I seem to be very familiar with Fiat’s new Stilo, probably because I saw it first in the metal just a year ago, at the 2001 Geneva Show, and subsequently up very close during a trip to Turin.

It impressed then. It impresses still. And if Fiat have ever had a contender against class-leaders Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus, this is it. But they have to get people into the car, because Fiat don’t have a credible heritage in this particular segment.

(Not because of bad product in recent years - the Bravo/Brava combination, if confusing in names, were solid, decent cars. And sold solidly in some markets outside Ireland.)

It’s no news now that Stilo is two cars in one, a sexy 3-door and a solid family 5-door. Two target markets, each with divergent needs. But both requiring cars which they can be proud of, that have plenty of equipment, and which won’t let them down.

That last is pretty well settled throughout the motor industry now, as reliability is very much a given in any car from a 21st-century country. The pride factor will come if the car is successful in the marketplace. The specification factor is the vehicle by which Fiat have decided they will gain that first attribute.

And so, there’s nothing to touch the Stilo in the class for specification, euro for euro.

The review car was the ‘basic’ 5-door, the 1.2-litre Active. For your 18,095 units of coloury new money (Fiat didn’t add the extra 1% VAT at the beginning of March), there’s air-conditioning as standard, full remote control locking, electric power steering, foglights incorporated in the headlights, front and side airbags, a multitude of ABS and traction control technology, seats that all adjust in various ways, a glovebox that is heated or refrigerated, and a customising function for various items, such as speed limit warnings, along with a full trip computer.

OK - that reads like a listing from a brochure (and it’s not even all). But it needed to be done, if only for you to be able to compare this with a similarly-priced competitor. Between this car and the top-range 2.4-litre Abarth (28,885 euros) there are nine buying ‘steps’ with values between 185-5,585 euros which give various packages of extra goodies. It is a clever and easy-to-understand buyer’s guide on the showroom floor.

Bottom line, there’s a lot of good stuff here.

It’s packaged in a car which kind of bucks the current curvy styling trend in the class, and stands out because it does so. To some it might look plain, to others a nicely-edged design. The front end has a shovel look about it, purposeful. In side view, the extra height of the 5-door is made less top-heavy by strong ‘shoulder’ sections leading along the full length of the bodywork. The rear treatment on the 5-door is less flamboyant than on the 3-door sibling.

Fiat seem also to have got the interior finishing sorted. Instead of the delicate-looking centre stack of the predecessor Bravo, there’s a strong and well-integrated operational area in a ‘slush’-formed dashboard moulding. Good big buttons on the radio, and a central volume control that’s easy to grope for and built in the same style as the heater/aircon controls below it.

The steering wheel is centre-heavy with its airbag, but there’s a good view of the white-on-black instruments, and the info panel set between the two larger dials. The wheel is adjustable for both rake and reach.

A tallish gearshift coming up out of the dividing console proved neat and precise to use (I remember the days when a Fiat gearshift equated with stirring porridge). It’s a 6-speed box, by the way.

The front seats support well, but don’t over-grip like some ‘sporty’ seats. Over some longish trots they proved comfortable, and there were no complaints from those in the back either, as even on this basic model they too can be reclined. Legroom in the back is best in class.

The 1.2-litre engine surprised (though it is 1.3-litre for motor tax purposes) with its very adequate performance from 80bhp. The top gear (6th) is only good for motorway, though, as it won’t pull anything at low revs. Never mind, the motor runs beautifully in the lower gears.

The ride and handling is well up to class, and just as well because arch-competitor Toyota Corolla has just about caught up on the segment benchmark Focus, so Fiat couldn’t afford to lag behind. Remember too that this body and underpinnings is designed to cope with a 2.4-litre petrol and a JTD turbodiesel that positively blisters along.

So, first term with Stilo suggests that while Fiat has a big challenge on its hands, it now has a car ready for that challenge. They’re not selling it cheap, so it won’t get the name of a cheap car. But they are selling it loaded.

And a first-month achievement of over 6% of the segment is a good start, indicating that the message is going down.