General Anyone seen a new 500 in Britain yet?

[Ms_Cinq]

So, there have been occasional sightings of 500s on British roads, and here is a round up of confirmed sightings of 'static' 500s in the UK and where you can go and see in the UK at the moment. (Thanks to KevinB for his help in making the list.

Add to the list if you know of any more, and if you travel a long way to view and they're not there any longer, well tough luck.

500s seen in Britain:
Black 500 Sport Piccadilly Motors Wakefield
White 500 Sport Piccadilly Motors Knaresborough
Red 500 Lounge JCS Fiat Kegworth Derbyshire
Black 500 Sport ttcentre.com Surrey
Silver 500 Sport M-vogue Northampton

Add to the list if you can peeps

 

[Nuova500]

after sitting in both of them at Stanford Im not that impressed. Its an 8k car with a massive price tag and its too fat an all! Much prefer the new Panda, its smaller and nicer, and cheaper too. Shame as I was really looking forward to it.

 

[Hellcat]

after sitting in both of them at Stanford Im not that impressed. Its an 8k car with a massive price tag and its too fat an all! Much prefer the new Panda, its smaller and nicer, and cheaper too. Shame as I was really looking forward to it.

Nobody knows their price though? Ones for sale in UK are just dealers trying to make fast buck on people dying to be 'the first'.

 

[jetweed]

I've driven a 1.4 Sport in Italy!!!

The build quality was superb..... Absolutely gorgeous!

erm... Abarth SS might be on the wish list

 

[Nuova500]

the two I sat it had very wobbly heater controls and I thought the door trims were bland, was hoping to see some colour in them like on the dash. I dunno it just seemed... more same old new car like everything else. I think the hype has outdone the actual car. Im sure its going to be great etc but my enthusiasm has really gone after seeing the real deal... someone else descibed it as sanitised which is exactly what it is. The original Trepiuno was better IMHO, nicer size and more quirky.

 

[KevinB]

Nuovapanda said

I think the hype has outdone the actual car. Im sure its going to be great etc but my enthusiasm has really gone after seeing the real deal... someone else descibed it as sanitised which is exactly what it is. The original Trepiuno was better IMHO, nicer size and more quirky

It's a great-looking car but not as spectacularly-stunning as I was expecting,
and it is definately not the Trepiuno concept which I fell in love with in 2004.

Some people will buy it just because of its looks, but I want something that drives and handles well too, and from what the motoring journalists have said, there are little cars out there which give a better driving experience (Mini for example).

After all the millions of Euros Fiat have spent developing it, I was expecting something head and shoulders above the rest, and obviously it is not that much better than the Panda, Punto, Mini, Swift etc etc.

It's like a cute and slightly-overweight baby, you can't help but love it,
but it would look a bit better if it lost a few pounds!

Ford are now said to be tweaking and testing the chassis, improving the handling dynamics ready to bring out the Ford version of the 500 late in 2008. To be made at the same Fiat factory in Poland, with the same 500 chassis and components (but with a different body shape) it is likely to be cheaper than the 500 and will be badged the new FORD KA

(You could always remove the Ford badge if you don't think Blue Oval cars are special enough)

 

[Nuova500]

that lot sums it all up very well! you can bet your life, and I would put money on it... the Ford will be the better car to drive after their engineers have tweaked it. After all Ford are hardly going to make it the same or worse are they!
The good side of not liking it like I hoped, will be the massive amount of money I save!

 

[jetweed]

You lot are mad to think the Ford Ka is the better car.... but each to their own I suppose!
Have you actually seen the concept shots of the Ka?? It looks like its name suggests - i.e KAK!! IMHO

Its funny how Good Old Superior Ford are using Fiat components

 

[jetweed]

And another thing! - Don't quite understand how you can say the Trepuino concept car was any different to the Nuova 500?!

 

[Suasexed]

You lot are mad to think the Ford Ka is the better car.... but each to their own I suppose!
Have you actually seen the concept shots of the Ka?? It looks like its name suggests - i.e KAK!! IMHO

Its funny how Good Old Superior Ford are using Fiat components

The next Ford Ka will be superior in terms of driving dynamics and price. There have been no official concept photos of the next Ka - all of them have just been mock ups showing what magazines THINK the car will look like. Basically photoshoping the S-Max and Mondeo nose onto a Sport or Street Ka photo. Ford agreed not to leak any images of the Ka until the 500 was put on sale - so it won't steal any sales from Fiat.

 

[Suasexed]

And another thing! - Don't quite understand how you can say the Trepuino concept car was any different to the Nuova 500?!

The Trepiuno is sleeker, more modern and contempory. The front is less fussy looking than the new 500 - without the extra chrome, bumper details and miniscule fog lights. I think Fiat should have just gone with the Trepiuno - yes it doesn't have as many '500' details as the model they're releasing, but it's feels fresher.

 

[Jazzy Jase]

I see very little difference between the 500 and the Trepiuno. You can specify the 500 without the chrome and I'm sure the front is only different because safety legislation due to frontal impacts and engine height has gotten stricter since the Trepiuno was penned.

IMO the 500 looks more butch and sporty than the Trepiuno.

With regards to the Ka, (and I've had 2 recent Fords so I'm not biased) there's no guaranteeing that it will be better to drive. There's been so little info on it that we cannot be sure of anything.

How do we know that like-for-like it's even gonna be cheaper? Rumour has it that Fiat will not be giving us the base models of the 500 in which case the Ka range will start at a lower price, but I still think like-for-like models will be similarly priced.

For instance, a fully specced SportKa is still £11k. I'm expecting a well specced 500 Sport to be around £12k. Yes that's £1k difference but we're comparing an 11 year old design to a brand new one with much higher levels of safety and equipment.

Lets also not forget that decent discounts are likely to be had from both manufacturers.

In the end I guess it comes down to preference: Do you like the retro looks of the 500 or will you prefer the more modern Ka? Will you be paying a premium for the 500? Will the Ka be significantly better to drive? Who knows? I'm eagerly awaiting official pictures of the Ka and the eventual head-to-head road tests.

 

[Ms_Cinq]

JCSFiat dealers from Kegworth are still touting round their Red 500 Sport then(asking £15990 for it and still no takers!)
This piccy below from AutoItalia event at Stanford at the weekend

Anyone found any more 500s in Britain yet.
I cant believe we've found them all.

500s seen in Britain:
Black 500 Sport Piccadilly Motors Wakefield
White 500 Sport Piccadilly Motors Knaresborough
Red 500 Lounge JCS Fiat Kegworth Derbyshire
Black 500 Sport ttcentre.com SurreySilver
500 Sport M-vogue Northampton

Add to the list if you can peeps

 

[Nuova500]

the trepiuno was smaller, I saw it in 2004 at Geneva and it had a brilliant interior design idea too.

 

[Italian toy]

Impressive work JassieJase
OK if we get the 1.2s and the POP versions, not so good if they milk us all in GB by initially only giving us 1.4s and nothing less than sport version. It is nice but it is not MINI quality from what I have seen and even the initial press reports have said the engines arent much the driving position is odd if youve got medium or long legs . Initial MINI reports were wildly enthusiastic and went downhill later. Already people who have driven 500s have said maybe only good for short journeys, the short legged and people with short memories - who dont remember that its mainly a Panda derived vehicle from a manufacturer with a terrible reputation. The press reports will find more faults inthe weeks ahead.

Better reliability than Toyota say Fiat. Dream on guys. Same engines,same production methods, bits from same suppliers, run by the same money-hungry bosses.

Fiat have a new badge and have changed the name of the UK distributors to try and claim its a new beginning for Fiat, hoping we all forget how crap some fiat dealers have been and how poor quality some of their products have been.

Best looking cutest city car it may be, but a premium and quality product??????

Mate - i have just come back from St Tropez and went to dealer there - THIS IS NOT A CRAP CAR -- it is well built and drives very very well - also looks great - i agree the dealers here a mostly crap - but this car is going to be a winner for fiat - i think you need to drive before you make your mind up -- have a look on -- www.fiat500.com - i am going to order ours next week from dealer in St Tropez as we are moving there - again del is next year - so i would be carefull any place in Uk who say sept this year -

 

[y2dom]

Thought i'd post my pictures up i took this morning.

After reading this thread last night, i shot up there early this morning to catch a look at it.

Wow!! Gotta say nice car.. Very modern and very nice looking.

Anyway enjoy the pics.

 

[KevinB]

Yes, that's the one at Motorvogue Northampton.

I see they have put stripes on it now to make it stand out a bit more.
When I saw it there were no stripes and it looked a bit plain.

RE: The Ford version, to be built alongside the 500 (the new Ford Ka)
Sources including just-auto.com are claiming the new Ka will not make an appearance in its final form until Paris Motor Show (2nd to 19th Oct 2008), so likely to be (very) late 08 before the ka gets launched.

Thanks for the photos -did you get offered the chance to drive the 500 y2dom?
It certainly looks the part, although some reports have suggested it is not a superior ride/drive than other similar sized cars (Panda/Mini etc).

http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2007/08/stories/05/1.html

 

[y2dom]

Yes, that's the one at Motorvogue Northampton.

I see they have put stripes on it now to make it stand out a bit more.
When I saw it there were no stripes and it looked a bit plain.

Thanks for the photos -did you get offered the chance to drive the 500 y2dom?
It certainly looks the part, although some reports have suggested it is

Hi Kevin, No some old salesman said we cudent drive it but he took our details for when they arrive in Jan.

Thats about it really. no assistance in looking around it.

I also noted something about your pic, i noticed today that either side of the number plate it had residue of double sided tape remaaining.. and in your pics it didnt.

 

[KevinB]

Sales chap there told me likely to be "from 8500 pounds sterling".
Claimed they had taken quite a few deposits from people wanting one.
Also he mentioned that the Popular version might be renamed Active for the UK.

NF500.com managed to get a test drive it in. I didn't ask, and didn't get offered one.

www.nf500.com

 

[y2dom]

NF500 are lucky getting a drive.. Suppose us regular folks will have to wait till Jan