Auto Express has done it again! With Fiat due to pull the wraps from the new Croma at next week's Geneva Motor Show, this week's mag gives you an exclusive glimpse of what to expect at the Swiss spectacular in 2006. Say hello to the sensational new Stilo, which will go on sale in 18 months' time.
Based on an extended Vauxhall Astra platform, the car will offer improved performance and a bigger interior. Aimed at offering a stylish alternative to German rivals, it's charged with restoring the Italian firm's respectability in the hotly contested small family hatch market.

Buyers will have a choice of 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.4-litre petrol engines, plus two versions of the 1.9 JTD diesel. There is also talk of a new Abarth-badged flagship, powered by the 250bhp 3.2-litre V6 already used by the Alfa 147 GTA. Fitted with 19-inch wheels and a six-speed gearbox, this machine would
be a serious rival to the fastest models in the class, including the all-conquering new Volkswagen Golf GTI. And the launch of the Stilo can't come quickly enough. Fiat has to turn its fortunes around fast; in 2004, the company sold only 112,000 Stilos worldwide - bosses have previously said they need to shift at least 400,000 examples of the hatch to make a profit.

A source from within Fiat said: "The new Stilo has to be a real design piece, with a much sportier image than the current generation. The existing version aimed to emulate German models, so it was designed that way. Now, we're taking it in a different Italian direction."

Prices are tipped to start at around £10,000. Three and five-door variants are under development, while the firm also plans to produce a new estate and a folding hard-top coupé-cabriolet to rival the forthcoming Ford Focus CC.