I've had my 1.3JTD Sport since September and have put nearly 6000 miles on it so I thought people might be interested in my experiences so far.
- I've already done my first mod (added a boot light - very easy and I don't know why all models aren't just fitted with one as standard since the hole in the plastic trim is already there.
- Had my replacement washer jets when the central jet cylinders popped out over the cold winter
- Had my replacement mic after the Blue&Me lady went bananas on me:
"Call Chris"
"Call Ray now?"
"No. NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
*dialling begins anyway*
It's a bit embarrassing to explain to someone that you car's just called them by accident. Luckily the new mic has fixed the issue, but she still ignores me saying yes when I try to call certain numbers, so I've taken to just using the steering wheel controls and going through the recent call list.
- Fuel economy has been fantastic! Even my normal nutter commuter driving style and long motorway speed trips haven't managed to get the average mpg below around 50, and 60mpg is easily achievable on a long trip if you don't push it.
- The lively back axle took some getting used to after my armchair of an old Rover 420. Cornering over bumps can be "interesting", but at least the 500 doesn't suffer from ocean liner understeer like the Rover
. Otherwise the 500 is very manouvreable and fun to drive.
- The doors are ENORMOUS. Although the car is easy to park anywhere being relatively narrow, you still need to aim for the widest space possible if you want to get the door fully open and get out in a dignified manner. This is particularly hard when you're not particularly tall and have the seat quite far forward.
- Seating position is very high. It took a few months of aching leg muscles to get used to having my right foot fully flexed to reach the accelerator. Even now I find my big toe goes dead on long journeys
- The 500 is surprisingly roomy inside. You won't fit a full luggage set in the boot (or as one online review said "I love my 500 but I find it very hard to get my wheelchair in"), but I've never found myself really struggling, and if things get too tight, you can always drop the seats.
- I find the radio/media player controls a little counter-intuitive. I don't understand why track information (track title, x/y position of track on album, length of track to go etc) isn't displayed on the central display (rather than just MEDIA PLAYER) instead of popping up with the next track name when you're in the middle of scrolling through the other available display options and giving you no other track information. If there's a way to change this and I've overlooked it, please set me straight!
- The car is CUTE! I caught sight of myself approaching the big glass windows of the local M&S the other day and just had to pause and admire. I only bought a new car because the 500 is the first car in absolutely years that I liked the looks of and could actually see myself driving.
I think that about covers it! Hopefully this will prove useful to anyone considering buying a 500, and I'd like to know how it compares with other people's experiences.
Maisie
- I've already done my first mod (added a boot light - very easy and I don't know why all models aren't just fitted with one as standard since the hole in the plastic trim is already there.
- Had my replacement washer jets when the central jet cylinders popped out over the cold winter
- Had my replacement mic after the Blue&Me lady went bananas on me:
"Call Chris"
"Call Ray now?"
"No. NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
*dialling begins anyway*
It's a bit embarrassing to explain to someone that you car's just called them by accident. Luckily the new mic has fixed the issue, but she still ignores me saying yes when I try to call certain numbers, so I've taken to just using the steering wheel controls and going through the recent call list.
- Fuel economy has been fantastic! Even my normal nutter commuter driving style and long motorway speed trips haven't managed to get the average mpg below around 50, and 60mpg is easily achievable on a long trip if you don't push it.
- The lively back axle took some getting used to after my armchair of an old Rover 420. Cornering over bumps can be "interesting", but at least the 500 doesn't suffer from ocean liner understeer like the Rover
. Otherwise the 500 is very manouvreable and fun to drive.- The doors are ENORMOUS. Although the car is easy to park anywhere being relatively narrow, you still need to aim for the widest space possible if you want to get the door fully open and get out in a dignified manner. This is particularly hard when you're not particularly tall and have the seat quite far forward.
- Seating position is very high. It took a few months of aching leg muscles to get used to having my right foot fully flexed to reach the accelerator. Even now I find my big toe goes dead on long journeys
- The 500 is surprisingly roomy inside. You won't fit a full luggage set in the boot (or as one online review said "I love my 500 but I find it very hard to get my wheelchair in
"), but I've never found myself really struggling, and if things get too tight, you can always drop the seats.- I find the radio/media player controls a little counter-intuitive. I don't understand why track information (track title, x/y position of track on album, length of track to go etc) isn't displayed on the central display (rather than just MEDIA PLAYER) instead of popping up with the next track name when you're in the middle of scrolling through the other available display options and giving you no other track information. If there's a way to change this and I've overlooked it, please set me straight!
- The car is CUTE! I caught sight of myself approaching the big glass windows of the local M&S the other day and just had to pause and admire. I only bought a new car because the 500 is the first car in absolutely years that I liked the looks of and could actually see myself driving.
I think that about covers it! Hopefully this will prove useful to anyone considering buying a 500, and I'd like to know how it compares with other people's experiences.
Maisie
