Fiat Ritmo T-Jet Sport 2008 Review

Road Test - Fiat Ritmo T-Jet Sport

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 3.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.5/5.0

About our ratings

In isolation, Fiat's Ritmo looks a similar size to its stablemate, Punto. But the smart styling of the Italian hides its size -- there's actually an extra 300mm in length, over 100mm of additional width and slightly greater height and wheelbase measurements in the Ritmo's favour.

The vehicle on test here fields the new T-Jet 1.4-litre engine. Though it's not a twin-charged (supercharger and turbocharger) marvel like the 1.4 that lives under the bonnet of Volkswagen's Golf GT TSI, it's nonetheless a thoroughly modern and impressive powerplant.

The turbo-petrol mill is, in fact, the key element to the Ritmo's appeal. It has a nice little Italian rasp to the exhaust and the turbo whine adds further charm to the whole affair. In addition, it's 'petrol' revvy but 'diesel' torquey at the same time, and the turbo boost comes on with some real aggression. In fact, this is the engine that 'makes' the Ritmo, as mentioned in Joe Kenwright's review of the Ritmo Emotion JTD here.

The turbo petrol engine will see off significantly larger displacement naturally-aspirated engines, in the right circumstances. Be advised though, use the power and you'll see fuel consumption akin to those 'larger engines'. We averaged a '2.0-litre-ish' 8.9L/100km over the test period.

The six close ratios in the manual transmission were nicely calculated to provide the Ritmo with relatively unfussed touring ability, strong acceleration and a reasonable chance of launching quickly (with the right degree of clutch). We write "relatively unfussed", because at open-road speeds the Ritmo is a little noisy, due to a combination of wind and engine noise. The wind noise is bearable and the engine noise is actually part of the car's allure.

As a guide, the Ritmo is hitting 2000rpm in sixth at 80km/h, so it's not by any means geared like a V8. The gearshift for the six-speed manual transmission is very light and swift to use -- with the added benefit of being foolproof -- but the clutch take-up is quite high and, combined with a fairly ordinary driving position overall, can become wearying after a while.

Even with the comfortable and supportive seats, the driver is left adopting a bent-knee position (seat too close to the pedals) or an uncomfortable strain on the ankle. Having said all that, the Ritmo's driving position isn't a million miles away from what could be quite acceptable. Some of the hard yards have already been done, with pedal placement good for heel-and-toe.

The high clutch take-up actually can work to the driver's advantage, since it allows the driver to engage the clutch for gear-changing without the pedal needing to go all the way to the floor. If the driver is satisfied with this, it's possible to establish a driving position that is closer to ideal.

In other words, you can adjust the seat further away from the pedals and pull out the steering wheel reach to bring the wheel closer to you and still not be too far away from the gearshift in odd gears (forward). Otherwise, it's all a bit hard. But with this slightly compromised driving position, a footrest for the left foot is just about mandatory -- and it's not present in the Ritmo.

Finding a comfortable driving position encroaches on the kneeroom for the rear-seat occupant immediately behind the driver, particularly if the passenger is an adult.

The luggage compartment is short, but relatively deep -- aided by a high shelf below the tailgate. This reduces the field of vision through the rear window for the driver, but does mean that the Ritmo is good for carrying around a week's worth of groceries for a small family -- or all the kids' paraphernalia for a night being babysat by the grandparents.

The steering wheel almost provides an unimpeded view of the instruments but the instruments themselves are not easily legible at a glance -- particularly during daylight hours. Each instrument dial is deep-set and yet allows shadows to fall across the dials when the sun is shining from different directions. Furthermore, the orange graphics on light grey background don't provide a sensible contrast that's also easy on the eye.

At-a-glance reading of the speedo and tachometer is easily foiled by the two major instruments being placed at odds with ergonomic convention, the tacho being on the right and the speedometer on the left. With the speedo reading up to 260km/h, the calibration for 100km/h sits at about the 10 o'clock position and the 60km/h calibration at about 8 o'clock, making it look like an idle speed calibration on a tacho at that speed. All this combines with graphics, colours and general legibility to make the speedo read-out almost meaningless without a long look from the road.

The handbrake is positioned left of the cupholders, but isn't as difficult to reach as some cars with the handbrake located this way. Overriding the traction control and toggling the sport mode setting for the suspension is a job best left for the front-seat passenger, because that's where those two buttons are located -- immediately to the right of where the steering wheel would be located in a left-hand drive car.

The suspension provides a good ride, to a surprising extent in a car that we figured would be more of a hardcore handler. Even in the sports setting, it's not bone-breaking. In normal mode, the Ritmo actually rides better than recent Peugeots we've driven, although bumps will generate some rattles, clatters and thumps from the interior fittings.

From a handling viewpoint, the Ritmo drives more like a properly-tuned 'family' car rather than 'hot' hatch. It's inclined to be throttle-sensitive, with power-on uphill leading the car to enter the corner with a wider-radius attitude, but steering response is more immediate with power off.

While the brakes seem to have too much initial bite, at higher speeds the pedal feel and travel are very progressive for sports-focused motoring.

It's a good all-round combination of vehicle dynamics: straightline performance, cornering and braking -- it's just the steering that lets it down. Electrically assisted, the Ritmo's steering is at times both heavy and lacking feel. It's one of the worse examples of this sort of steering assistance not reaching the required standard. Improving with a bit of speed and weight over the front wheels, it is otherwise heavy and uncommunicative at the straight-ahead and, in the corners, the Ritmo feels larger than it actually is.

Though larger than the Punto, the Ritmo's rear cabin feels claustrophobic for adults -- courtesy of the upswept hipline, which also obstructs the view for kids. Rear-seat space is actually quite accommodating otherwise [Ed: even if access is compromised, as detailed in our review of the JTD turbodiesel Ritmo here]

Trimmed in a charcoal cloth trim with a red metallic-look mesh, the cabin is probably not going to be to everyone's taste, necessarily. There's a faux-carbonfibre texture on the dash, which breaks up the tedium of the charcoal.

The HVAC is generally easy to use, but the right-side eyeball vent doesn't actually swing across to the left far enough -- airflow from that vent sort of whistles past your right ear, if it gets even that close. Similarly, there's just one eyeball vent for rear-seat passengers, discharging from the rear of the centre console.

Fit and finish was generally okay, although the interior fittings do seem to like rubbing up against each other and there was a gap in the join of a seal around the sunroof, which looks like a manufacturing oversight.

The cornering lights worked well, but the headlights were set too low and even on high-beam, weren't exceptionally powerful. Projector beams allow neat and tidy packaging around the front end of the car, but perhaps aren't always the best choice for lighting your way Down Under.

The Ritmo leaves us very much in two minds. It's certainly a fun car to drive, if you can overlook the steering, but unless you're totally smitten with the styling and the car's whole presentation, the $2000 extra for the Volkswagen Golf GT TSI is money well spent.

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