Fiat introduced the mildly facelifted Fiat Stilo at the Bologna Motor Show last week. Featuring a slightly re-worked rear end on the five door to bring the styling into line with the three door version it also features new engines including the 140bhp 1.9 JTD diesel thus far the exclusive preserve of Alfa Romeo.

The range on display include the three door, five door, Multiwagon and Abarth Rally, while a model is mounted one of the stand's walls over a bank of TV's screens which flash the Stilo message behind it.

The most evident styling changes of the Stilo Model Year 2004 affect the rear end of the 5 door saloon. The Fiat Style Centre designers have redesigned the tailgate to remove the bumper grooves and the gem-like rear foglights from their current position near the number plate (now they are integral with the lights, which also feature a new interior design). Overall, these two improvements give the rear end of the Stilo 5 door a more sophisticated and harmonious appearance while accentuating its sense of solidity.

All the specification packages available for the 5 door version offer an extra touch of elegance due to side and bumper mouldings that are now body-coloured. A circular logo is now set in the centre of the tailgate (3 and 5 door versions).

The new Fiat Stilo M.Y. 04 range introduces the latest addition to the Fire family: the 1.4 16v unit that develops a maximum power output of 70 kW (95 bhp) available at 5800 rpm and a torque of 128 Nm at 4500 rpm. Fiat Stilo 3 door versions equipped with this engine can reach a top speed of 180 km/h (178 for 5 doors and 176 for the Multi Wagon), accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 12 seconds and cover a kilometre from a standing start in 33.8 seconds). The fuel consumption figures are amongst the best in the segment: 8.2 l/100 km over an urban cycle, 5.5 l/100 km for an extraurban cycle and 6.5 l/100 km over mixed routes. On the Multi Wagon version, the values are 8.7 l/100 km - 5.8 l/100 km - 6.8 l/100 km, while for the 5 door version they are 8.5 l/100 km - 5.7 l/100 km - 6.7 l/100 km.

The second new arrival to the engine range is the powerful 140 bhp 1.9 Multijet, the forerunner of the second generation of Common Rail power units (16 valve JTD engines with Multijet technology) that the Fiat Group introduced to the world for the first time in 2002. The turbodiesel develops a power output of 103 kW (140 bhp) at 4000 rpm and a generous torque of 305 Nm at 2000 rpm. The Fiat Stilo 1.9 Multijet 140 bhp (3 door) touches a top speed of 203 km/h (200 km/h for the 5 door and Multi Wagon), accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.7 seconds and covers a kilometre from a standing start in 30.9 seconds. Despite these searing performance figures, the fuel consumption is low: the saloon returns 7.6 l/100 km over an urban cycle, 4.2 l/100 km over an extraurban cycle, 5.4 l/100 km for a mixed cycle, while the figures for the 5 door and Multi Wagon versions are 7.8 l/100 km - 4.4 /100 km - 5.6 l/100 km respectively.