Hi folks
After an agonisingly long wait, my 500 arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've been meaning to post something about it here, because this forum has been incredibly helpful in the early stages of ownership.
A change in family circumstances earlier this year meant we needed a second car. As I've been promising my eleven year-old son that he would be able to help with the decision the next time we bought a car, we sat down at the computer to do our research.
His one and only buying criterion was that we had to get something from the sub-zero end of the Top Gear cool wall.
Because I'm a sensible, middle-aged grown-up, my buying criteria were much more sophisticated and practical. The new car had to be small. And it had to be Italian....And it had to be from the sub-zero end of the Top Gear cool wall. (Can you tell that I'm not very grown-up?)
Eventually we narrowed it down to two choices: the Alfa MiTo or the 500. I left the final decision to him. He said Fiat. So that was that. Well, nearly. I made the mistake of showing him the configurator on the Fiat website. And within 15 minutes he'd spec'd the new car with every imaginable stripe, sticker, gadget and accessory he could fit on it.
I made him take some of the stuff off before we ordered it, because frankly it was a bit messy and bling-laden. But even as ordered, it still looks like a car designed by an eleven year-old: Pasadoble Red 1.4 Sport, with the 5 O-spoke alloy wheels, red brake callipers and the two broad, white roof and bonnet stripes. Oh, and the side rubbing strips with chrome "500" logo.
I'm sure people laugh and point at the shiny, tiny car driven by a middle-aged bloke with too little hair apparently trying to hard. But I can't say I'm bothered. I've done a couple of long-ish weekend runs and lots of driving around town. And it's been brilliant in every way. And I just love how people smile when they see it at traffic lights, and other 500 drivers give a big grin and a wave. I haven't had this much fun from a car since the Alfasud which I drove and drove and drove until eventually it dissolved into a little puddle of rust outside my house, circa 1990.
And, um, well, that's all really.
After an agonisingly long wait, my 500 arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've been meaning to post something about it here, because this forum has been incredibly helpful in the early stages of ownership.
A change in family circumstances earlier this year meant we needed a second car. As I've been promising my eleven year-old son that he would be able to help with the decision the next time we bought a car, we sat down at the computer to do our research.
His one and only buying criterion was that we had to get something from the sub-zero end of the Top Gear cool wall.
Because I'm a sensible, middle-aged grown-up, my buying criteria were much more sophisticated and practical. The new car had to be small. And it had to be Italian....And it had to be from the sub-zero end of the Top Gear cool wall. (Can you tell that I'm not very grown-up?)
Eventually we narrowed it down to two choices: the Alfa MiTo or the 500. I left the final decision to him. He said Fiat. So that was that. Well, nearly. I made the mistake of showing him the configurator on the Fiat website. And within 15 minutes he'd spec'd the new car with every imaginable stripe, sticker, gadget and accessory he could fit on it.
I made him take some of the stuff off before we ordered it, because frankly it was a bit messy and bling-laden. But even as ordered, it still looks like a car designed by an eleven year-old: Pasadoble Red 1.4 Sport, with the 5 O-spoke alloy wheels, red brake callipers and the two broad, white roof and bonnet stripes. Oh, and the side rubbing strips with chrome "500" logo.
I'm sure people laugh and point at the shiny, tiny car driven by a middle-aged bloke with too little hair apparently trying to hard. But I can't say I'm bothered. I've done a couple of long-ish weekend runs and lots of driving around town. And it's been brilliant in every way. And I just love how people smile when they see it at traffic lights, and other 500 drivers give a big grin and a wave. I haven't had this much fun from a car since the Alfasud which I drove and drove and drove until eventually it dissolved into a little puddle of rust outside my house, circa 1990.
And, um, well, that's all really.
Last edited:
It's great you got your son involved. I have to admit, I already loved the 500 anyway but the fact that it's rated very well in Top Gear magazine and they liked it on the show really made it a deal clincher for me.
