The New Fiat 500..

[Jim 1]

I was starting to get a bit worried that there might be something wrong with me.. over the past few months i've seen more and more articles on the forthcoming Fiat 500 and I think it looks absolutely superb.

 

I saw a discussion about it on Pistonheads and was encouraged to read a number of folks saying similar things, so I don't feel like a complete lemon. In fact I think its the first new (and affordable) car i've seen i'd actually buy in a heartbeat for quite a few years.

 

 

Its cool! And REALLY light! And done by the guy who designed the new BMW Mini's so shouldn't fall apart, despite it bearing the Fiat badge!

[Supercharged 2]

I was starting to get a bit worried that there might be something wrong with me..

[Walesy 0]

[bcstudent 0]

I can't agree. That's a fugly car.

[moneypit23 0]

I like but then again, i'm a girl.

 

Bet its chepaer than the lupo i wanted.

[Tempest 0]

Oh dear. Yes, I remember you going all soft on the Fiat (= "Fehler in allen Teilen" in German, meaning "Mistakes in all parts") 500 last weekend, when your C wasn't quite behaving itself. There was me, immediately to the rescue, trying to get any such thoughts out of your head, but I must have failed :lol:

 

Anyway, on a slightly more serious note: I can't say I like the looks of that car, retro and all that as it may be, attractive (in whatever way) it may be, lightweight et al. Moreover, don't forget that new cars do very often suffer from as many, if not more, problems than our old cars. As a member of the ADAC I get the monthly club mag with a list of recalls on rather new cars. That list is sometimes quite shocking. That's only the tip of the iceberg, because the ADAC mag can't feature user comments, of course ;-)

 

In addition, don't forget that if you may find it hard to work on your C at times, you can forget all that on new cars, where on forums like these, you'll increasingly find people asking for good garages where they can have their new bangers fixed at reasonable cost, because there's little the home mechanic can still do on new cars. Apart from the fact that quite a few C-owners enjoy tinkering on their cars, it's also cheaper than having a garage do the work (well sort of, because that's often compensated by expensive mods and parts that you ordinarily wouldn't stick on a brandnew car :lol:).

 

Just some thoughts on the issue.

 

Tempest

[Jim 1]

In the ideal world i'll have two cars. One, something new like that which doesn't sap fuel and is comfortable and reliable for the daily hack along to work. The other will of course be the Corrado, languishing in the garage, ever ready to relieve me of my hard earned money.

 

I think i'd just prefer my expenditure on it to be on MY terms, not the cars terms!

[double-6s 0]

Strangely I agree with you mate :)

 

I think it's cool as fek! There's going to be an Arbarth version too :)

[Jim 1]

Strangely I agree with you mate

 

Nice one. I knew Steve would be quick to get in there with sexuality jibes.. I think thats all he has in his somewhat limited arsenal ;) :lol: At least Eric could put forward a well reasoned opinion on it :)

 

As you say - its cool. They've modernised it, not overbloated it, made it look stylish. I just hope it doesn't end up like the Mini.. there are just too many of the damn things!

[Sonicriot13 0]

It inspires no feelings in me either way. :|

 

It won't be as popular as the new "mini" I wouldn't have thought. One thing I would say in its favour is at least the Fiat retains a little bit of the soul of the original car. The "mini" is totally devoid of any real character and is nothing like the original.

[G60SC_Stoney 0]

i think it has the retro look of those Nissan Figaro things that potter about. Looks quite good IMO. not that id buy one of course, its a Fiat after all! (Fix It Again Tommy)

[double-6s 0]

Strangely I agree with you mate

 

Nice one. I knew Steve would be quick to get in there with sexuality jibes.. I think thats all he has in his somewhat limited arsenal ;) :lol: At least Eric could put forward a well reasoned opinion on it :)

 

As you say - its cool. They've modernised it, not overbloated it, made it look stylish. I just hope it doesn't end up like the Mini.. there are just too many of the damn things!

 

I read that the proportions are pretty darn close to the original, but 30% bigger. It rocks :)

[bristolbaron 10]

I'm still not sure about the Fiat.. Would love to drive one to see what its like. it does look incredibly gay, but my first thoughts of the mini when it came out was they've spoilt it.. I reckon this could be a cool little car.

 

I just hope it doesn't end up like the Mini.. there are just too many of the damn things!

 

Theres not as many as you would think! The 1 millionth car rolled out the factory back in June.. compare this to approx 800k 206's etc per year over the last five years..

MINI's are just more noticeable because they're different..

 

The "mini" is totally devoid of any real character and is nothing like the original.

 

PAH!! Have you driven one? The new cooper S is awesome, and even the Cooper is a cracking drive.. I sell them for a living, so would say that, :lol: however if i worked elsewhere and had the choice of a company car, i'd still be going with the MINI..

 

I was starting to get a bit worried that there might be something wrong with me..

[corozin 0]

:D :D :D :D

[Sonicriot13 0]

The "mini" is totally devoid of any real character and is nothing like the original.

 

PAH!! Have you driven one? The new cooper S is awesome, and even the Cooper is a cracking drive.. I sell them for a living, so would say that, :lol: however if i worked elsewhere and had the choice of a company car, i'd still be going with the MINI..

 

I have driven a Cooper S. Me and a mate test drove one when he was thinking of getting one. Wasn't my cup of tea. Although he didn't buy it in the end my mate really liked it. He was driving a C2 GT at the time though! :lol: Which I might add he subsequently blew up when he added nos! :shock: I will admit he'd have been better off with the S. :D

[double-6s 0]

It inspires no feelings in me either way. :|

 

It won't be as popular as the new "mini" I wouldn't have thought. One thing I would say in its favour is at least the Fiat retains a little bit of the soul of the original car. The "mini" is totally devoid of any real character and is nothing like the original.

 

I agree mate. I reckon the new fiat 500 has basically the same small, cheeky, fun, italian character of the original.

 

I'm not sure the original mini was an over-styled estate agents gay-mobile when it originally came out? More like an engineering/packaging marvel, albeit cool and trendy for a while.

 

So I feel that the mini is MORE of a blatant marketing exploitation of the original.

 

I wouldn't even sit in a mini let alone be seen driving one. I'd own the fiat though. In black. Lowered. A bit :)

[vr6storm 0]

go for it Jim.............I had a similar "thing" happen 10+ years ago.......when the Ka came out.......look how revolutionary that looked when that first came out!!..........and now 10 years later there is still a Ka in our household,I love driving it too..........and as an aside I believe the new Ka will be based on the FIAT 500

[double-6s 0]

Which in turn is a rebodied panda. Fiat panda, not the bear like animal that eats bamboo.

[Jim 1]

And in a continuing, incestual motor industry twist of fate, the NEW Ford Ka will share the same underpinnings as the 500, and be built in the same factory.

 

The Mini's are fantastic cars.. a friend of mine used to have a Cooper S and I thought it was brilliant. The thing is that the Mini should be a more exclusive car than the 206.. the 206 is just a daily hack and the Mini should have had more exclusivity than that. Its great for BMW that its sold so well, but its really just made it another car you see regularly each day and thats a shame.

 

Really am going to test drive the 500 when it comes out. I think its sweet.

[jazzdevil 0]

...have to admit, if it's as much fun as the original then i'd give it a go for a daily runner!

 

a mate had an original '65 - which another friend posited one evening as 'being some un-masculine'... a quick spin round the block and he extracted his 6'4" frame from it with the words "that's the closest i'll ever come to finding out what it would be like to do the Death Star trench run in a TIE fighter" :lol:

 

it was a sackful of laughs, easy to park, cheap to run and a bit of a headturner... we even spun it undertaking an M3 up the inside of a roundabout once!

[Toad 0]

Which in turn is a rebodied panda. Fiat panda, not the bear like animal that eats bamboo.

 

Oh... I always wanted one of them to hang around in my house, and scare cats off.

 

Panda style...

[Skimask 0]

FIAT = Fix It again Tony....

 

It'll be like all fiats, turn to rust in a couple of years. My mate had an original one, and it was tremendous fun, but probably a death trap, there wasn't anything to them at all. if i remember correctly it had a 500cc or 750cc engine in them?

It was a very cheeky car though and great fun! Essentially a city car, the top speed was abysmal.

[Tempest 0]

Just read in the ADAC mag that there'll be a cabrio version and even an estate version :shock:, both to be launched somwhere in 2009 or so.

 

Tempest

[Jim 1]

Urgh.

 

I'm only interested in the standard, or the Arbarth version.. if the new Punto Arbarth is anything to go by, the 500 Arbarth should be quite entertaining :)

[StuartFZR400 0]

everyone has different tastes Jim. I appreciate its close resemblance to the original and all. But thats about as positive as it gets for me; how much are these things? How well are they spec'd?

 

Auto Express suggest £11 to £15k - but 150bhp sounds a bit angry for a leightweight. Rival the Mini? Who'd buy a £20k+ Mini? Been in one and hated that - tiny inside and much louder than a Corrado. Much rather a 2nd-hand TT or S2000, or Z4.

 

Just be aware it seems Trannies seem to like them... :lol: