Am at last hoping to go and test drive a 1.2 ...maybe Sunday, awaiting a call back from Fiat.

Do you have any tips for me on what to look out for or anything useful so that I make the most of it. Have a friend coming with me hopefully as not my fave thing to do ...although I am reeeeally excited...am so set on getting one will be devastated if I dont like it ! Know I will though .....

Thanks x

Try to vary your route so you can take in a range of road conditions, and make sure you don't do a 10 min round the block, take it out for half an hour at least. Try to do some higher speeds and see how quiet the cabin is (or isn't). Make sure you adjust the wheel and seat etc so you are in the best driving position for you and check out the visibility etc. If you can go out without a salesman, its a boon as they often keep gassing while you're driving... alternatively, tell him to shut up. I'm sure there are lots of other things that people will bring up but that my two pennorth!

Thank you nottsfiat07

Am going Sunday ...they were fully booked for Sat ...must be selling like hot cakes.

...any other advice gratefully received

Choose a crappy route - try to include a high speed concrete (road noise), somewhere you know will be sticky traffic wise (clutch feel etc), and if you like "driving enthusiastically" then some gently winding country lanes (grip, handling etc). Try parking it if you can.

Agree with the above, tell the dealer to put a sock in it!

Thanks JJ

You could also hire one for the day from Hertz... they had 500s at Heathrow last time I went through. That way you don't have the salesman selling while you test drive & give it a good tryout where ever you want to go...

see what you think of the brakes do an emergancy stop and see how the ABS behaves

(nothing shuts a sales man up quicker especially if he nuts the dashboard :devil: )

We were lucky enough for the salesman to let us take a 500 out for about 1.5hrs on our own, but we arranged that beforehand.

We tried other cars out, from other manufacturers, but all those salesmen insisted on coming with us. In fact, one of them refused to let my OH sit in the passenger seat while I was driving, even though she was the one paying for it! Needless to say, we didn't go for that car. We were suprised by how confused salesmen were about who the customer was. They came across as if we should consider ourselves privilaged to even set foot in one of their cars, and told me where to drive when I was testing it too. To all car salesmen out there, I would just like to say... not the way to sell a car!

Hopefully, your test-drive in a 500 will allow you to go anywhere you choose, in which case, I suggest...

• Up a steep hill (to see if it gets to the top!)
• Along a high-speed road (i.e. dual carriageway or motorway, to find out what it's like taking it on holiday)
• Twisty roads (to experience the cornering ability)
• Bumpy roads (e.g. potholes, speed-bumps, to see if it's bone-shaking)
• Emergency stop (just to make sure it can)

I guess to do a "proper" road-test, you ought to drive it up a tree, just to make sure the air-bags work properly.

Also, if they give you a start 'n' stop to test drive, and say "you can turn off the start 'n' stop bit to make it like a Pop", be sure to try it with the start 'n' stop bit on as well. We were looking at buying an upgraded Pop, so turned it off, and then later realised that it would be cheaper to buy a start 'n' stop with options we want, so had to go back with to the dealer with a sheepish grin.

only thing we've all forgotten is to walk around the car afterwards and think "OMG this car looks good", sod any niggles, and get the order on with loads of options

andy monty said:

(nothing shuts a sales man up quicker especially if he nuts the dashboard :devil: )

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Hahaha

pearce_jj said:

only thing we've all forgotten is to walk around the car afterwards and think "OMG this car looks good", sod any niggles, and get the order on with loads of options

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I've already decided I NEEEEED one ...its going to have to be something major to put me off ...am reeally nervous though...hate test drives

Mollie said:

I'm a car salesman/manager. All our customers can go on demos without us, afterall they might frighten me!

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..I probably would ...wish I was coming to your dealership

Have fun. Drive it like you'd normally drive. That's how you're going to use it. If it passes the test then it's worth it

Have you decided absolutely on the 1.2?

jnoiles said:

Have fun. Drive it like you'd normally drive. That's how you're going to use it. If it passes the test then it's worth it

Have you decided absolutely on the 1.2?

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No ...but do mainly town driving so think the diesel may not be the best choice and would like to stay within the £35 tax band, so sort of decided against 1.4 .... will give the 1.2 a go first

We test drove the 1.2 and 1.4 last week (and am ordering today! wohoo).

I much preffered the 1.2 as the torque is lower down so it feels far nippier around town even though it doesn't have as much power as the 1.4 when accelerating in the higher gears on the motorway. Our Fiat dealer seemed to know less than we did though - he said the breaks on them both were the same (the 1.4 felt alot sharper) but they aren't. Hmm maybe I should be worried about ordering from him...?

If you're anything like me you'll love the car and end up spending all week sorting out which colours etc you're going for! The DIESEL paint is fab IMO but wasn't too keen on the interior.

Have fun!

Remember that if its a very low mileage 1.2 you test, it may feel a bit tight and you may need to change down at times, for hills and so on, but it does improve a lot with age. Having said that the one I drove was a 1.2 sport and it had about 13 miles on it, but it still felt pretty good to me!

And don't worry about knowing more than the salesman, we often do, I certainly did! Just be clear on what options you want and make sure you check what he is putting down on the form!