500 New to FIAT... What have I done?! ;-)

[EnglishChilli]

Hey there, just found this forum.. had a look around, likes what I saw, Joined.

anyway, a bit about me,

I've Always liked my smallish hatches, in the last ten years i've owned a 2004 RenaultSport Clio 182, 2004 MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works, 2009 MINI Cooper S Convertible. and now....

A Fiat 500 Lounge...

Serious? what have I done? hehe. I was really impressed with the little car, liked the way it drove, the way it looked, and the equipment levels for a reasonably priced small car! I have changed to due to moving house and trying to be a bit more economical, loving the cheap road tax, the great MPG and the sub £200 insurance!! VERY different to what I'm used too!

I will get a few pics up of the new 500 when I pick her up which has been nicknamed 'ENZO' by a friend and has now stuck already!

I'm a bit of a car care freak and love looking after them, heres a few of my old cars I mentioned to give you an idea. but for now i'll say see ya, and i'll get some picks up of the new un' when I get 5...

Regards.

Chilli.

The Clio 182

The MINI John Cooper Works

The MINI Cooper S Convertible

 

[OrangeSport]

It would be interesting to hear how you feel the Mini and the 500 compare (in the areas you can compare, allowing for the very different specs).

 

[306maxi]

I drove a mini for about 500 metres and the suspension was miles better

 

[deeyup]

I had a mini, it felt more solid and as maxi just said, suspension much better.
Good little car it was.

I also had the same era Clio, but a 1.5 dci 80ps. Crazy mpg, 650 miles in a tank only a little bigger than the 500's and tha was caning it everywhere. Best Clio Renault ever made IMO

Btw, chilli, welcome to fiat forum

 

[bgunn]

I drove a mini for about 500 metres and the suspension was miles better

Because it is, far far better engineered (By Rover engineers - in the R50).

Because of that, BMW make less profit on the MINI than FIAT do the 500 though.

The R56 is more 'small BMW car' though, they've dialled a lot of the MINIness out of it. No doubt the next iteration will be even worse. And the less said about the Countryman, the better!

 

[306maxi]

Well, to be fair the suspension on the 500 wasn't engineered at all so anything is going to be better!

 

[scout]

This convo surprises me as I test drove a JC works mini before the 500 & I hated the ride and driving position. So much so that it put me off the mini. I drive a Hyundai coupe at the moment so I'm not unfamiliar with harsh rides but the mini was much worse. It doesn't help that Bucks is possibly the worst county for bad roads aswell.

 

[wigit]

loving the clio 182 would still be my weapon of choice for a track day car

damping is not great on the 500, i'm getting used to it but the Abarth 500 rode better despite being firmer and steering feel probably not as good as the other too

still greta fun to drive though

 

[306maxi]

This convo surprises me as I test drove a JC works mini before the 500 & I hated the ride and driving position. So much so that it put me off the mini. I drive a Hyundai coupe at the moment so I'm not unfamiliar with harsh rides but the mini was much worse. It doesn't help that Bucks is possibly the worst county for bad roads aswell.

Well, that's a jcw one though, the one I drove was only a cooper therefore was comfy.

 

[bgunn]

Well, to be fair the suspension on the 500 wasn't engineered at all so anything is going to be better!

You know that's not true. It was done more cheaply - yes.. Intrinsically, it's fine, FIAT aren't the only ones to use cheap dampers.

Ever ridden in a modern Audi? They mostly come with wooden suspension

 

[306maxi]

been a passenger in an 08 Audi A4 cabrio and it seemed to ride just fine