Had a 500 1.2 pop as a courtesy car from my dealer for 2 days whilst my 100hp was in having a rattly dash issue sorted out.

It would seem that the 500 I was given was a poverty spec model. No aircon, dark grey trim with plastic headrests and no steering wheel controls for the radio.

I found that it felt quite long in the gearing and that the flywheel must have been some kind of fred flintstone affair. I noticed this due to the lack of engine braking on decelaration.

Also it felt slow to rev. Obviously this engine has been set up to provide low down torque at the expense of having anything at the top end of the rev range. This helps it move along, but as some have suggested that the 1.2 feels more torquey than the 1.4 at lower revs are sorely mistaken I think.

Don't get me wrong as a town car it's fine and can keep up with traffic okay, but you'll get nowhere fast. I think the heavy flywheel type feel to it is indicative of a car that's been made very easy to drive smoothly and it does work in this respect.

I did though once I got my 100hp back realise just how slow the 1.2 is, I just feel that it is too underpowered for me. I gu3ss only driving my 100hp in sport mode made the 500 feel not particularly responsive.

I did have it up to 70mph at one point and the long gearing keeps the revs fairly low but this of course at the expense of acceleration.

Handling wise, well just like the panda it tends to understeer. It felt a bit loose on the suspension (this is all relative as the 100hp is rock hard) so tended to roll around a fair bit, reminding me somewhat of my old MJ.

Overall then, if you aren't a keen driver and want a city car to run around in and aren't interested in performance it's fine really, but it's not going to set your hair on fire. Averaged 45.4mpg as well which is impressive even with my driving.

trackdayqueen said:

Also it felt slow to rev. Obviously this engine has been set up to provide low down torque at the expense of having anything at the top end of the rev range.

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Isn't it an 8v whereas your 100HP is a 16v?

I bet you're glad they didn't give you a Multijet...

hmallett said:

Isn't it an 8v whereas your 100HP is a 16v?

I bet you're glad they didn't give you a Multijet...

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Yes the 1.2 is an 8v. Plus the 100hp is a 1.4.

When the dealer said they'd supply a 500 courtesy car, I actually said to them, 'please don't give me a diesel one'. They replied that they don't have diesel courtesy cars. Phew!

Yes, you would have been traumatised.


Also, we'd all have to hear about how you love the Multijet!

I know the feeling, i had the 1.4 pop with the same engine as your HP and it was terrible! Glad to get back in the Abarth, it felt like a Ferrari in comparison!

DraigFlag87 said:

I know the feeling, i had the 1.4 pop with the same engine as your HP and it was terrible! Glad to get back in the Abarth, it felt like a Ferrari in comparison!

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I've had a 1.4 lounge before too. The mapping of the engine feels quite different on the 500 compared to the HP, feels much more aggressive on the HP. See my earlier review on that one. Plus obviously suspension is quite different.

Well as you can see from my sign off I've got both.
I would describe the 500 as a relaxed drive, but not painfully slow compared to the 100HP which I too never have out of sport mode. My 500 is quite willing to rev up to 5500/6000 rpm, but I have driven it as I want to from day one. The demo I test drove did seem slow compared to 1.2 Panda I had just got out of. I remember previous same engined Fiats sometimes feeling quite different.
My wife and I both had new 1.2 MK1 Puntos. Hers was much quicker.

The 1.4 in the 100HP is a great engine though and surprisingly economical. On a a log run ( 300miles ) fully loaded and in a hurry I can average 40mpg, about the same that I get from my 500 on shortish runs of about 20 miles.

The 1.2 engine is WOEFULLY underpowered until it's lossened up. This is my second 500 and both have been a 1.2. Until I've covered 1,000 miles or so the engine is pretty unresponsive and feels weedy. But every mile closer to 1,000 starts to make a difference, IMHO.

I can only assume that the courtesy car you had perhaps had low mileage and has also been used as a city car doing stop/start journeys and never been given enough room to stretch it's legs.

I appreciate that the 1.4 is faster by virtue that it's 200cc's bigger and that it has 16v's to help it along the way but I would not consider it slow to rev.

Remember it's not what youve got, it's what you do with it that counts. The 1.2 like to rev and up to 4,000rpm it goes like a little race car.

I would add that the 100HP is a fidgety little thing. The brakes are insanely over servoed and far too sensitive. It is undoubtedly fun though, but for easy everyday driving, once loosened up the 1.2 500 is the better car.

TechHouseC said:

The 1.2 engine is WOEFULLY underpowered until it's lossened up. This is my second 500 and both have been a 1.2. Until I've covered 1,000 miles or so the engine is pretty unresponsive and feels weedy. But every mile closer to 1,000 starts to make a difference, IMHO.

I can only assume that the courtesy car you had perhaps had low mileage and has also been used as a city car doing stop/start journeys and never been given enough room to stretch it's legs.

I appreciate that the 1.4 is faster by virtue that it's 200cc's bigger and that it has 16v's to help it along the way but I would not consider it slow to rev.

Remember it's not what youve got, it's what you do with it that counts. The 1.2 like to rev and up to 4,000rpm it goes like a little race car.

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The courtesy car was an 08 with 23K on the clock. I understand that you can get more out of it by driving it harder, but it really doesn't go like a 'little race car', not IMO.

Murano later 100hp's like mine had that awful servo issue sorted out.

TechHouseC said:

Remember it's not what youve got, it's what you do with it that counts. The 1.2 like to rev and up to 4,000rpm it goes like a little race car.

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Nah. No way that is even remotely true. It's surprisingly torquey for a 1.2, but it aint no race car.

TechHouseC said:

The 1.2 engine is WOEFULLY underpowered until it's lossened up. This is my second 500 and both have been a 1.2. Until I've covered 1,000 miles or so the engine is pretty unresponsive and feels weedy. But every mile closer to 1,000 starts to make a difference, IMHO.

I can only assume that the courtesy car you had perhaps had low mileage and has also been used as a city car doing stop/start journeys and never been given enough room to stretch it's legs.

I appreciate that the 1.4 is faster by virtue that it's 200cc's bigger and that it has 16v's to help it along the way but I would not consider it slow to rev.

Remember it's not what youve got, it's what you do with it that counts. The 1.2 like to rev and up to 4,000rpm it goes like a little race car.

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I have to agree with the comments above, my 1.2 Pop has done just under 5K and it has no problems getting up to 70mph even with 4 medium sized people in the car. In fact I am regularly having to keep my speed down as the speed buzzer keeps on telling me I am doing over the national speed limit!
35000rpm is fine for this little man with a big heart!

Engineering500 said:

I have to agree with the comments above, my 1.2 Pop has done just under 5K and it has no problems getting up to 70mph even with 4 medium sized people in the car. In fact I am regularly having to keep my speed down as the speed buzzer keeps on telling me I am doing over the national speed limit!
35000rpm is fine for this little man with a big heart!

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Turn the speed buzzer off, first thing I did.

I have a 1.2 and I do consider it a little so, especially when getting up to the national speed limit. However for driving around the city it is pretty nippy.

You have to remember, the 1.4 is a bigger engine, 16v - but it also is more expensive to run in mpg and annual road tax.

You pays your money and takes you pick

Having had a 1.2 for a year now (after two much faster cars) I think that the best way to describe its performance is that if you are driving normally it is fine, and unstressed. If you are having fun in the twisties it is a cracking little engine to rev & work. But, when you come up against another car being driven with spirit you are likely to realise it isn't actually that fast.

But, fun & fast do not depend on each other in my opinion.

It's also more than capable on longer runs (have put 1200 miles on mine in two trips within the last 10 days with no problems).

If you ever ridden a traditional Vespa you'll kniw the feeling (but with more wheels!)

i have the 1.2- its much more than adequate and that little engine is a joyful thing to punt around with....

its loosened up very well since new, and now its eager to rev, torquey and smooth, plus having a little snarl too recently.

its not a hot hatch, but its fun and makes me grin!

I've had my 1.2 lounge for a month now and it's improving all the time. At first, I thought the engine felt "tight" and would gradually loosen up. I've deliberately revved it no higher than 3,500 up to now. Call me "old fashioned", but I still feel that running-in is best for any car in the first 1,000 miles. I've covered 650 miles now and the engine definately feels stronger and more responsive. I think that by the time the car reaches 1,000 miles it will be even stronger. It certainly doesn't feel underpowered. I worried a little that even 3,500 revs was a little high for a brand new engine, but it seems to run sweetly without strain at this speed, otherwise I would have changed up to higher gears at lower revs.

When I've reached 1000 miles, I'll open her up beyond 3,500 rpm. Does the 1.2 engine pull willingly and smoothly up to 6,000 rpm?

Am I alone here, or have other people followed old-fashioned "running-in" procedures with their 500's?

FireballXL5man said:

Am I alone here, or have other people followed old-fashioned "running-in" procedures with their 500's?

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Nah you're not alone. Heaps of people do it. Me being one of those people.

And as for the whole 1.2 vs 1.4 debate, i doubt you'll find anyone who owns a 1.2 saying the 1.2 is slow (unless they upgraded to a 1.4) and i doubt you'll find anyone with a 1.4 saying a 1.2 is better (unless they upgraded to a 1.2).

Each to their own and if they're happy with their car then so be it.

I think because of the gearing and because it doesn't have enough power to spin the wheels in the dry, the 1.2 is quick up to around 25 mph, so that you usual get a march on other drivers (in more powerful cars) from the traffic lights people begin to believe the 1.2 is actually quicker than it is, especially if 95% of their driving is around town.

Having rediscovered the joy of having to change gear, I love the thrill of trying to keep pace with other road users in the 1.2, though I rarely venture into the country side or A roads. Also After my much heavier Alfa 155 it still amazes me, every so often even after 20 months of ownership, how much corner speed you can carry due to the lower weight of the 500, you can't quite drift it like the old stype 1000cc panda we used to have though, cos the tyres are too wide.

For someone like me who does 98% of their driving on 40mph or less speed limited roads a bigger engine than the 1.2 is probably a waste of money (extra purchase price, tax, petrol and insurance) for the slight speed advantage.

alfatastic said:

I think because of the gearing and because it doesn't have enough power to spin the wheels in the dry, the 1.2 is quick up to around 25 mph, so that you usual get a march on other drivers (in more powerful cars) from the traffic lights people begin to believe the 1.2 is actually quicker than it is, especially if 95% of their driving is around town.

Having rediscovered the joy of having to change gear, I love the thrill of trying to keep pace with other road users in the 1.2, though I rarely venture into the country side or A roads. Also After my much heavier Alfa 155 it still amazes me, every so often even after 20 months of ownership, how much corner speed you can carry due to the lower weight of the 500, you can't quite drift it like the old stype 1000cc panda we used to have though, cos the tyres are too wide.

For someone like me who does 98% of their driving on 40mph or less speed limited roads a bigger engine than the 1.2 is probably a waste of money (extra purchase price, tax, petrol and insurance) for the slight speed advantage.

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The 1.2 can certainly spin its wheels in the dry