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It took almost ten years for the Italian carmaker from Turin to re-enter the big stage of the C segment. The end of 2015 was the market launch for the four-door notchback variant of the compact Tipo. Fiat has already sold more than 35.000 units in the marketing area Europe, Middle East and Asia. With the five-door variant we tested, the Italians want to claim a piece of the big cake of the C-segment. The Turin engineers rely on a functional interior and high utility value. In addition, the family fitness must not be neglected. With two gasoline and diesel engines and three equipment lines, the Tipo has been targeting customers both in-house and with customers of other brands since this year. The entry is the Tipo with his 1.4 liter 90 PS petrol engine at 14.990 Euro.
Fiat Tipo 1.6 Multijet 5 door, lounge
Golf robber from Italy?
The Tipo saw the light of day for the first time in the production period from 1988 to 1995. At that time it replaced the Ritmo, which had been produced by Fiat up until then. In 1995, the Turinese said goodbye to the C-segment and sent the Bravo into the race in its place. With the complete introduction of all 500 models, Fiat is now concentrating on the highly competitive C-segment, which has created a very strong competitive situation with the German top dog. The front of the five-door hatchback version of the Tipo is characterized by two sweeping aprons that are slightly raised to the sides. The brand logo sits prominently on the almost aggressive-looking honeycomb grille. The side rounding of the headlights continues in a straight bead over the entire length of the vehicle before it ends in a straight line at the rear lights. At the rear, the headlights ensure a strong and confident appearance. The rear apron on the roof contributes to improved aerodynamics. At just under 4,37 meters in length, the car is a full 16 cm shorter than the four-door variant. The optimized wind slipperiness put the Tipo in the upper third of the list of efficient vehicles, especially in terms of fuel consumption (3,7 liters in the standard test) and exhaust emissions (98 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer).
Pleasant interior
Already at the first boarding, it seems that the cockpit explains itself and turns ergonomically to the driver. All the instruments that affect the vehicle, as well as the seven-inch Entertainment Display in the middle of the dashboard, do not offer too much, but not too little information. Like a smartphone or tablet, the screen can be controlled with a simple swipe or tapping. The structured front with the instrument panel on one level is an eye-catcher and control center at the same time and also provides a generous sense of space. The user-friendly tailored front seats not only look stylish, but also provide support for every driving situation. In terms of flexibility, the Tipo five-door is clearly in line with the trend of its competitors. The trunk volume of the compact from Italy can unfortunately only be quoted with full seating. By occupying five people who can sit comfortably in the passenger compartment, the trunk still holds good 440 liter. For this purpose, the engineers from Turin have come up with a flexibly usable luggage compartment, because the load compartment floor can either be lowered completely or fixed at an 40 degree angle.
Lively diesel
A whopping dose of driving pleasure is provided by the 120-PS diesel tested by us. Because with a maximum torque of 320 Newton meters at 1.750 revolutions, the unit can at any time add significantly noticeable again or is at the light at the traffic light always in the front row. Combined with the short-stepped six-speed manual transmission, the Fiat Tipo can be steered very efficiently through city and urban traffic, but also with great speed over the motorway. The steering is emphasized track safely designed, so that in the city just in conjunction with its turning circle of 10,93 m a very relaxed driving or parking (with installed rear view camera) is possible.
Do not overload driver assistance systems
The driver assistance systems that we already know from the four-door Tipo can also be found in its five-door version. The developers from Turin not only installed a greatly improved ESC (Electronic Driving Stability Control). Also integrated in the system are hill start assist devices (the vehicle holds the brake pressure for two seconds when starting on gradients), a traction control (TCS) and a brake assistant (PBA - increases emergency braking automatically and independently of the driver's behavior). Depending on the equipment, other features of the assistance systems include a cruise control system, both conventional and adaptive, parking sensors, rain and light sensors and an automatically dimming interior mirror. Our test car also has a city emergency braking system that starts to work at speeds of more than 6 km / h.
Moderate surcharge policy
The compact with five doors from Italy with the most powerful diesel engine is available from a price of 20.190 euros. Fiat offers a 1.6-liter MultiJet with 120 hp and a six-speed manual transmission. The price difference between the two equipment lines Easy and Lounge (only for the 1.6 liter diesel) is in the moderate range at 1.000 euros. In addition to the metallic paint (€ 550), the seat heating (€ 250), the Lounge Tech package (€ 990 - rear parking sensors, Uconnect® navigation system and reversing camera), the lounge comfort package (€ 300 - front center armrest and rear, electric lumbar support for the driver's seat, height-adjustable passenger seat), the lounge style package (€ 650 - 17-inch alloy wheels, chrome strips on the front and side windows, tinted rear window panes) and the spare wheel (€ 180).
And finally ...
Its combination of utility and driving pleasure make the "Golf Raider" from Italy with its five-door variant an acceptable nod up and down effect. Compared to the German top dog, the Fiat Tipo is a successful alternative, which is definitely worth considering when buying a car.
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Fiat |
Tipo 1.6 MultiJet |
| Motor | R4, diesel |
| Capacity | 1.598 ccm³ |
| Performance | 120 hp @ 3.750 rpm |
| kraft | 320 Nm @ 1.750 rpm |
| Transmission | Six-speed dual clutch transmission |
| drive axle | front-wheel drive |
| Length Width Height | 4.368, 1.792, 1.595 mm |
| wheelbase | 2.638mm |
| Empty weight | 1.370 kg |
| turning circle | 10,93m |
| top speed | 200 km / h |
| Acceleration 0-100 km / h | 9,8 sec |
| standard consumption | 3.7 l / 100 km |
| everyday driver | 4.9 l / 100 km |
| Eco-expert | 4.3 l / 100 km |
| Field service mode | 5.2 l / 100km |