I bought my Fiat Stilo on the 1st March. I had previously owned two Vauxhall Astra's the most recent being a sporty 2 litre turbo. As running costs were taking a huge chunk of my pay each month I decided to look for something that was cheaper to run.

I didn't have a particular car in mind I simply looked on autotrader for a medium sized car with an engine 1.4 or less. I finally found a Fiat Stilo 'Blue Edition' 2007 model. The car looks exactly like the one in the picture it is the same colour too. It is a limited edition model which comes with a Michael Schumacher bodykit, a rear spoiler and 17" alloys and a 6 speed gearbox as standard. The car is a 1.4 16v and is 95bhp. The car cost me £4500 with 18k miles on the clock and one previous owner. I have seen cheaper models though.

The exterior of the car is very nice, it has a sporty look especially the 3 door version. The interior is also very nice too, the seats are sporty with a black cloth finish, the dials are white with an orange backlight. There is a built in on board computer which does the usual shows mpg, range, time and date etc... The first thing I noticed about the interior was how family friendly it is, below the radio are two spaces to hold drinks as well as a space for your mobile phone (the car has built in bluetooth as standard) and two spaces to hold change or anything else you may like to put in there. There are also drinks holders in each of the front doors and a huge space in the door for me to full with my junk! You also get a decent sized glovebox and a small compartment above the glove which can act as a cooler when the aircon is on for drinks!

Initially I was a little aprehensive about this car having owned a much powerful car before I was expecting to be disappointed with driving this. However the car is very nippy, it accelerates really well and has no problems maintaining a decent pace on the motorway. I have recently cut down on my driving as I am on maternity leave and only now make local journeys during which the car averages about 47 mpg. It is in insurance group 4 and costs me £296 per year to insure (I am 26 with 8 years ncd and 3 points) the roadtax is also a 3rd of what my Astra cost me it's £160 for 12 months.

I have so far found this to be a great car, it is sturdy and has a great sized boot, my daughters travel system fits in nicely, plus you can fit at least 2 possibly 3 adults in the back.