124Nm.
Fiat SA will not be offering the more powerful 1.4l turbo engines available in the stable, saying it would push the pricing out of the projected market. It is a pity, as that would redeem the model, particularly squared up against the Focus, which is well priced and offers decent get-upand-go from its all-turbo range.
The diesel sedan we drove felt the much peppier of the two engines and pulled with gusto up most hills without the need of sneaking into a lower gear to do so. Alas, the engine is not offered in the Lounge specification variants, which are the ones most people will be looking to buy.
As a package the Tipo is, well, middle of the road and aside from the attractive pricing point, the 1.4 normally aspirated engine could do with a bit more oomph. The only solution would be for the company to offer the 1.6 engine with the Lounge specification.
As it stands, the Ford Focus as a package is the superior offering at this pricing point.