A test drive would be really helpful. Just consider your needs and then try all of the option.

Thanks for all the great responses

It does sound like a test drive is in order but it sounds like teh TA is the one to go for.

My preference is the TA but having seen a few people on here move up to the A500 after a standard 500, and the fact I am coming from a faster car, had me thinking.

Has anyone bought one of these on a company or as a lease ?
Typically, it is too costly to put cars through a company because of all the taxation but I would have thought given the TA's low emissions, it might be better. Any experience or thoughts ?

Thanks

Spy (MI5 ?) I think you are looking at TA for economy and for a bit of oomph, trust me your mileage will be crap and poss better to go with 1.2, but TA for thrills.

The TA will cruise the continent all day long, we did a 2000 mile trip soon after buying and it was just fine for two people.

Here is the real life situation, as you have considered the Abarth you may want to cost up the cars fully, inc road tax. We put in enough goodies in the TA it was almost the same price as the Abarth. Think of road tax as 2 or 3 take-aways paid for by cooking at home.

Not sure if Abarth has xenons as default, they are worth every penny. If buying the TA choose wheels carefully, I should have listened to Maxi and got same as his.

Look at fiatdirect website, they are based off M4 in Uxbridge.

Thanks Arorat - what do you have, an A500 ?

What wheels does Maxi have - do you have a link to a thread or website ?

I prefer cars that are fun to drive hence why I wasn't too sure about the TA but it sounds like it might do the trick.

Yes, I looked at teh price/spec of the A500 and didn't think it too bad.

If it is not an A500 but a TA, which model and options would people recommend ?

Also, any reason for recommending Fiat Direct ?

Oh, and its MI6

18 months on, I still find my TA great fun to drive - and you can potter about in it if you want the economy. I've not driven an Abarth, but I've no doubt they're very tractable and 'useful', but I find the little bulge in the torque curve of the TA certainly delivers the grin factor. It's a car to keep up the giggles.

I would tend to steer away from the 16" options if ride is important. Economy will be better on narrower wheels also

We bought a 1.2 sport secondhand and it's a hoot to drive around town. (I also have a Audi A4 2.0 T what an engine!) and while being 130 bhp less than the Audi! It is quite capable of keeping up with cars with bigger engines. In fact I can keep up with most sporty cars round corners /roundabouts due to the superb handling. I havn't driven the Abarth or TA but the 1.2 has a great engine sound, costs £40 to fill up and won't do less than 45 mpg no matter how it's driven,the kids and their friends love it and we get lots of positive comments about it.The only downside is the choppy ride. Most of the time if I just want to nip out to the shops it's the fiat that gets chosen if I can wrestle the keys from the wife! If we were going to buy again I would test both the 1.2 and the TA both would be good around town I'm sure.

500's handle terribly in standard trim, don't confuse grip with handling.

I wouldn't call it *terrible* per se. It's a shopping car with a posh frock on.

True, but the damping is rubbish.

Spy said:

Thanks Arorat - what do you have, an A500 ?

What wheels does Maxi have - do you have a link to a thread or website ?

I prefer cars that are fun to drive hence why I wasn't too sure about the TA but it sounds like it might do the trick.

Yes, I looked at teh price/spec of the A500 and didn't think it too bad.

If it is not an A500 but a TA, which model and options would people recommend ?

Also, any reason for recommending Fiat Direct ?

Oh, and its MI6

Click to expand...

No a TA lounge... Interscope, dimming mirror, sensors, xenons etc. Abarth will be next.

Fiat Direct have pre-registered cars with almost zero mileage at silly prices, reason I mentioned them was it may be poss to pick up an Abarth or TA quite cheap, obviously you can not facory spec it.

Good luck with a TA.

306maxi said:

500's handle terribly in standard trim, don't confuse grip with handling.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by 'standard trim' ?

arorat said:

No a TA lounge... Interscope, dimming mirror, sensors, xenons etc. Abarth will be next.

Fiat Direct have pre-registered cars with almost zero mileage at silly prices, reason I mentioned them was it may be poss to pick up an Abarth or TA quite cheap, obviously you can not facory spec it.

Good luck with a TA.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I had a quick browse on the Fiat Direct site.
The cars (the only TAs are under a year old, many 1 month) only seem to be about £1k cheaper than new but without the low rate (3.1% APR) finance.

On the Abarth, again only about £1k to £1.5k difference but in this case you also lose out on the 0% interest free offer on new

Spy said:

Thanks Arorat - what do you have, an A500 ?

What wheels does Maxi have - do you have a link to a thread or website ?

I prefer cars that are fun to drive hence why I wasn't too sure about the TA but it sounds like it might do the trick.

Yes, I looked at teh price/spec of the A500 and didn't think it too bad.

If it is not an A500 but a TA, which model and options would people recommend ?

Also, any reason for recommending Fiat Direct ?

Oh, and its MI6

Click to expand...

Well Mr MI6, one of the main reasons i didnt consider the abarth was the fact that it does not look as low profile as the standard Fiat 500 = ). So i think the TA without stripes and big bumpers and exhausts is a better fit for spy missions = )

306maxi said:

500's handle terribly in standard trim, don't confuse grip with handling.

Click to expand...

That's a wee bit harsh, Maxi. At least on post-2010 models, it's adequate for normal driving - but I'd agree FIAT suspension components are about the cheapest on the planet and retrofitting almost anything else will likely give a noticeable improvement.

High profile tyres help with the ride - from personal experience, 14" wheels are noticeably better than even the 15" multispokes. They're more resistant to pothole damage, too.

bgunn said:

It's a shopping car with a posh frock on.

Click to expand...

By the same argument, a Panda is a 500 wearing sensible clothes.

You can get a lot more shopping in a Panda .

Easier to park, too.

And you needen't worry about zombies - most folks wouldn't be seen dead in one .

jrkitching said:

That's a wee bit harsh, Maxi. At least on post-2010 models, it's adequate for normal driving - but I'd agree FIAT suspension components are about the cheapest on the planet and retrofitting almost anything else will likely give a noticeable improvement.

High profile tyres help with the ride - from personal experience, 14" wheels are noticeably better than even the 15" multispokes. They're more resistant to pothole damage, too..

Click to expand...

It is pretty terrible though. My username suggests that I'm a Peugeot fan and I drove my first 306 about a month ago back in Australia when I drove my brothers car. It was fantastic. In a 500 on a nice bit of smooth road you've got loads of grip, but there isn't much feel and the back suspension is just there to stop the rear of the car dragging on the ground and making sparks. The 306 has passive rear wheel steering which is simply fantastic, it was so refreshing to feel the back end of the car actually getting involved and trying to do something.

My 500 is on the optional 16" wheels and came with some very good Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's which give loads of grip and you have to push it pretty hard to overwhelm the tyres on the road. Sure, mine is a pre 2010 model and doesn't have the stiffer rear beam so it's not quite as good as the newer cars, but the newer cars still aren't that great.

The 306 was widely awarded for being a fantastic handler though - so I fear the comparison is a bit unfair. It's very light, and produced when Peugeot were making cars that really handled well - 205, 405, 306, the 406 also. They've lost the plot since!

Don't forget the 306 has a passive steer rear end too, so as you load up the suspension in a corner, it is being involved.

bgunn said:

The 306 was widely awarded for being a fantastic handler though - so I fear the comparison is a bit unfair. It's very light, and produced when Peugeot were making cars that really handled well - 205, 405, 306, the 406 also. They've lost the plot since!

Don't forget the 306 has a passive steer rear end too, so as you load up the suspension in a corner, it is being involved.

Click to expand...

That's what I said

Coming back to drive the 500 a couple of days later was like the difference between night and day.

I was talking to jnoiles a while back and was wondering what a 500 would be like with Panda 4x4 rear suspension. The suspension arms look like a 500 rear beam sawn in half so I think it would all fit, my only concern would be whether the mounts for the ARB are there

Indeed you did, I skim read the previous post as I'm at work and it's busy!

I went from a BMW 135i [306bhp] to a Fiat 500 Twinair and am loving the infectious character and amazing cost savings.

The Twinair is a raucous little motor but it is quite nippy and can do 80% of what I did in my BMW too. Remember the law of diminishing returns

I would not go back.

Hope this helps,

Ian.