General Not for me.....

[PandaLounge]

... well 6 months have passed and unfortunately I have decided that the 500X has to go.

I know that many owners love theirs and I'm glad you do. For me it's been a love-hate relationship but the hate has become too much.

It's a strange situation because (apart from warranty related problems - which I can live with tbh) there isn't one single thing I can put my finger on that I hate about the car. I just hate the car in general.

I think we do build a relationship with mechanical objects and we know when a car 'fits' us. The test drive was great (a launch edition with 1.4MA) but for some reason my car and I just haven't gelled.

I read an article recently (and I'm not easily swayed by journo's and like to make my own opinion) but it perfectly summed up my car. I think (unfortunately) it was Clarkson in the Telegraph but one sentence hit the nail on the head - it doesn't feel like a Fiat. I know to many that's a great thing; it's wooed new customers and I'm really pleased it has. In fact not feeling like a Fiat means it has good steering feel and ride and nice soft-touch materials - but it lacks something. Passion? Flair? I can't explain. This is rubbish right??! It's made in Italy! My 500 was made in Poland so why would that feel more Italian?? I just think the X feels too much like it's sister and the Jeepness shines through.

I would like to say that it's because I have the 1.6eTorq so I'm missing a trick not have the MA Turbo. I'd disagree. The 1.6 has loosened up brilliantly. In Sport mode and at 3,000 RPM it flies. In fact it's scared me on the odd occasion as the torque delivery was vast.

It certainly needs to be in Sport mode ALL the time though as in Auto mode the flat spot is awful. If it were an old car I'd be fling the rota arm with sand paper and cleaning the inside of the distributor cap to find the source of the 'problem'.

To all of you who love your 500X; I'm glad - and you deserve to - it is a good car; it just isn't for me. May be that's the point - it's good not great.

So my 500 Lounge is bobbing it's way across the sea and will hopefully be here in 2 weeks. My Polish Countrypolitan dream will instantly feel Italian. Bad driving position, not brilliant ergonomics, bouncy jittery ride..........but bloody FUN!



Steve

 

[LovelyRed500XCross]

... well 6 months have passed and unfortunately I have decided that the 500X has to go.

I know that many owners love theirs and I'm glad you do. For me it's been a love-hate relationship but the hate has become too much.

It's a strange situation because (apart from warranty related problems - which I can live with tbh) there isn't one single thing I can put my finger on that I hate about the car. I just hate the car in general.

I think we do build a relationship with mechanical objects and we know when a car 'fits' us. The test drive was great (a launch edition with 1.4MA) but for some reason my car and I just haven't gelled.

I read an article recently (and I'm not easily swayed by journo's and like to make my own opinion) but it perfectly summed up my car. I think (unfortunately) it was Clarkson in the Telegraph but one sentence hit the nail on the head - it doesn't feel like a Fiat. I know to many that's a great thing; it's wooed new customers and I'm really pleased it has. In fact not feeling like a Fiat means it has good steering feel and ride and nice soft-touch materials - but it lacks something. Passion? Flair? I can't explain. This is rubbish right??! It's made in Italy! My 500 was made in Poland so why would that feel more Italian?? I just think the X feels too much like it's sister and the Jeepness shines through.

I would like to say that it's because I have the 1.6eTorq so I'm missing a trick not have the MA Turbo. I'd disagree. The 1.6 has loosened up brilliantly. In Sport mode and at 3,000 RPM it flies. In fact it's scared me on the odd occasion as the torque delivery was vast.

It certainly needs to be in Sport mode ALL the time though as in Auto mode the flat spot is awful. If it were an old car I'd be fling the rota arm with sand paper and cleaning the inside of the distributor cap to find the source of the 'problem'.

To all of you who love your 500X; I'm glad - and you deserve to - it is a good car; it just isn't for me. May be that's the point - it's good not great.

So my 500 Lounge is bobbing it's way across the sea and will hopefully be here in 2 weeks. My Polish Countrypolitan dream will instantly feel Italian. Bad driving position, not brilliant ergonomics, bouncy jittery ride..........but bloody FUN!



Steve

As possibly the newest member on here (from last Thursday(!), I'll bite!
I came from an Alfa 159 TI Sportwagon 2008 and it was a lovely car , although flawed in some areas. I'll not miss the appetite for tyres ( and I drive like Miss Daisy), the chip-prone paintwork, and the firm ride but it was a great drive. I wasn't seriously thinking about moving on, but when I saw the price of a secondhand 500X and the spec, I was interested to downsize. I drove a couple of demos and found the ride a bit bouncy but have got used to that, the steering a bit uninvolving and light, ditto, and fully admit I'm still basking in the glow of a 'new 'car.
The interior looks good, it still has toys like stop/start and parking sensors and most importantly it feels well put together with no rattles on 7k miles.


I've had loads of Fiats in the past (2 Unos, Fire Panda, Tipo, 2 Bravas and old style Bravo, and 2 Puntos (Mk1 and 2) and the 500X is the best yet.


So I've left the flawed excitement of the 159 for the sensible and possibly boring(?) 500X. I look forward to getting 15k miles or more from the tyres and expect all the plastic cladding low down will protect my paintwork too. Petrol fueling will mean I don't need to worry about DPF Regens and the turbo gives me the same kick as a diesel, yet with more flexibility in the gearing.


I guess at the end of the day, it's different strokes for different folks and am glad you're staying with Fiat.