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First Test: 2012 Fiat 500

51 posts in this topic

January 27, 2011 / By Jonny Lieberman

"Delightful." Thus spoke Kim Reynolds, our handling and ride quality guru, when I asked him how Fiat's ballsy little 500 was to drive around our patented figure eight. Mr. Reynolds' seal of approval is high praise indeed for the diminutive newcomer, as I've seen Kim yawning while climbing out of ultracars worth several hundred thousand dollars. No, really. So why the big love for such a tiny car? Well, in a teensy-weensy Italian nutshell, the 500 deserves it.

Technically speaking, the 500 fits into the A-segment, along with cars like the Smart ForTwo and the upcoming Toyota iQ. But the Fiat's much bigger than the Smart and close to within half a foot of a Mini Cooper in most dimensions, even though the latter rates as a B-segment player. Here's the thing: From the driver's seat, you'd never know just how small the new Cinquecento is. I'm 5'11" and in the sunroof-less Sport edition 500 we tossed around for the weekend, I had space galore. However, Fiat 500s with glass panels up top have much less headroom. Back to the steel roofer: We had a 6 foot, 6-inch valet at our hotel in San Diego sit in the 500, and he proclaimed, "I have more room in here than a CTS." Ooh, Cadillac, burn! I found the rear seat tight on headroom, but somehow (let's say by magic) pretty good on legroom. Here's hoping that if you get stuffed in the rear you have someone to snuggle with, i.e., you don't have to sit up straight.

With only 1.4 liters underfoot, I was expecting the worst. I figured the Fiat 500 would be able to quickly dart around town, but suck wind at speed while buzzing like a TMZ editorial meeting. Guess what? At freeway speeds of 80, 85, and 90 mph, not only wasn't the 500 struggling, but it was calmly cruising. The tach was just above 3,000 rpm; tire and wind noise were low; and the engine felt -- dare I say this? -- refined. Again, I was expecting a hive of angry bees to loudly fizz through the firewall, and instead I was treated to relaxed smoothness. Up a 5-percent grade in top gear (fifth in our manual equipped car; the Lounge models sport six-speed automatics), I was able to just tap a little further down on the throttle and Fiat's novel MultiAir four-banger easily maintained 80 miles per hour.

................

Source.

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I was impressed with the car I sat in. Very tidy, easy on the eyes, big trunk.Wonder how it will fare in the offset crash tests with bigger FIATS. Wait, do they make bigger FIATS?Kind of academic. Chrysler is not selling them in Toronto. I would have to go to Vaughan for the nearest dealer which, along with the no cabrio option, kills the deal.I'm not trekking all the way to Vaughan for an oil change. The only formerly "Big Three" domestic dealer left in downtown Toronto is Chrysler and they aren't selling it. Let's hope Mr. Ford gets digging his subways...

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I was impressed with it as well; it was my hands-down favourite "small" car at the Montreal car show.Ditto on the cabrio. The pretty girls they hired for the car show had no idea there is even a 500C already selling in Europe, so they had no idea if there is one planned for sale here. I think I'll sit tight until there is firm news about the 500C and Abarth versions.

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Having not yet seen this car in person,it IS my favourite in-coming 'gas powered' small car.I will definately be going to see them at the dealer,when they get here.

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The cabriolet is more of a "berline découvrable" than a true cabriolet, but it is still preferable to the hardtop. You can bet that it will be coming shortly, but probably not as the full-blooded Abarth version. Which would kill it for me too, were I interested.

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If they DO bring it over, that would be nice. I somehow doubt that they will. It'll probably only be available with the wheezer engine ;)

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They are bringing it, it's just taking forever. When we were in LA earlier this month we saw ads everywhere for it there, too.-Iain

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The convertible?? No ads, no literature, no web presence, no informed Chrysler sales reps.

It's assumed they will launch the convertible in short order, but nobody knows anything about it. The Abarth? Nothing but speculation. Esseesse? Never. :)

OT: Nozomi N700, Odakyū 50000/60000 series Romancecar, Hakone Tozan 2000 mountain railway, Tozan cable car, Hakone Ropeway funitel.... this is (so far) my itinerary for a quick trip in March. I promise to take plenty of photos!

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Err - yeah, I just meant the hardtop! Not the cab. I misread. :)Nozomi is 500, isn't it? JR 700 is the duck-billed one that is included in railpass ("AMBITIOUS JAPAN!"). Romanceliner is hilarious!! Have fun :)-Iain

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Apologies for the OT again but Duck is so rarely around!

I'm only hoping for Nozomi 700, but it's a Super-Express with limited stops. I'm not heading to Nagoya this trip, so I may only end up on Hikari (500). But there are a couple of N700 trains a day that stop in Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama... It'll cost a bit more to do both Odakyū and that stretch of N700 from Tokyo to Hakone.

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I just sad in one! Our local Crysler dealer got them in just a couple of days ago. The one I had in front of me was priced at $25.000! But it had everything... Bose sound system, special paint job, bluetooth, usb socket, A/C, Sunroof , Handremote controls on the steering wheel and much more. The trunk space is about 5x bigger then the Smart... Overall I think Smart will have a tough time competing against the Fiat! The sales rep told me that he already sold a couple Fiat 500' to Smart owners within the first week.... Sorry, no pics...

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I saw one driving up in Sidney already! and keep taunting me when I'm driving into town for work driving by the dealership...we won't have ours for another few years (used hopefully...and by then we'll know if they're worthwhile or not)I'm guessing you were in a Lounge, the top of the line one which starts at about $19k.They seem to be quite competitive with the smart and they are predicting for the Convertible version and the Abarth to come next year...it'll be interesting to see the specs on the Abarth...and the price!

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One blew past us on Hwy. 400 last weekend. It was decked out with huge but subtle "500" decals down the side... it looked great!-Iain

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Took a drive last week to compare the "feel" to the one we rented in Europe. Had it been "dumbed" down for an NA market. Was pleasantly surprised that it still felt nippy although at 5 o'clock on the 40 I couldn't check out the German autobahn speeds of 180 we had managed. All in all it felt nice with similarities to the Smart but a real manual gearbox to remain in control. I'm very tempted.

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Did Des Sources let you take out one of their Prima Edizione demos? It has a combination of options currently unavailable on the regular Pop, Sport or Lounge variants.

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Nah it was just a standard "Sport"I asked why there was a $500 difference in sunroof price between the "Pop/Sport" and the "Lounge" They didn't know but the Lounge has a panoramic glass roof which is great so maybe that's why the sunroof is $500 cheaper than on the other models.They did say that they probably could find a Prima Editione if one wanted it as they had some on speculation.2seat

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Yeah, they told me they had ordered a whole bunch on spec, using employees' spouses' names... ;)I believe the sunroof is the same on all three, but the option price is lower because it just is.

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My conclusion, based upon what I saw at Frankfurt in 2009 and yesterday at the PIAS, is a big NO.There were two cars on display at yesterday's show: both the model with sunroof. I could not even come close to fitting in the driver's seat. Like it was missing 6 cm of headroom at least, even with the seat in its lowest position, my head was jammed hard into the ceiling. Possibly the convertible version could have more room, or of course a car without the sunroof.On one of the cars, both the passenger seat height adjuster and the release for the access to the rear seat were broken already. A lot of the interior trim seemed flimsy and although it looks good inside, for example the instrument pod, I wonder what it would look like after 6 years of use.The sunroof panel, when open, is poorly secured at its rear end, can move vertically about 6 cm plus or minus, which makes me wonder how it would be at speed in buffeting conditions. Certainly this would put inordinate stress upon the hardware to which the panel is attached.So, if I wanted one, it would definitely not have a sunroof. I wouldn't buy one though. However I am glad they're available in Canada and look forward to seeing some of these on the street.

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I'm curious about your "interior trim cheapness" comments.

My car cost more in 2007 than a loaded 500 today, and I don't think there is a car on the market with a cheaper looking interior than ours. Were it not for the pleather seats, wheel and shifter knob, it would be downright ghastly. While mine is in relatively good shape compared to the vast majority of smarts I've looked into (you know, for VINs ;)), the plastic gets scratched just by thinking about touching it. My shift knob pops off when I put the car in reverse and my right flappy-paddle came off the first weekend I had it, while I was showing it off to a friend.

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Have seen several on the roads here in Ottawa already. Wow, they look as good on the street as I remember. When the Abarth comes out, it may be finally time to dump the smart.

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The cabriolet is more of a "berline découvrable" than a true cabriolet, but it is still preferable to the hardtop. You can bet that it will be coming shortly, but probably not as the full-blooded Abarth version. Which would kill it for me too, were I interested.

Technically it's a Landau, just like the smart cabrio, Nissan Figaro, Citroen C3 Pluriel and the original 2CV... Wheteher or not the side bars are removable doesn't change that.

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Funny, neither of my smarts have any damage to any of the nasty hard plastic in the interior.

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Drove two Fiats today, a Lounge with 5 speed manual, and a base with the 6 speed auto. Must be had in red IMO. Nice car, but the sunroof detracts from headroom by two inches. Oh, Mike T said that. And lots of plasticky stuff to break inside. Car needs to driven at 3000 RPM to get some acceleration, but it is peppy once you get that part down. It's really not that great in full auto - shifting yourself is fine though.

55 mpg Highway (5.1 LHK)

Someone is making a mint on these cars, not the dealer, but consider a $10,000 Versa Sedan also made in Mexico.

But that is the price of niche. It's not that unreasonable if you compare to the smart.

I do wish them well. If they'd offered $9500 on my Volvo like Subaru did, I would let the wife have it... but alas.....

Yes, the Lounge gets a $500 sunroof because you are already getting the glass roof in that level.

I think a convertible and turbo will make this a well received lineup for awhile. That said, there's 6-7 on the lot in Burnaby, so they aren't neccessarily as popular as the smart. Will have to see if Des Rosiers breaks out Fiat separately (I should hope so).

..... and yes, 417 sold in March, which is almost the entire volume for the year. So there are probably 1,000 or close to sold by now if you facrtor in automatics are just now arriving.

I would own one, but I will probably wait for a $10,000 deal.

The 500 Decals on the side are $500 ironically, or not.... a bit overpriced. The Lounge gets some side body mouldings with '500' in silver included on the rear quarter. I'm not sure that you 'lose' on ther Lounge that the Sport has beyond the nicer 16" wheels and suspension, but the Lounge is a well appointed car all around with lots of standard features.

A few other tidbits:

87 octane 'acceptable', but 91 is recommended

Drag coefficient 0.35

39.7 L (10.5 US gallon) tank

wheelbase 90.6 inches (2300 mm)

overall length 109.6 inches (3.55 m)

Curb weight, roughly 2500 lbs

More specs here

Some odd points between US and Canada:

US site lists thwe block heater as an option for $50... I don't recall seeing that on the Canada site

The Lounge comes with auto tranny standard in the US, with no manual! Price is the same $19,500, but the sunroof is $850, not $500

There are some typical subtle differences in packages and options, but the pricing is pretty much even

The spare wheel is NOT standard. It's $200 in Canada, $100 in the US.

And if you don't have it, you have a HUGE air pocket in the rear of the car.... the wheel bolts on underneath.

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Drove two Fiats today, a Lounge with 5 speed manual, and a base with the 6 speed auto. Must be had in red IMO. Nice car, but the sunroof detracts from headroom by two inches. Oh, Mike T said that. And lots of plasticky stuff to break inside. Car needs to driven at 3000 RPM to get some acceleration, but it is peppy once you get that part down. It's really not that great in full auto - shifting yourself is fine though.

Thanks for the review. I don't like being the first to buy anything, so will wait a year or so and let them flesh out the bugs, etc...Hopefully they bring over a true Abarth, not like the watered down Brabus 451 we got over here. Considering the Fiat 500 Abarth, Mini Countryman, or VW GTI for 2012.

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