Yeh well you're probably right but you could say that about most 'go faster' versions of current cars - a zipped up engine, a few strap on's and an extra 5 or 10K for the privilege!
General More and More People Unhappy with the Fiat 500?
- Thread starter ahmett
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General More and More People Unhappy with the Fiat 500?
Yeh well you're probably right but you could say that about most 'go faster' versions of current cars - a zipped up engine, a few strap on's and an extra 5 or 10K for the privilege!
Bought my Black 500 Sport 2010 two years ago. Last week traded it in for 2013 (1 year old) White 1.2 Lounge. Loved driving the Sport and traded it for only £1000 less than I initially paid for it two years ago. Granted I have gone down, a spec./trim, so to speak, but still enjoy the 'ordinary' 1.2 Lounge which I have just purchased. I have no complaints so far with these lovely 500's!
Piccolo Nero e Bella
Established member
Which neatly describes the Abarth version of the 500...(ducks for cover).
true but to be fair the bits that matter have been upgraded - the engine, suspension & brakes. After that it's essentially cosmetic. The 595 is a fairly desirable 'shopping trolley' as shopping trolleys go!
Rubbish - the 500 is definitely not 'a small shopping trolley car' it is a perfectly capable motorway car or long distance cruiser, but is equally happy as a runaround or city car. Even in 1.2 petrol guise it is capable at motorway speeds and is willing, and economical. Admittedly in 'Pop' trim it is basic (no aircon etc) but in Lounge trim it has all the extras I need. If you are purely looking at numbers on a spreadsheet then more possibly offerings from Ford, VW, Toyota etc may look tempting but they won't put a smile on your face everytime you drive them like a 500 will, and if you're buying with head rather than heart then I'd suggest looking at a Panda (pretty much the same car as the 500 but with 4 doors and £1500 cheaper). I will happily choose our 500 for long journeys (space permitting) and there are plenty of members on this forum who've ventured all over the European motorway network in their 500's. A shopping trolley it is certainly not......
I agree with Stu.
Although FYI the Panda is even cheaper that you thought, Fiat are practically giving it away in the UK right now. Take a look at the Fiat UK website and you will see what I mean.
If you are able to benefit from the Privilege scheme as well, or are a member of British Cycling or something similar entitling you to the same deals, you can get a 1.2 Easy (with air con, remote central locking etc) for a tad over £7000, including interest, final balloon payment etc.
Edit: to put some figures to my comments using the offer figures on fiat.co.uk - a 1.2 Panda Easy is available for £7,799 all in. A 500 1.2 Pop (which is for all intents and purposes a lower spec car) is yours for £10,851 all in. So a difference of £3,100!
Although FYI the Panda is even cheaper that you thought, Fiat are practically giving it away in the UK right now. Take a look at the Fiat UK website and you will see what I mean.
If you are able to benefit from the Privilege scheme as well, or are a member of British Cycling or something similar entitling you to the same deals, you can get a 1.2 Easy (with air con, remote central locking etc) for a tad over £7000, including interest, final balloon payment etc.
Edit: to put some figures to my comments using the offer figures on fiat.co.uk - a 1.2 Panda Easy is available for £7,799 all in. A 500 1.2 Pop (which is for all intents and purposes a lower spec car) is yours for £10,851 all in. So a difference of £3,100!
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Rubbish - the 500 is definitely not 'a small shopping trolley car' it is a perfectly capable motorway car or long distance cruiser, but is equally happy as a runaround or city car. Even in 1.2 petrol guise it is capable at motorway speeds and is willing, and economical. Admittedly in 'Pop' trim it is basic (no aircon etc) but in Lounge trim it has all the extras I need. If you are purely looking at numbers on a spreadsheet then more possibly offerings from Ford, VW, Toyota etc may look tempting but they won't put a smile on your face everytime you drive them like a 500 will, and if you're buying with head rather than heart then I'd suggest looking at a Panda (pretty much the same car as the 500 but with 4 doors and £1500 cheaper). I will happily choose our 500 for long journeys (space permitting) and there are plenty of members on this forum who've ventured all over the European motorway network in their 500's. A shopping trolley it is certainly not......
And this proves my point better than anything I can write. People feeling insulted about me calling the 500 (I own and enjoy driving one) a shopping trolley. In a way I am complimenting the 500 as IMO this is exactly what it's designed to be, a town car. It's not the 500's fault people now expect it to be "it is a perfectly capable motorway car or long distance cruiser, "
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What's so special about motorways that you need a certain kind of car? Most of the time you are travelling in a straight line, the road surface is smooth and generally much better than UK town roads. Go on any motorway and you'll see loads of 1.2 or 1 litre cars quite happily buzzing along in the outside lane without any issues.
So if you own a "motorway " car will it then be useless in towns.
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Well let's put it this way, I prefer driving my wife's 500 in town and some shortish trips on a roads because it's small, perky, agile, good fuel economy, easy to park and just plain fun.
I drive my mercedes c220 coupe about 25,000mls per annum. About 2000mls in the last 10 days. It's comfy, it's economical at speed and it's solid. Tbh I could swap the make and model with Ford Focus, mondo etc etc and be just as content.
I imagine any journey over 60mins would be uncomfortable in the fiat. It's noises at speeds, it gets effected by crosswind quite badly and it's offset seating/steering wheel position would be impossible.
Did I say, I love the 500 and hope to never sell it
I drive my mercedes c220 coupe about 25,000mls per annum. About 2000mls in the last 10 days. It's comfy, it's economical at speed and it's solid. Tbh I could swap the make and model with Ford Focus, mondo etc etc and be just as content.
I imagine any journey over 60mins would be uncomfortable in the fiat. It's noises at speeds, it gets effected by crosswind quite badly and it's offset seating/steering wheel position would be impossible.
Did I say, I love the 500 and hope to never sell it
ahmett
Prominent member
The fiat 500 is more than rubbish on the motorway. It has awful aerodynamics and at anything over 50 mph has awful fuel economy for such a small car.
The fact that people are prepared to argue against your comment comparing the 500 to a shopping trolley (which is obviously intended to be provocative
) does not prove your argument. The 500 may well have been designed as a 'City' car but is perfectly at home as a long distance cruiser or motorway car. The OP's original agument was about reliability and problems with cars not about it's perceived usefulness as anything other than a 'shopping' car. As you can only 'imagine' it's suitability for any journey over 60mins, then perhaps you should give it a chance before making sweeping statements about how you think it might not be up to the job
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I'm dreading the Melbourne to Sydney drive for Christmas and it has nothing to do with my car. It's just incredibly boring by myself and I'd rather be flying than driving my co-dependent cat 9 and a half hours because she isn't into separation. The 500 is more than capable of making the trip, I've done it before.
Don't disagree with you that there are loads of cars out there which would be better suited to the motorway than a 500. I always found ours a little bit noisy and lacking in seat comfort travelling from Cardiff to South Devon (which is approx 150 miles).
However, it definitely isn't "more than rubbish" on the motorway. Nor does it have "awful" fuel economy above 50mph (talking about the 1.2 here). If you did a constant 65mph on the motorway over say a 100 mile stretch, I'd be utterly amazed if you didn't return 50mpg. It only really starts to suffer beyond 70mph IMO - I know jrkitching would dispute that, but his economy figures are the stuff of legend and should be ignored
If you want a truly rubbish car on the motorway, try out a Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz. That is a frightening car to drive on the motorway
ahmett
Prominent member
Don't disagree with you that there are loads of cars out there which would be better suited to the motorway than a 500. I always found ours a little bit noisy and lacking in seat comfort travelling from Cardiff to South Devon (which is approx 150 miles).
However, it definitely isn't "more than rubbish" on the motorway. Nor does it have "awful" fuel economy above 50mph (talking about the 1.2 here). If you did a constant 65mph on the motorway over say a 100 mile stretch, I'd be utterly amazed if you didn't return 50mpg. It only really starts to suffer beyond 70mph IMO - I know jrkitching would dispute that, but his economy figures are the stuff of legend and should be ignored
If you want a truly rubbish car on the motorway, try out a Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz. That is a frightening car to drive on the motorway
Id rather take the bus than have a Matiz and yes I have driven one, it was a dealer courtesy car! At least the service was cheap .
Piccolo Nero e Bella
Established member
Id rather take the bus than have a Matiz and yes I have driven one, it was a dealer courtesy car! At least the service was cheap .
The Matiz is a frightening car full stop.
I wouldn't hesitate to take the 500 to Sydney though I haven't done any trips of over 3 hours in it so far. I find it extremely comfortable on longer trips if somewhat noisy. Having said that, when cruising comfortably at 100/110kph one can converse at normal levels provided the roof's closed and the windows are up.
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Final comment because it's like ever decreasing circles on here. If reliability is the op original point then my point backs this up IMO. If, as I say the vehicle isn't engineered to be anything more than a city car ( I will refrain from the other term) then of course using it for motorway munching and heavier mileage will result in more repairs.
You guys keep convincing yourselves it's capable of so much more than being a city car then don't moan about reliability when it starts to wear out
You guys keep convincing yourselves it's capable of so much more than being a city car then don't moan about reliability when it starts to wear out
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Not sure munching down the motorway would be worse than city driving where you would have more use of the clutch, gearbox, steering, brakes & suspension. Motorway - engine & wheel bearings?
When i had my Mjet 1.3 500 i traveled around 15 times from Redcar to Manchester around 250 miles round trip ,A1,M1 and M62 and i have to say the car was excellent certainly not out of its depth ,i enjoyed the motorways it was more relaxing than the stop start towns .
Unless you're regularly going at an illegal speed, then just about all of the car will last for many more miles cruising on the motorway than running in town traffic.
What absolutely will hammer it is lots of short runs with a cold engine, especially if you are unsympathetic for the first couple of miles.
Speaking personally, I'd say the biggest limitation to using a 500 for longer (>2hr) trips is the (lack of) comfortable seats, at least in pop/lounge trim.
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It's the same with any car, large or small, more mileage results in more wear and tear, more repairs and more frequent servicing, this will not be unique to the 500. Also, unless you are travelling at highly illegal speeds, motorway miles are kinder than city miles.
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