Steed said:

I find myself driving on sheet ice at 70mph at least twice a week.

If the sort of scenario in the video came up on a motorway surely the biggest problem would be other drivers; cars, vans, lorries etc. crashing in to you whilst trying to avoid the harzard you are trying to avoid?

I can see the advantage of ESP for unsure drivers and for larger than the 500 cars / vans. Seems a bit over the top for a 1.2 500 though? But hey then wtf do I know.... :slayer:

Click to expand...

Now you tell me You are probably right and I may have wasted £300 but at the same time, if what happened this winter where the whole of our county had no grit and we couldn't drive for a week happens again, I can really P my boss off who can't get his big flash car up the hill into work and go sailing past him in my smiley 500!

t16ger said:

Now you tell me You are probably right and I may have wasted £300

Click to expand...

It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's personal preference. ESP works in other scenarios but for effect you need to demonstrate it under the worst conditions. The money is not wasted either, you have peace of mind and a top option that many people will want whenever the time comes to sell your car.

grimwau said:

It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's personal preference. ESP works in other scenarios but for effect you need to demonstrate it under the worst conditions. The money is not wasted either, you have peace of mind and a top option that many people will want whenever the time comes to sell your car.

Click to expand...

Very true thank you, I think I'll be happier with it. Sell the car though!? after waiting this long for a car I'm never selling him

Bhindi said:

Hi, In configuring my potential 500, whilst I angst over should I get a 1.2 lounge or 1.4, I have noticed the ESP is not an option on the 1.4.. Now I fear getting a too technical an answer on this, as I barely appreciate what ESP, to surmise, I belive it to be increased handling ability when turning the wheel.., why would this not be available on the 1.4.. Does it not need it, or its already included?

Click to expand...

ESP does not improve the cars handling but is a safety aid to prevent the car spinning or going out of control in extreeme circumstances. It applies individual brakes if the car gets out of shape e.g. if you go far too fast round a corner.

I am not sure that it is really necessary on a car such as the 500 and in any case the real problem with the Fiat system is that it cannot be switched off if the car is fitted with it as far as I know (certainly the case on any Panda fitted with this option). This is not really a problem if you are using the car on the road when you will be driving well inside the grip levels but if you do take a vehicle on a track day then ESP may get in the way of the fun.

When you insure it make sure you tell them it has ESP most seem to give a slight reduction in premiums..

Andy Monty said:

When you insure it make sure you tell them it has ESP most seem to give a slight reduction in premiums..

Click to expand...

Ah good thinking Batman I'll give that one a go, thank you.

I think it's probably better to have it and never need it than not have it and really need it sometime, as mentioned earlier. Even the best fighter pilots and racing car drivers have systems to help them, no reason why we shouldn't. If everyone on the road was alert all the time and superb at driving in terrible conditions there'd be no need but the world doesn't work like that!

Bianchiboy said:

I think it's probably better to have it and never need it than not have it and really need it sometime, as mentioned earlier. Even the best fighter pilots and racing car drivers have systems to help them, no reason why we shouldn't. If everyone on the road was alert all the time and superb at driving in terrible conditions there'd be no need but the world doesn't work like that!

Click to expand...

More often that not it's other people causing the issue, ESP ain't gonna help with those situations. You can stop / slow down in safety but what about the car behind you?

Don't get me wrong I don't have a bad thing to say about ESP. It works. It's other people that don't. Just this morning had a guy nearly pull out in to the side of me, one hand on the mobile phone, fag on the go, other hand between the wheel and the hand break...

Steed said:

More often that not it's other people causing the issue, ESP ain't gonna help with those situations. You can stop / slow down in safety but what about the car behind you?

Don't get me wrong I don't have a bad thing to say about ESP. It works. It's other people that don't. Just this morning had a guy nearly pull out in to the side of me, one hand on the mobile phone, fag on the go, other hand between the wheel and the hand break...

Click to expand...

I agree... when I had my first Tipo I was waiting on the slip road of the M1 to get off at the junction, and the bloke behind me misjudged his stopping distances and rammed into the back of me, which shunted me forward into the car in front (and I did have the handbrake on so you can tell how hard he hit me). No amount of fab technology could have helped me there (apart from a teleportation device, which I think is coming in with the 2 pot engines and revised suspension). The insurance form was quite funny... how fast were you going? 0 mph. How fast was the car in front that you hit going? 0 mph. No accounting for big fat d**kheads. :shrug:

Steed said:

More often that not it's other people causing the issue, ESP ain't gonna help with those situations. You can stop / slow down in safety but what about the car behind you?

Don't get me wrong I don't have a bad thing to say about ESP. It works. It's other people that don't. Just this morning had a guy nearly pull out in to the side of me, one hand on the mobile phone, fag on the go, other hand between the wheel and the hand break...

Click to expand...

Proving my point perfectly. Shame there aren't more driver intervention aids for people like that!