DavidU said:

Hi all (first post ). I am changing my car and looking at buying a 595C Competizione.

I love my cars and I think I will have great fun on a daily basis buzzing around - especially with that Monza exhaust it has! SWMBO does not like the fancy bucket seats that come with the Competizione and says they are uncomfortable - does anyone have any medium-long term experience + thoughts?

Also, there will be occasions when SWMBO will borrow the car and will need to fit a babyseat into the back. It has ISOFIX but again - any practical experience of this - is it a pain etc? (I guess she could always drop it in through the roof!)

The dealer has nicely offered to lend me a car for a couple of days to help me make up my mind.

The spec of the cars looks quite good and the options list is quite amazingly small! Apart from decent paint (thinking of back/white 2-tone), the fancy seats (natural leather?) and the stereo upgrade thing - is there anything else i should deffo look at getting??

thanks all and hope this community is as welcoming and fun as others i have been a member of!

David

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Welcome to the forum.
Saw a black & white 2 tone A500c in Paris with tan leather & I really liked it.
Options wise the climate is a nice to have.
Interscope at £270 is reasonable.
Personally I love the idea of the Sabelts but haven't tried then - if you don't want them can't see the point in going for the competizone model.
Rear parking sensors IIRC are standard on the C.
Recent thread on a loan car and the Monza seemed noisey compared with the standard back box which still sounds great and with the soft top it wouldn't be too much. Double exit pipes are great.
Baby seat in the back should be fine.
If you want to the performance of a 595 you have the option of getting the 500 and after a year getting it essessed which gets you the wheels.

Thanks LovesHandBags thats v useful!

loveshandbags said:

Welcome to the forum.
Saw a black & white 2 tone A500c in Paris with tan leather & I really liked it.
Options wise the climate is a nice to have.
Interscope at £270 is reasonable.
Personally I love the idea of the Sabelts but haven't tried then - if you don't want them can't see the point in going for the competizone model.
Rear parking sensors IIRC are standard on the C.
Recent thread on a loan car and the Monza seemed noisey compared with the standard back box which still sounds great and with the soft top it wouldn't be too much. Double exit pipes are great.
Baby seat in the back should be fine.
If you want to the performance of a 595 you have the option of getting the 500 and after a year getting it essessed which gets you the wheels.

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Just to add to Michael's observations, climate and rear sensors are standard fitment on all of the A595 models.

There aren't too many options available but one I always go for is the Skydome. This time I opted for the fixed version just for the extra light as my last A500, although it had the opening version wasn't used that much and it does encroach on headroom if you have a tall upper body.

I also didn't spec the interscope this time (please don't tell Mick, nottsfiat07 as he thinks I always spec anything going)as I wasn't that impressed with it's performance. I'm sure that a good aftermarket unit would be better value for money.

p.s. Apparently, the black paintwork is very susceptible to stone chips.

grimwau said:

Just to add to Michael's observations, climate and rear sensors are standard fitment on all of the A595 models.

There aren't too many options available but one I always go for is the Skydome. This time I opted for the fixed version just for the extra light as my last A500, although it had the opening version wasn't used that much and it does encroach on headroom if you have a tall upper body.

I also didn't spec the interscope this time (please don't tell Mick, nottsfiat07 as he thinks I always spec anything going)as I wasn't that impressed with it's performance. I'm sure that a good aftermarket unit would be better value for money.

p.s. Apparently, the black paintwork is very susceptible to stone chips.

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I went looking for a U.S. review that I read of the differences between a A500C and the tiptop and apparently there's more headroom in the rear of the C but a little less in the front - between having an opening sunroof or not. Personally I found the skydrome robbed too much headroom and seen a figure of 3 inches. But since you're going for a C it's not relevant.

This Autocar review preferred the standard A500C in preference to the esseesse and it's in the bi-colour you're possibly after. This was before that A595 came out and the FSDs have supposedly been tuned since then ? If you did opt for this I would get the bonnet covered in a transparent 3M protection sheet. As pointed out by Tony black tends to get peppered with paint chips but it does depend on how you drive.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/fiat-500c-abarth-esseesse

loveshandbags said:

I went looking for a U.S. review that I read of the differences between a A500C and the tiptop and apparently there's more headroom in the rear of the C but a little less in the front - between having an opening sunroof or not. Personally I found the skydrome robbed too much headroom and seen a figure of 3 inches. But since you're going for a C it's not relevant.

This Autocar review preferred the standard A500C in preference to the esseesse and it's in the bi-colour you're possibly after. This was before that A595 came out and the FSDs have supposedly been tuned since then ? If you did opt for this I would get the bonnet covered in a transparent 3M protection sheet. As pointed out by Tony black tends to get peppered with paint chips but it does depend on how you drive.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/fiat-500c-abarth-esseesse

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I'd imagine the Bi-colour black & white starts out as a white car and maybe the black half is hand applied. Only guessing though, but it might not chip as badly as a standard black Abarth. They do look good in that combo.

grimwau said:

if you have a tall upper body.

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Are you describing yourself Tony ?? Anything else, Long arms, Short legs etc,???:devil:

Apologies for my Northern sense of humour!! (Not really)

chas379 said:

Are you describing yourself Tony ?? Anything else, Long arms, Short legs etc,???:devil:

Apologies for my Northern sense of humour!! (Not really)

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Chas, no-one needs to apologise for having a sense of humour. it is a prerequisite for the A500 forum. :devil:

Regarding the various body part lengths (just the arms, legs and torso before you start making more lewd remarks - see what I mean about needing a sense of humour. ) The height thing never affected me, I'm vertically challenged, as you will see in August as I peer over the top of the FF BBQ and beg Stu for a burger.

I was actually thinking back to a post by Michael who always puts the effort into researching everything and I seem to recall that it wasn't being tall per se but having a taller upper body and shorter legs that affected the headroom rather than a person of the same height but who had long legs but shorter body.

I had this slight issue with both the 500 and Punto - by the time I manage to move the seat far back enough the gear leaver is a slight stretch away ! And before anyone suggests - the steering wheel is at maximum reach (but not sitting in my lap either!) I guess I'm not Italian enough...

I guess you are looking at something like this?



A black / white A500c SS / A595c is probably the coolest of all imho. they are painted twice which is why its such an expensive option. People always stop and stare especially with Monza backbox that polarises opinions too due to the mild steel.

I'd recommend the Abarth Brembo kit too. I added that later. No sure if Interscope is standard, but you might as well have that too. I think the only other thing I'd ask for free is the wind stop. Make sure it's the Abarth one with the logo, not Fiat. Esseesse wheels are a nice but expensive, hence why I think the original Esseese's with certificate will become more collectible as the years go on.

As for the Sabelts - I don't have a Sabelt arse, although I'm thinking about a Sabelt diet! From what I've heard they take a bit of getting used to and experimenting with the position. They do look awesome and remind me of 156 GTA seats.

Boodajuda said:

I don't have a Sabelt arse, although I'm thinking about a Sabelt diet!

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To overcome the problem I'd just use these:devil: