I would like some advice about a Fiat 500 related question.
I am hooked by the virtues of a Fiat 500 Twinair with 105hp. I love the whole Fiat 500 concept and styling (thankfully my wife does too!), and the capable twin cylinder engine that balances between performance and economy. If I was on my own I would already have it cause I have been postponing owning a 500 since the Cinquecento Sporting era. I missed that by an inch while Fiat ditched the model for the Seicento which I never really liked. To make a long story short, I owned this far a Hyundai S-Coupe 1.5 85hp, and a Citroen Saxo VTS 16v 120hp. Both really good cars and reliable, covered over 150.000km's on each car. Right now I am counting two solid members in my family (me and my wife) and somewhere short ahead we can see a third tiny person joining our lives. And now comes the big question.
Both my previous cars were spacious in their own way. Even the Saxo would be loaded like no tomorrow on our vacation trips. With the forthcoming Fiat 500 purchase, I know that space is a luxury that I won't have. Considering that my family needs will be amplified soon, I wanted to know how other 500 owners manage kids and their truckloads of necessary stuff in their 500's.
My sister and my brother in law, sometimes struggle to fit their kids stuff on their 2008 Jetta, which is by far more spacious than any hatchback. I can judge a poor management on their side for fitting all, but I will be honest here, if I had such a lagoon for a trunk like the Jetta I would just throw everything in, no matter the order.
The 500 will be our sole car, and this for many reasons. Small city car since our commute is based on a big city, easy parking a must, economy engine while capable for a decent and relaxing journey through highways fully loaded (thats why i am keen on the Twinair 105 version), and easy enough for my wife to drive. Now I do believe a kid safety seat will be fit just fine on the back, but a stroller could be a nightmare to fit (or maybe a complete folding one able to fit in the trunk? - How you guys manage the strollers in the 500?). About the stroller issue I was also thinking to include a roof rack and a small Thule-like case to have up there at all times.
Will we manage to do fine on a 500 with a kid coming our way and all the gear that it brings? I know for a fact that I was a kid on the back seat of a Fiat 127p with my parents driving amazing distances back in the early 80s, and the roof rack was having about 4 large suitcases facing upward, eliminating every sense of aerodynamics and making the tiny engine struggle with each km. I guess all our folks managed to do everything with their car selections back then (in similar setups of having a damn small car of 35hp at best to do all a car could do), but we got so modern and convenient that even the smallest inconvenience can drive us to the nearest dealership to switch our car to a bigger one. Me and my wife intend to keep the 500 for at least 7-8 years (most probably even more if it proves reliable) so please keep that in mind.
I apologise for the long sheet. Feel free to share your thought and most important, your tips (!), to make this work for me.
I am hooked by the virtues of a Fiat 500 Twinair with 105hp. I love the whole Fiat 500 concept and styling (thankfully my wife does too!), and the capable twin cylinder engine that balances between performance and economy. If I was on my own I would already have it cause I have been postponing owning a 500 since the Cinquecento Sporting era. I missed that by an inch while Fiat ditched the model for the Seicento which I never really liked. To make a long story short, I owned this far a Hyundai S-Coupe 1.5 85hp, and a Citroen Saxo VTS 16v 120hp. Both really good cars and reliable, covered over 150.000km's on each car. Right now I am counting two solid members in my family (me and my wife) and somewhere short ahead we can see a third tiny person joining our lives. And now comes the big question.
Both my previous cars were spacious in their own way. Even the Saxo would be loaded like no tomorrow on our vacation trips. With the forthcoming Fiat 500 purchase, I know that space is a luxury that I won't have. Considering that my family needs will be amplified soon, I wanted to know how other 500 owners manage kids and their truckloads of necessary stuff in their 500's.
My sister and my brother in law, sometimes struggle to fit their kids stuff on their 2008 Jetta, which is by far more spacious than any hatchback. I can judge a poor management on their side for fitting all, but I will be honest here, if I had such a lagoon for a trunk like the Jetta I would just throw everything in, no matter the order.
The 500 will be our sole car, and this for many reasons. Small city car since our commute is based on a big city, easy parking a must, economy engine while capable for a decent and relaxing journey through highways fully loaded (thats why i am keen on the Twinair 105 version), and easy enough for my wife to drive. Now I do believe a kid safety seat will be fit just fine on the back, but a stroller could be a nightmare to fit (or maybe a complete folding one able to fit in the trunk? - How you guys manage the strollers in the 500?). About the stroller issue I was also thinking to include a roof rack and a small Thule-like case to have up there at all times.
Will we manage to do fine on a 500 with a kid coming our way and all the gear that it brings? I know for a fact that I was a kid on the back seat of a Fiat 127p with my parents driving amazing distances back in the early 80s, and the roof rack was having about 4 large suitcases facing upward, eliminating every sense of aerodynamics and making the tiny engine struggle with each km. I guess all our folks managed to do everything with their car selections back then (in similar setups of having a damn small car of 35hp at best to do all a car could do), but we got so modern and convenient that even the smallest inconvenience can drive us to the nearest dealership to switch our car to a bigger one. Me and my wife intend to keep the 500 for at least 7-8 years (most probably even more if it proves reliable) so please keep that in mind.
I apologise for the long sheet. Feel free to share your thought and most important, your tips (!), to make this work for me.
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