General New model decision!

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General New model decision!

Mandrose

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I bought my pride & joy, a soft mint fiat 500 Lounge in 2016 and still love it as much today as I did then!

Sadly, I’ve decided I need a slightly bigger car with 4 doors. I’m not the most confident of drivers but when I’m in my little 500 I feel like a boss, lol!

I want to stay with Fiat so I’m looking at the 500L or 500X. I’m not a distance driver & on the whole only drive to & from work each day (3 miles each way!). Although it seems ridiculous I still want a fun, pretty car to drive but one that makes me feel safe on the rare occasions I go further afield.

What are the differences between an L & X? I would appreciate your recommendations on the best model ?

Thanks all!
 
I am not a fan of the 500L because of the styling. My son had a 1.3 diesel version for a week on hire and I was passenger on a 375 mile trip. I can confirm its comfortable and quite decent transport cruising easily at 70 with a full load of 5 people. Economy was 50+ to the gallon too. I have never tried the 500X but there seem to be a lot of write offs on the net so I question the body strength. There are a lot about second hand too but I feel depreciation is even bad for a Fiat!

I like AlD's suggestion of a Tipo. I have a Bravo that has covered 91000 trouble free miles it does 50-90 mpg and is very quiet and comfortable. It has been looked after and still looks very very good when cleaned and has worn well inside and out. Tyre and brake wear is minimal too. I would buy another and would recommend this and the Tipo as its successor

I would look for a pre APril 17 car and get a very low miles car. There are a lot about. AT that age tax is £30 a year. On a new one its a lot more. There are cars of this age still around with delivery miles if you hunt about. Nearly new cars avoid the usual massive depreciation in the early years.

Good luck.

ALso have a look at a Panda if its just five doors. There is quite a lot more room and they are similar to the 500 to drive.
 
I've got a 500X multiair Lounge and have been very pleased with it. Much better looking than a 500L and more powerful engines. You'll want a petrol doing your sort of journeys.
The Tipo suggestion is a good one - excellent value and quite roomy.
 
I’m going to be that guy and tell you not to get a Fiat.

In the first 10 years of this century Fiat were on a roll, the Panda, the Grande Punto and of course the 500 were all great cars. They were innovate, fresh and attractive.

Now Fiat are still trying to peddle cars built on old platforms with technology that’s stale and behind the times.

The reality is that buying a Fiat now is to buy into a product that’s well behind the competition. If you want something competent then go for something a bit older and go for a BMW/VW/MINI or if you want something a little left field, go for a Citroën/Peugeot.
 
I’m going to be that guy and tell you not to get a Fiat.



In the first 10 years of this century Fiat were on a roll, the Panda, the Grande Punto and of course the 500 were all great cars. They were innovate, fresh and attractive.



Now Fiat are still trying to peddle cars built on old platforms with technology that’s stale and behind the times.



The reality is that buying a Fiat now is to buy into a product that’s well behind the competition. If you want something competent then go for something a bit older and go for a BMW/VW/MINI or if you want something a little left field, go for a Citroën/Peugeot.



I wouldn’t touch a French car with a barge pole. I’ve owned two Renaults and they were horrible and expensive for parts. I have the misfortune of driving a Citroen DS3 auto at work every now and again, brand new and it’s probably the worst car I’ve ever driven.
 
I wouldn’t touch a French car with a barge pole. I’ve owned two Renaults and they were horrible and expensive for parts. I have the misfortune of driving a Citroen DS3 auto at work every now and again, brand new and it’s probably the worst car I’ve ever driven.

If we’re going by that logic you would never buy an Italian car.

There’s a good reason that French cars are outselling Fiat in just about every sector other than the A segment with the 500.
 
I’m going to be that guy and tell you not to get a Fiat.

In the first 10 years of this century Fiat were on a roll, the Panda, the Grande Punto and of course the 500 were all great cars. They were innovate, fresh and attractive.

Now Fiat are still trying to peddle cars built on old platforms with technology that’s stale and behind the times.

The reality is that buying a Fiat now is to buy into a product that’s well behind the competition. If you want something competent then go for something a bit older and go for a BMW/VW/MINI or if you want something a little left field, go for a Citroën/Peugeot.
I'm afraid I agree with this. I've mentioned in a previous post that once I swap cars there's nothing in the fiat stable that interested me anymore.

Nothing in the range does anything better than the competition anymore. Sad times.
 
If your changing from a 500, i would suggest you look at VW polo , maybe the 95bhp se model, it'a a good combination of quality trim level,safety and size.

Or a more expensive option is a mini , even higher quality insides, and while it's still a relatively small car (i mean the 3 door version) you do feel safe when driving it.
 
Hyundai i20 or Suzuki Swift. It must be said that the 500L is butt ugly and has comedy, clown car handling. I too love my 500 (a 64 plate Twinair 105) but it is the first car i’ve had that has dumped all its oil on the drive at 2 years old and failed it first mot at 3. That aside a joy to drive.
 
Sigh! Ok then, my thoughts are Hyundai i30 or Kia Ceed. Bigger than a 500 and they've been giving a long warranty for a decade now. They'd have gone bust if the cars weren't reliable.
Wouldn't trust anything from VAG, history of dodgy chain cam engines to 2015 and rubbish dsg gearboxes. They make nice cabin plastics though.
Silly to be bigoted over "French" cars, all companies are multinational now. I had a comfy and reliable Megane a few years ago, made in the same country as the VW Polo (Spain). And earlier this year I read that the biggest selling car manufacturer was the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi Alliance, so they must be doing something right.
Here endeth my diatribe!
 
My experience.
Most unreliable cars owned.
Audi, cost an arm and a leg to run 18mpg and parts expensive.
Vw broke down a lot glad when I traded it in.
FORD would never buy another and wouldn't really want one if given it, the worst cars made.
Renault. Never buy another hated it.
BMW not as great as you'd think lots of niggles, costly
Better cars for me.
Fiat five pandas 1 breakdown (battery) cheap to run, nothing serious ever went wrong.
Mazda mx5 no problems on 2 cars.
Toyota. Would buy again and again
 
That’s life, you have to be open to questioning the question. If someone asks if they should eat raw chicken or raw turkey you don’t suggest one or the other, you suggest an answer outside the parameters of the original question...

Not really. There was a good rationale given in the original post why they offered the two choices they gave... X or L. Sometimes it's best just to accept that someone else has already thought about the question to some extent before they asked it. There's only so much oxygen in the world... let's not waste it with stupidity.

And this is a Fiat Forum... it's a pity we're not all at least a little bit more "on side" and try to promote the brand at least a little bit. We get plenty of "the stoopid" every day from people who know Jack S*** about cars but insist you are a berk for not driving something like their nice reliable, rust free Hyundai Zimmer, Toyota Carehome or VAG Vag'. :D

There must be a forum for people who don't like Fiat... (Hint: I don't think this should be it. :) )


Ralf S.
 
Back on topic:

500L is oriented towards being a "young family" kind of car. It's pretty huge inside with plenty of room for prams, car seats, pets and even small children. The engine choice consists of 0.9 (Twin Air) and 1.4 petrols and a 1.3 and 1.6 diesels.

If you only do a few miles most days then I'd say go for petrol since diesels like a regular good run to heat up their emissions control equipment. 1.4 might be the one for you, rather than the 0.9 which is willing but ultimately limited in what is quite a large car.

Don't worry about people who thinks it a bit aesthetically challenged. It's a pretty competent beast and it's a bit Multipla "fugly". The longer you look at it, the more you notice it's actually quite cool. :D

500X might be more up your street though (unless you have "young family" anywhere near your now or future). It's more funky and trendy I suppose and it's an easier shape to love. :D

It has the two basic styles; Urban and Cross depending on what you fancy. The engines are bigger too (i.e. there is a 2.0ltr diesel option avalable second-hand... but we already decided diesels aren't for you, so this is just for information).

There's no 0.9 petrol option... you can get a (new) 1.0ltr three-cylinder engine called "Firefly" which has about 100bhp and there's a 1.3 (auto) and 1.6 E-Torque engine. You can't get every engine in every body shape though. (Fiat reasoning which I've yet to work out and constantly moan at them for).

Second-hand they used to have a 1.4 petrol as in the 500L and one of these would similarly be a good choice.

If you read the 500L and X forums you'll see they're pretty good for reliability.. most of the problems seem to be door handles, trim and Blue and Me or infortainment related rather than serious issues. The 500X is quite a firm ride if you believe the road-tests in the magazines.. I suppose since Fiats stopped rusting 40 years ago, there's little else for the nay-sayers and certain fiatforum members to whine about.. :D Take one out for a test drive over your usual route and see how you get on.

Both X and L are not the most popular cars on the market but that's because people read these forums and assume that French and German cars are better somehow, even though the components are made by the same suppliers - Bosch, Valeo, Sachs and etc. You don't get many people taking the Fiat choice, because most people are ultimately unadventurous and afraid of being different/the dark horse choice, I guess.

Still, if you buy new you will find that it does depreciate a bit... although not as much as legend would have it. 500X keeps value better than L, since L is slightly more niche than the X, if that was possible (and didn't have the viagra in the fuel tank advert to help it). Both would be a better prospect if you keep them for a few years.

You should however be able to get a good discount when you buy new. Once you know the spec' you want, look on Carwow.co.uk for a more sensible price than the RRP and then it makes sense. Second-hand there's plenty about, not badly priced but you can still haggle.

Either would be a pretty good car... and obviously if you had any issues you have the might and accumulated wisdom of the whole fiatforum to ask for help and advice (although some of it will inevitably be "Ooooooooh I said you should have bought a Kia.... but you can ignore those).. :D


Ralf S.
 
I was faced with a very similar decision a year and a half a ago. Going from a single man to a family with a rapidly growing step daughter meant a 5 door car was becoming compulsory as folding her into the back of my 500 was getting increasingly difficult.

I faffed about for ages looking for something quirky, petrol, 5 door, decent spec, decent drive and didn't cost a fortune.

I now have a Suzuki Ignis SZ5.

Suits me, might not suit everyone.

D
 
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