New Fiat Tipo tries hard

Fiat’s Tipo is the latest addition to a range that has been crying out for expansion. In fact, apart from the cute 500, the brand has not really had a vehicle for the masses.

As a medium-compact vehicle Fiat have dived into an extremely competitive segment and the question is whether the Tipo has a competitive edge.

I spent a couple of days with the top of the range 1.6-litre Easy Auto, which might not be the perfect vehicle to assess the range by in a very price sensitive market. This derivative comes in at R294 900 but it is worth noting that the range starts with the 1.4-litre Pop at R229 900.

The naturally aspirated petrol engine produces 81kW and is linked to a six-speed automatic gearbox. A more expensive 1.4 turbocharged version is available overseas. This setup was my least favourite aspect of the Tipo.

It was one of the slowest cars we have tested in a very long time. The 0-100km/h time came up in 15 seconds, and the car only managed to break 145km/h in a full 1km of tar. Sure the car has never been billed as a hot hatch, but on the Reef, especially, the Tipo feels lethargic at the best of times.

And depending on traffic conditions, this caused the gearbox to hunt a bit, particularly when using the cruise control. My guess is a manual box would combine far better.

Having said that, in and about town, the setup was adequate. The styling is unique. The Tipo is unlikely to be confused with anything else, which I mark as a plus at this end of the market. So too do I regard the LED daytime running lights.

The car appears quite long and the hatch has strong lines, making the car appear larger than many other medium compacts.

Similarly, the interior feels spacious and is comfortable, although it took a day or two to get used to the seating position, as is sometimes the case when moving between cars.

The rear seating is comfortable and headroom quite adequate. At the sides of the luggage compartment two panels for holding small items can be removed to increase the width.

The roller-blind on the hatchback covers the load and can be removed and stored under the floor panel.

Two lights, two bag hooks and four load-retaining hooks are also present. The Tipo features the commonly used independent McPherson struts on the front axle and an interconnected torque beam on the rear and does its job adequately.

The Tipo is intended as a family commuter and the ride quality is up to this. The Tipo has the usual handsfree Bluetooth interface which allows for audio streaming, a text reader and voice recognition.

There are also AUX and USB ports. The automatic air conditioning worked well, but then it is winter.

The Tipo pricing is competitive but not keen, so for prospective buyers I would say take a look, it may well appeal, but then haggle about the price.