Hot hatchbacks don’t come much more underrated than the Fiat Tipo 16v. (We ask forgiveness for not using its more exotic though technically identical ‘Sedicivalvole’ name here, but not only will it get tiresome to type, as you can see from this 1992 ad, Fiat itself also reverted to simply ‘16v’ after a while.)
Perhaps its survival rate has something to do with its underrated status. A quick browse of How Many Left suggests there are just a handful left on UK roads, and it’s difficult to venerate something that virtually nobody owns any more. GTI-badged Golfs and 205s are still, relatively speaking, absolutely everywhere, so their enduring appeal is assured.
As you can see though, the press were rather fond of the 148bhp twin-cam Tipo, calling it ‘The best fast hatch’, saying it has ‘punch, poise and fluency’ and adding that it’s ‘a terrific performer’.
We’d usually suggest taking carefully selected quotes in ad cuttings with a pinch of salt. After all, if I write a review of a manufacturer’s car to the effect of “Crossover X is very comfortable, but is otherwise one of the worst cars on the market, with terrifying handling, interior plastics like a Kinder Egg toy, and boot space like the watch pocket on your jeans”, you can guarantee the subsequent ad would read “Crossover X is very comfortable – Antony Ingram, Hagerty.” Then you’d buy one and tell everyone I was a prat for praising such a crap car, not knowing my actual verdict had been more carefully qualified.
When your eyes fall on the final Car quote, “for passengers this must be the best hot hatch by a mile”, your automotive spidey senses are probably already tingling, because to us that’s the kind of subtext-laden sentence that might be followed up by “…but drivers think it’s a pudding”. After all, the Tipo’s greatest quality was probably excellent passenger space.
Just this once, though, Fiat’s selective quoting is pretty representative of how the press actually felt. It really was a great hatch – that Autocar quote is pulled from the magazine’s November 1991 test of the Tipo against a Ford Escort RS2000, Vauxhall Astra GSi, and Honda Civic VTi, a test the Fiat won.
There is still some subtext, in that the Fiat by no means won by a large margin. It pipped the Ford by virtue of its lower price and extra practicality, and that pair only narrowly beat the Civic by offering a touch more wet road grip and chunkier-feeling cabins. But a win is a win, and Fiat legitimately got to use that in its ad.
The clever twist here is that Fiat goes on to offer its own quote, that of a low £14,345 price. For context, an RS2000 was £15,861 back in 1992, so there was quite a gap between them. The Fiat’s price works out to just under £31,000 today, so an equivalent would still be pretty good value, when a Ford Focus ST is nearly £38,000.
Naturally, there’s something Fiat isn’t telling you about that price, and it’s mentioned in the Autocar test: The Fiat was likely to depreciate quicker than its rivals, so wouldn’t remain such great value for long.
It’s even harder to judge its value today, given the aforementioned rarity. You won’t find it in the Hagerty UK Price Guide for instance, since there’s little sale data to go on. As I type this, there’s also not a single one for sale in any of the usual places; not surprising when there are so few around to start with.
If you’re one of that select bunch of owners, though, we hope the car’s as good as the ad copy said it was. At least the rest of us still get to appreciate the Tipo’s charmingly boxy styling and neat five-spoke wheels.
