General Why Choose a 500 in the first place ?

[Tidus72]

Ok people, just a quick question, what drove you (no pun intended) to buy your 500 ?

My reason was I already had a new Fiat Punto Evo, but the seats gave me terrible back ache so it had to go back

I wanted to stay with the Fiat brand and a 500 never even crossed my mind, until I dove one Its comfy, cheap to run and quite roomy for its size

 

[jrkitching]

Scrappage.

Got £2000 off list at a time when there wasn't a sniff of a discount on 500's.

Made the car the price which IMO it should have been.

£30 road tax, 60mpg, £100pa insurance - what's not to like?

 

[RobinPJ]

Needed something economic and reasonably cheap and the 500 was the only car my wife liked.

 

[Lawgrrl]

Having traded in my Smart ForTwo for a Wind in 2010, I missed low petrol and road tax costs. The reason I got rid of the Smart was that very few garages would touch it and visits to Merc were expensive. The nail in the coffin was £110 for a cracked oil filter. The road tax was £30 per year and it was buttons in petrol... until you went on a motorway.

I've had no problems with the Renault Wind but it's £180ish for taxing and it's costing me a fortune in petrol.

I went for the TwinAir 0.9 500 S

Two of my friends have Lounges and I quite liked the car.

 

[UFI]

The TA engine

 

[OrangeSport]

NCAP rating, style, Top Gear feature and rarity (at the time of our 1st).

 

[kelshaw]

had a toyota yaris which was perfect no problems, however as i have a 1972 fiat 500l i wanted a new 500, after battling with my wife who thought i was mad to trade in my yaris she also prefers the 500 to the yaris it is the twin air , and i can honestly say that at my age after having owned many many makes and models this twin air is the most fun car that i have owned . it puts the zip back into motoring regards all geoff kelshaw

 

[scout]

I was looking for a new car and having fallen for the looks of the 500 when they first came out went shopping. I test drove the TA and couldn't leave without ordering one. As luck would have it I could afford the C version and the rest is, as they say, history.

 

[The Twins]

I had a BMW 135i and then a VW Phaeton... got fed up of the running costs. We already had a 1.2 500 that we bought for my wife as the 'run about'. I used it on a few long trips and was so impressed that I decided to cure myself of £££ cars and run a 500 for a while. I bought a pre reg 500 TA as I loved the idea of the TA engine. Kids are all grown up so dont need much space these days either. I am in the car on my own 90% of the time.
18000 miles later I am still impressed and have no desire to go back to spending £££ on cars.
I quite like modifying / personalising my car and this also fits with the 500.
Regarding comfort, as the OP mentioned, I do find the seats in the TA much more supportive than the ones in the 1.2 lounge.

 

[Melanabb]

Loved the original and wanted a modern copy. Chipped it in for Punto Abarth, more fun for not much more money (and I have to admit it, more comfy and roomy). Less MPG but, hey, one life - live it!

 

[chas379]

but, hey, one life - live it!

:yeahthat:

 

[loveshandbags]

Key reason was scrappage.

I bought a 500 because I always wanted the 'old' 500 & was interested in downsizing. Bought a secondhand 1.4 Sport in preference to a new 1.2 Pop and was pleasantly surprised by it's performance. Changed to a 1.4 FW Lounge with 8K miles, loved the spec but the seats were not as comfortable and it lacked the spark of the lighter 1.4 Sport (it had no glass roof). Could not get value for money in an A500 and bought a MiTo 155TB. Still have the 1.4 engine but everything else has changed. Still very interested in getting a A500SS ideally with FSDs but in no hurry.

 

[bgunn]

The TA engine

:yeahthat:

 

[Mondaugen]

Needed something economic and reasonably cheap and the 500 was the only car my wife liked.

Needed something economic and reasonably cheap and the 500 was the only car I liked. Really. After almost 30 years of not driving and not being interested in cars, I was looking at an MX-5 (too impractical), a VW Caddy (practical but boring), a Mini (hideous interior), and a Subaru Forester (not really economic), when a friend of mine suggested a Fiat 500. Although initially I would have preferred something large enough to transport a bike inside, it turned out to be, for me, the only car that didn't suck in the look-and-feel department.

Next, I'll be gettig a Twinair.

 

[Heidi]

Style......I had a ford cMax before.....say no more!

 

[Bunthree]

Went from a Landcruiser to a 500. Still get dogs, hay and a few humans in it. Saves money and I'm not called on to be the taxi service. Am happy!

 

[grr666]

My wife had just lost her mum to the big C and they used to share
a car. So we went for something new and got a bright yellow 500.
They shared a skoda Fabia SDI before and it would have easily
done another 150k but too many memories.