Well I've had the A500 for a day now and have done about 150 miles - so what do I think of it so far?
In a word BRILLIANT
I've come from a Panda 100HP and considering they are so closely related I can't get over how different they are in character. The 500 is much more meaty, all the controls have much greater weight and the car feels much more planted on the road.
The first thing that strikes you is the noise of the engine - that exhaust note is to die for - no wonder it is so popular on YouTube. Sadly you don't get the benefit of it inside the car. On the subject of noise I couldn't help feeling that a sixth gear would have been good, whilst it is running at about 3000rpm at 70 it sounds busier than that. The other source of noise seems to be road noise which seems higher than the Panda - especially over concrete roads. Mine is on 16" Conti's so I don't know what the 17" will be like.
Even in its running in phase the engine is very pokey and very flexible which I like - I don't think I could live with a Renaultsport Clio or Civic Type R because of their peaky natures.
Coming back to the controls I would say that the Sport button needs to be on all the time. The steering is quite ridiculous without it. The clutch is fairly weighty and the gear change ditto. Hopefully over time the gear change will loosen so that it is more like the Panda - that was one of its best points. One thing to watch out for - there is no protection for reverse - no collar to lift or any thing like that and its position is where 6th would be in other cars. I've not gone into it by mistake but I'm sure someone will - this is a real flaw in my opinion.
Other controls whilst looking like the Panda are different. The stalks look identical but operate in a much more refined manner. The Climate controls again look the same but are not identical. When it is set on Auto you don't get any indication of where it is directing the air which is annoying.
One of the big bug-bears in the 100HP has always been the ride. The 500 is simply in a different league. The ride is firm but the car doesn't turn into a buckaroo - it simply carries on about its business unperturbed by the road below - the opposite of the 100HP. Sadly I've not had a real chance to try out the handling as the weather yesterday was so appalling but it did gallop up Bath's equivalent of the Stelvio Pass (Brassknocker Hill) with great gusto.
The Boost gauge doesn't look as add on as I thought it might, I still think a leather cap like the main binnacle would be good. The Blue and Me is better than expected. The link to my Sony Ericsson 810 is brilliant - voice dialling is a dream - ditto texts being read out. The iPod link is a disappointment in that it doesn't seem to accept playlists that originate on iTunes - I'm reverting to a USB stick
In terms of cabin ambiance I'm glad I've got the opening Skydome as I think it might be a bit gloomy without. I'm 5'9" so there aren't any headroom problems but I guess those over 6' would have problems. I was impressed by the lack of noise or buffetting when it is open - certainly at town speed. The seats suit me very well - they are the same as the 100HP but with integral headrests and I don't regret having cloth. Neither do I regret not having the 17" wheels as the smaller ones seem to suit it very well.
All in all I'm loving it as I'm sure you will if and when yours arrives.
Please don't ask how I got it so soon - all I can say is that God works in mysterious ways - but I'm not objecting.
In a word BRILLIANT
I've come from a Panda 100HP and considering they are so closely related I can't get over how different they are in character. The 500 is much more meaty, all the controls have much greater weight and the car feels much more planted on the road.
The first thing that strikes you is the noise of the engine - that exhaust note is to die for - no wonder it is so popular on YouTube. Sadly you don't get the benefit of it inside the car. On the subject of noise I couldn't help feeling that a sixth gear would have been good, whilst it is running at about 3000rpm at 70 it sounds busier than that. The other source of noise seems to be road noise which seems higher than the Panda - especially over concrete roads. Mine is on 16" Conti's so I don't know what the 17" will be like.
Even in its running in phase the engine is very pokey and very flexible which I like - I don't think I could live with a Renaultsport Clio or Civic Type R because of their peaky natures.
Coming back to the controls I would say that the Sport button needs to be on all the time. The steering is quite ridiculous without it. The clutch is fairly weighty and the gear change ditto. Hopefully over time the gear change will loosen so that it is more like the Panda - that was one of its best points. One thing to watch out for - there is no protection for reverse - no collar to lift or any thing like that and its position is where 6th would be in other cars. I've not gone into it by mistake but I'm sure someone will - this is a real flaw in my opinion.
Other controls whilst looking like the Panda are different. The stalks look identical but operate in a much more refined manner. The Climate controls again look the same but are not identical. When it is set on Auto you don't get any indication of where it is directing the air which is annoying.
One of the big bug-bears in the 100HP has always been the ride. The 500 is simply in a different league. The ride is firm but the car doesn't turn into a buckaroo - it simply carries on about its business unperturbed by the road below - the opposite of the 100HP. Sadly I've not had a real chance to try out the handling as the weather yesterday was so appalling but it did gallop up Bath's equivalent of the Stelvio Pass (Brassknocker Hill) with great gusto.
The Boost gauge doesn't look as add on as I thought it might, I still think a leather cap like the main binnacle would be good. The Blue and Me is better than expected. The link to my Sony Ericsson 810 is brilliant - voice dialling is a dream - ditto texts being read out. The iPod link is a disappointment in that it doesn't seem to accept playlists that originate on iTunes - I'm reverting to a USB stick
In terms of cabin ambiance I'm glad I've got the opening Skydome as I think it might be a bit gloomy without. I'm 5'9" so there aren't any headroom problems but I guess those over 6' would have problems. I was impressed by the lack of noise or buffetting when it is open - certainly at town speed. The seats suit me very well - they are the same as the 100HP but with integral headrests and I don't regret having cloth. Neither do I regret not having the 17" wheels as the smaller ones seem to suit it very well.
All in all I'm loving it as I'm sure you will if and when yours arrives.
Please don't ask how I got it so soon - all I can say is that God works in mysterious ways - but I'm not objecting.
