Star of the Frankfurt show

WITH THE biggest motor show since 1999 having come to an end, a "legitimate'' question is: What was most significant about it? One was the stress on the environment with every leading manufacturer publicising its "green'' credentials - this ranged from cars running on hydrogen powered fuel cells (Ford and Mercedes) or "conventional'' internal combustion engines (BMW), to clean diesels (Peugeot-Citroen, Renault, Volkswagen, and VM Motori) to easily recyclable cars with every one prominently displaying their vehicles' low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The second was on safety, for the vehicle's occupants, for other motor vehicles and for other road users like pedestrians and cyclists. The third, convenience, with spacious and comfortable mini MPVs (like the Hyundai Matrix) along with smooth and fuel efficient "automated manual'' gear boxes taking pride of place. Last, but perhaps most importantly, was the rise of the systems (and not merely components) suppliers with giants of long standing like Bosch, Delphi, Denso and Visteon joined by tyre manufacturers like Continental who are now also into suspension and braking systems.

All this is probably rather boring for some readers of this column especially those "raised'' on seductive curves, horse power and 0-100 times! There was enough of that as well with the Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW 7-Series, Jaguar R-Coupe, Lamborghini Murcielago, Mazda RX-7 (relaunched with a newly developed fuel efficient and environmentally friendly Wankel rotary engine), Mercedes SL, classically modern Morgan Aero 8, Nissan Z, Opel Speedster, Pininfarina Start, Renault Vel Satis and Smart Tridion4 standing out.

At an altogether more prosaic level, most modern mass produced cars are excellent in terms of yesterday's standards - and that "yesterday'' is rarely more than five years ago. Manufacturers are therefore driven to distinguish their cars in every which way, often by adopting a "platform strategy'' where the similarities under the skin are rarely obvious. In addition, and in apparent contradiction to their platform strategies, some deliberately decide that "one size fits all'' is not feasible, leave alone desirable, and deliberately set out to remake their image. Fiat is one such with its new Stilo - easily the star of the show and not merely because Michael Schumacher unveiled it to the public along side his race winning Ferrari F1 car. Not many know that Fiat has owned Ferrari for many a year and that its unstinted commitment to the marque has gone a long way in restoring it to its former glory, on and off the track.

The Stilo

As the noted automotive writer, Michael Harvey, put it: "For Fiat, the new Stilo is a landmark car. With it, the Italian industrial group aims to lift its automotive brand away from its traditional habitat of cheap, small cars and into the more profitable world of medium and, perhaps one day, even large ones.'' And the gains can be considerable - Fiat's current operating margin is about 0.3 per cent which it hopes to raise to 3.5.

The Stilo (Stylus in English) is, in European terminology, a C class hatch back - a class first "defined'' by the Volkswagen Golf more than a quarter century ago and that continues to be bench marked by its latest incarnation, the Golf IV, from 1998. This niche is large with European Union sales alone accounting for more than two million in 2000. Other cars in this segment are the Ford Focus, the Honda Civic, the Opel Astra, and the Peugeot 307. Going upmarket, one sees the Alfa Romeo 147, Audi A3, BMW Compact, and the Mercedes A Class.

Fiat, therefore, had its work cut out for it and designed two cars to fit the bill, one with three and the other with five doors. Remarkably, although very similar under the skin, they have only one exterior panel in common, the bonnet! Both share a wide range of engines: 1.2, 1.6, 1.8, and 2.4 litre petrol versions and a 1.9 litre common rail diesel. The powerful five cylinder, 2.4 litre petrol versions are named `Abarth' after name sake sports cars of yester year.

The five door is only slightly longer (by 108 millimetres) than "our own'' Ford Ikon, but is wider and higher and has a considerably longer wheel base making it much more spacious for both passengers and luggage. The three door is 70 mm shorter and slightly lower than its big sister, but makes up by looking more "sporty.'' The bigger car has all kinds of tricks up its sleeve like split - folding rear seats that also slide forward and back and tilt making for more or less leg or luggage room and a front passenger seat back that folds completely flat making for a work or picnic table. I like both cars but prefer the five door for its looks as much as for its utility.

Remarkably, Fiat seems to have achieved the best overall design in this very competitive segment - it is very good in every way and outstanding in some. For example, there is no other with eight, no less, air bags as standard and it is currently the world's only car that will play MP3 music files from the Internet. None in this segment has radar controlled cruise control that automatically maintains a safe distance from the car in front at any set speed. And neither does any have available , at least in Europe, satellite navigation coupled to a system for making appropriate hotel, restaurant and airline reservations.

The Stilo is truly the first mass market car to successfully combine stylish green mobility with comfort, security and communication - a real twenty first century star.

C. Manmohan Reddy

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