Fiat Tipo review

Entry-level Tipos undercut rivals such as the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra by a considerable margin, but the gap is soon closed if you choose a high trim level, such as S-Design or Sport, or either of the two most powerful engines. The Station Wagon estate costs around £1000 more than the hatchback.

The Tipo doesn’t hold its value as well as its better-known rivals, although the diesel versions of the Tipo do make a fair amount of sense as a company car thanks to their sub-100g/km CO2 emissions. The range-topping 1.6-litre diesel averaged 49.1mpg in our real-world True MPG tests, which is a little disappointing when you consider the Vauxhall Astra 1.6 CDTi 110 returned 56.3mpg.

The petrol versions make the most sense if you're buying privately. We reckon the 1.4 T-Jet 120 is the best of these, although the entry-level 94bhp 1.4 is worth considering if you're on a really tight budget. Whichever engine you choose, avoid range-topping S-Design and Sport trims; they’re too pricey. Entry-level Easy trim gets the basics (air-con, electric front windows and DAB radio), although we’d recommend moving up to Easy Plus, which adds alloys, electric rear windows, cruise control, rear parking sensors and a 7.0in touchscreen infotainment system.

It’s good to see that even the Easy trim gets autonomous emergency braking as standard, while you can add a Safety Pack Plus to get adaptive cruise control. Despite this sophisticated equipment, though, the Tipo only scored four stars out of five from Euro NCAP. Fiat as a manufacturer finished mid-table in the 2018 What Car? Reliability Survey, which is at least above Volkswagen, Ford and Volvo. 

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