General Is it just me...?

[BigKev]

...or do others find the steering wheel too far away and the pedals too close on the 500?
I am 6' tall, my wife is 5'6" and we both have a problem with it although, in all fairness, it's her car and she loves it so much she's prepared to ignore the fact.
Seems like Fiats still build cars for people with long arms and short legs!

BK

 

[ahmett]

...or do others find the steering wheel too far away and the pedals too close on the 500?
I am 6' tall, my wife is 5'6" and we both have a problem with it although, in all fairness, it's her car and she loves it so much she's prepared to ignore the fact.
Seems like Fiats still build cars for people with long arms and short legs!

BK

That's the Italian style of driving! It took me months to find the perfect driving position in my Fiat 500!
I guess their test drivers are not so tall, but lets not forget mediteranean people are generally shorter.
I am 6ft 3 and when I buy British brands for clothing I fit fine, but when I try Zara or Massimo Dutti, or even sometimes Benetton, they are far too short for me.

 

[Melanabb]

How come I usually fit into Japanese cars fine but not so in their clothes? Maybe they put more thought into their cars, while Italians probably think: whats good for me its good for the world?

 

[dave]

...or do others find the steering wheel too far away and the pedals too close on the 500?
I am 6' tall, my wife is 5'6" and we both have a problem with it although, in all fairness, it's her car and she loves it so much she's prepared to ignore the fact.
Seems like Fiats still build cars for people with long arms and short legs!

BK

have you get the back of the seat in driving position or deckchair position?

 

[BigKev]

have you get the back of the seat in driving position or deckchair position?

Morning dave,

My wife always has her seat fairly upright and in this car I have to as well which is unusual for me. My own MX-5 requires a "deckchair" position, as you put it.

Truth is, the 500 wheel/pedal/seat relationship does seem to follow the old, traditional 'Italian Ape' (car testers in the old days used to say that - not my quote!) ergonomics.

BK

 

[alexGS]

...or do others find the steering wheel too far away and the pedals too close on the 500?
I am 6' tall, my wife is 5'6" and we both have a problem with it although, in all fairness, it's her car and she loves it so much she's prepared to ignore the fact.
Seems like Fiats still build cars for people with long arms and short legs!

I don't think it's just you; I also find my 500 a bit odd, especially when I get into my Spider or my 166 after a while and everything falls nicely to hand (and foot). I think in FIAT's defence, I should point out that safety dictates positioning of the occupants and steering wheel. I expect more thought goes into getting the right angles for the airbag deployment (even the positioning of the knee airbag) than in merely making the driving position seem comfortable.

It's not that there isn't enough space - there's loads, especially headroom - but like you I've found that the seat needs to be bolt upright for the steering wheel to be a comfortable reach. Then I find getting in and out to be strangely tricky, over the side of the seat and back through the long door that can't open far without hitting something Mind you, that applies to my Stilo and Spider as well (long doors).

If we're used to long and low shapes, the short and tall shape will always take some getting used to. I remember the first time I drove an Uno 45 - felt like driving a van. Would probably seem quite normal today - cars are much taller than they were in the 70s, 80s, and 90's (the Uno set a trend). As well as the safety benefit, visibility improves too. I can't see traffic lights easily in my Spider and guiding the 166 around a roundabout - or carpark - is done by extrapolation, since the view of the kerb is blocked by the windscreen pillar. No such problems in the 500.

-Alex

 

[BigKev]

Hmm, interesting post that ^^^ alex...

...btw, I like your fleet!

 

[ahmett]

I don't think it's just you; I also find my 500 a bit odd, especially when I get into my Spider or my 166 after a while and everything falls nicely to hand (and foot). I think in FIAT's defence, I should point out that safety dictates positioning of the occupants and steering wheel. I expect more thought goes into getting the right angles for the airbag deployment (even the positioning of the knee airbag) than in merely making the driving position seem comfortable.

It's not that there isn't enough space - there's loads, especially headroom - but like you I've found that the seat needs to be bolt upright for the steering wheel to be a comfortable reach. Then I find getting in and out to be strangely tricky, over the side of the seat and back through the long door that can't open far without hitting something Mind you, that applies to my Stilo and Spider as well (long doors).

If we're used to long and low shapes, the short and tall shape will always take some getting used to. I remember the first time I drove an Uno 45 - felt like driving a van. Would probably seem quite normal today - cars are much taller than they were in the 70s, 80s, and 90's (the Uno set a trend). As well as the safety benefit, visibility improves too. I can't see traffic lights easily in my Spider and guiding the 166 around a roundabout - or carpark - is done by extrapolation, since the view of the kerb is blocked by the windscreen pillar. No such problems in the 500.

-Alex

I cant see the sides from my Fiat 500 at all! My head is positioned right on the door pillar so when I am at a tight junction I have to move my neck annoyingly forward or backward from the tiny back window when I can barely see anything. The 500L was much better in that regard. Having a small rear seat window can create visibility problems. Also I have to bend in quite a lot when getting in the car (I have hit my head quite a few times getting in the car!), but as Alex said once in the car there is quite a lot of space for the front passenger.

 

[Ulpian]

If you want to hit your head when getting into a car try the Honda Civic or the new Skoda Rapid: ouch! I'm still smarting.

Fiats sometimes are a bit odd in the seating position stakes, but the upright seating position is far far nicer, for me, than the lying on your back six inches off the ground with your legs sticking straight out in front position that many makers force you to adopt. See Honda Civic again, and Mercs, and most others. This is very bad ergonomically and awful for ingress and egress, and visibility, but people seem not to notice. In the seventies BMC build horribly low cars, like the Mini and the 1100/1300 series, while the Continental manufacturers, notably Fiat, refused to make their mainstream cars so low - original 500 excepted as it was almost a toy. I remember reading in Autocar about just this point.

The big problem with Fiat is that too often in RHD markets they don't allow space for the clutch foot to move to the left of the clutch; see Croma, Alfa Giulietta, Bravo (same basic floorpan) and a number of others. My Doblo has a very odd pedal configuration, but it is pretty comfortable, however, the clutch and the throttle are far too close and it is too easy to accelerate when trying to brake

In the US this car would be withdrawn, but here in the UK the car makers are far safer from regulation.

 

[jrkitching]

I find the pedals on RHD 500's & Pandas quite close together, and offset as a group to the left. As these cars are my daily drives, I've got used to it to the point of not noticing, but when driving something else, the difference is obvious.

I hired a Merc 816 to do a house move last weekend & it took the best part of 50 miles getting used to the very different feel - on that vehicle the main steering column is between the clutch & brake pedals & I found the best way to reliably hit the brake was to slide my right foot leftwards towards the column & press down. And for anyone whinging about the lack of progressive feel on the FIAT OEM pads - try an airbraked Merc & you'll never complain again.

 

[Heidi]

If you want to hit your head when getting into a car try the Honda Civic or the new Skoda Rapid: ouch! I'm still smarting.

Yes, I can relate to that - husband has a civic and I hit my head almost every time

 

[Ralf S.]

I'm pretty sure Fiat don't just design cars to fit their road testers...

The thing is that everyone is a different shape with even people of the same height having different length arms and legs. Those people all drive different cars and are used to different seating arrangements before they clamber aboard the 500.

Fiat (as any other manufacturer) engineers the controls to fit 90% of the population. If the steering wheel or the pedals feel "too close" or "too far away", then that could be a combination of the shape of your body, the length of your arms and/or legs .. or just what you're used to.

The seat should be as far back as needed, so that when your left leg is holding the clutch down, it's almost fully stretched.

At that point if you stretch your arms out, your wrists should be able to rest on the top of the steering wheel. Adjust the seat back or the wheel in/out (if you have it) until you can do that without lifting your back away from the seat.

Now you should be able to hold the wheel at quarter-to-three with your elbows slightly bent. If so, Roberto is your mother's brother. If not.... adjust some more. But it WILL fit (unless you are seriously in the out-size 10%).

Ralf S.

 

[ahmett]

I'm pretty sure Fiat don't just design cars to fit their road testers...

The thing is that everyone is a different shape with even people of the same height having different length arms and legs. Those people all drive different cars and are used to different seating arrangements before they clamber aboard the 500.

Fiat (as any other manufacturer) engineers the controls to fit 90% of the population. If the steering wheel or the pedals feel "too close" or "too far away", then that could be a combination of the shape of your body, the length of your arms and/or legs .. or just what you're used to.

The seat should be as far back as needed, so that when your left leg is holding the clutch down, it's almost fully stretched.

At that point if you stretch your arms out, your wrists should be able to rest on the top of the steering wheel. Adjust the seat back or the wheel in/out (if you have it) until you can do that without lifting your back away from the seat.

Now you should be able to hold the wheel at quarter-to-three with your elbows slightly bent. If so, Roberto is your mother's brother. If not.... adjust some more. But it WILL fit (unless you are seriously in the out-size 10%).

Ralf S.

But don't forget your average Italian is shorter than your average Brit!

 

[panda panda]

'tis a pity Fiat didnt fit a reach mechanism on the 500. I found the sitting position compromised because of the steering wheel position.
Not so much a problem in the Panda as the seats are set higher.

 

[chas379]

I am 6ft 3 and when I buy British brands for clothing I fit fine, but when I try Zara or Massimo Dutti, or even sometimes Benetton, they are far too short for me.

Wait for Primark or Matalan to come your way then you'll be well suited!!:devil:

 

[frupi]

...or do others find the steering wheel too far away and the pedals too close on the 500?
I am 6' tall, my wife is 5'6" and we both have a problem with it although, in all fairness, it's her car and she loves it so much she's prepared to ignore the fact.
Seems like Fiats still build cars for people with long arms and short legs!

BK

My Missus is 6 foot tall and I'm 6'2 and tbh, in terms of comfort in driving position, the 500 is a darn sight more comfortable than our old MX5, and moreso, getting in and out!