Balltofeet Fiat
New member
I am thinking of buying one, but dislike the bouncy B road ride in a Fiat 500 nwhen pressing on a bit. Honestly for a 50 year olod the ride will be dreadful I suspect. 
General Ride in Fiat 100HP
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General Ride in Fiat 100HP
babbo_umbro
Established member
I am thinking of buying one, but dislike the bouncy B road ride in a Fiat 500 nwhen pressing on a bit. Honestly for a 50 year olod the ride will be dreadful I suspect.
The ride quality is not great - when mine's out of warranty I'll be playing with rear dampers to see what that achieves - but, as a (just) 64-year-old, I find the ride acceptable on the roads in Devon, which are not great, on long continental journeys, and on the roads in central Italy, which are much worse than those in the UK.
mtsw
New member
I am thinking of buying one, but dislike the bouncy B road ride in a Fiat 500 nwhen pressing on a bit. Honestly for a 50 year olod the ride will be dreadful I suspect.
I was a bit worried when I purchased our 100 HP 2 years ago.
Ride quality and comfort was at 54 -years- old things you have to consider.
but in reality you do quickly get used to the hard-ish ride ,and to be honest it isnt as bad as some make out.
Although I did up tyre profile size to 50 profile, when I changed the tyres.
Giving a slightly more comfortable ride.
I think you will find the very sharp brakes more of a concern ,they like to surprise you now and again ,although I think the problem as been fixed on newer 100hp's(mines a 2007 model)
But its been a very reliable car that I still enjoy 2 years on .
I would buy another no problem .
Decron
New member
Not a car I would buy if I had to ask such a question TBH. The ride is fine if you regard it in context but if you don't it will rattle your fillings out.
Im 17 and I think the ride needs to be harder!!
Im 17 and I think the ride needs to be harder!!
But you've still a lot to learn about ride and handling.
For example, I've had much better handling cars that ride far, far better.
But you've still a lot to learn about ride and handling.
Yes I do have a lot to learn about many things
but I do remember when I used to race remote control cars (at national level if i may say so myself) :yum: i used to set them up as soft as possible so that the maximum amount of tyre was used at all times on the track and it also made the tyres last longer as the suspension was taking away some of the force from them.
Yes I do have a lot to learn about many things
LOL! Fair enough. I used to race real cars.
But the problem with the 100hp is the lack of a rear ARB, this is why the ride is so stiff. Add to this Fiat's seeming inability to spec dampers that are anywhere near being matched to the springs and you get a bouncy ride. I can live with it, but it really ought to be so much better. Notice that when Ford got involved for the Ka, just about the first thing they did was design a rear ARB. The 100hp could have been so much better if Fiat had bothered to engineer the rear suspension properly.
I'm not joking when I say I recently drove my friends Sprint/Race car and that was so much more comfortable!
Golgarth
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Comfort wise they truly suck. Later this year I will be trying different shocks to see which ones offer the most compliant ride. If comfort is your thing, the 100hp is not the car for you.
I really wish I could have my Clio 197 suspension on the 100hp, so much suspension travel and it ate bumps for breakfast, pity the rest of it was crap.....
If you class the 100HP as a sporty car, and buy it for it's handling etc, then you can tollerate the ride, if not, then I doubt it.
Suprised no one has changed out the rear shocks yet and trialled it.
Oh, and I have a VERY late 08 (7days off a 58) and the brakes are SUPER sensitive, I nearly crash when I get back into my Vectra.
I really wish I could have my Clio 197 suspension on the 100hp, so much suspension travel and it ate bumps for breakfast, pity the rest of it was crap.....
If you class the 100HP as a sporty car, and buy it for it's handling etc, then you can tollerate the ride, if not, then I doubt it.
Suprised no one has changed out the rear shocks yet and trialled it.
Oh, and I have a VERY late 08 (7days off a 58) and the brakes are SUPER sensitive, I nearly crash when I get back into my Vectra.
LOL! Fair enough. I used to race real cars.
I can't afford to do that........yet
paul100hp
Member
I would say the ride in my 100HP is pretty crap, unless the roads are dead smooth.
I love getting into my wife's Focus, it may be 8 years old but the ride is so much better, i can go over speed bumps with out my head hitting the roof, i can take corners faster, its just so much nicer to drive.
But i love my 100HP, it looks great, i can chuck it around, its cheap to run, nothing has ever gone wrong with it (famous last words).
Fiat just need to take some tips from Ford on how to sort a cars suspension out.
Saying that the Focus did cost twice the price of the Panda, might have something to do with it.
I love getting into my wife's Focus, it may be 8 years old but the ride is so much better, i can go over speed bumps with out my head hitting the roof, i can take corners faster, its just so much nicer to drive.
But i love my 100HP, it looks great, i can chuck it around, its cheap to run, nothing has ever gone wrong with it (famous last words).
Fiat just need to take some tips from Ford on how to sort a cars suspension out.
Saying that the Focus did cost twice the price of the Panda, might have something to do with it.
I bought my 100HP '07 at 50 and was concerned that I would find the ride too uncomfortable after having driven it for a short while but you get used to it quite quickly. You get to the stage where you automatically drive on the smoothest tarmac available without having to concentrate (I ride motorbikes as well so I am constantly aware of the quality of the road surface). The brakes are very sharp which can catch you out if not careful! When I drive my wife's 1.2 Panda (also an '07) I have to remember that the brakes are nowhere near as positive.
I have a 58 100hp (September 08). The brakes are better, the servo has been wound back a bit, but it is still over-servoed.
robjnr
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I don't think the brakes are sharp at all, but that is coming from a 58 plate Cupra with 14" brake discs, After a year of owning it, it still caught me out how sharp the bite was, you'll hit the head on the windscreen if you wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
Pretty much all modern cars are over-servoed. The trouble is with this, is it gives you no indication as to how good or not the brakes are. I had an MJ before the 100hp (on a 57 plate) and that was truly shocking, sneeze on the brakes and you head butt the windscreen. My 100hp is better, though far too much servo assistance.
Van Diemen
New member
Our 07 plate 100hp is very over-servoed too. At the one extreme you have our 100hp, somewhere in the middle you have 'normal' servoed cars (for which I include our 807, previous Mondeo, Fiesta plus a host of hire cars), and then un-assisted cars such as the Elise.
Our 100hp is too assisted, and I would also prefer a throttle progression somewhere between 'Sport' and 'Normal' too....and the ride is not compliant enough, and the pedals aren't close enough together.....but despite its room for improvement I still think it's an entertaining car!
Our 100hp is too assisted, and I would also prefer a throttle progression somewhere between 'Sport' and 'Normal' too....and the ride is not compliant enough, and the pedals aren't close enough together.....but despite its room for improvement I still think it's an entertaining car!
Totally agree with the pedals being too close together, I have size 11 feet!
I was in Wales yesterday giving the 100HP a good thrashing on the Evo Triangle. Didnt really find the brakes that grabby and over 'servoed' (and they were a little 'warm' once I had finished ).
However, on the Welsh roads the ride was very bouncy, not really a problem, just made me and the mrs laugh. If you find the ride on a 500 harsh, don't bother with a 100HP! It's alot stiffer then the Clio 182 i had before and that wasn't exactly soft!!
). However, on the Welsh roads the ride was very bouncy, not really a problem, just made me and the mrs laugh. If you find the ride on a 500 harsh, don't bother with a 100HP! It's alot stiffer then the Clio 182 i had before and that wasn't exactly soft!!
I was in Wales yesterday giving the 100HP a good thrashing on the Evo Triangle. Didnt really find the brakes that grabby and over 'servoed' (and they were a little 'warm' once I had finished
I had a little moment on a crest on the EVO triangle a while back. Fiat's just don't like bumps.........
