This car shocked the heck out of me. I purchased a Gucci Edition for my wife and I test drove it..... I love it. I’m in the hunt for an Abarth edition for myself. Great car for a man my age.
Speaking from experience, I love mine. The tight suspension hugs the curves. The manual transmission is plenty zippy, and is in general is a ton of fun to drive. The Italian interior design is very cool, and things like blue tooth, USB interface, and Bose sound are nice extras, not to mention the gas mileage.
First, I love Fiat. Had an original 500, and an X-19. Recently I was going to buy one of the first 500 cars imported into the USA (had a dash plaque that said so). They wanted $3,300.00. It was in nice condition except it would no longer downshift into 3rd gear. Not a really big deal because I'm a mechanic. I found a good used tranny for $700, shipped to my door. Well, if you are going to replace a tranny, you replace the clutch as well. I called my local Auto Zone and asked the cost of the three piece clutch kit. $850.00. No that had to be a mistake. That's over three times the cost of most clutch kits. So I got on line. The cheapest I found was over $700.00. Remember, this is me replacing the clutch, if you are not a mechanic, you have to take it into someone and that kit is not going to be $800, it will be at least $1K, then labor of at least $500. I have no idea why the kit is so expensive but it changed my mind on the fiat. I bought a Geo Metro instead. The clutch kit is $89.00 and takes two hours to install. I still love Fiats and may get one when their prices get down to $1k. Then when it needs a clutch, I'll go by another one and use the first for parts.
I have a 2012 Fiat 500 and when I first got it, I too was a little disappointed with the fuel economy. However, over time the fuel economy has improved and I now get around 40 mpg with it.
I've had my 2013 500 POP 5 years this week. I am getting around 44 mpg, once I took a road trip at a lower elevation, on a flat road and didn't drive crazy, and I got 51 mpg between gas stations !
Daniel Reigada don't forget to replace your blinker fluid. Really important especially in this model .Mine ran out of blinker fluid the first 20,000 miles.
Almost everything said in the video is irrelevant. You don't buy any Italian car because it's sensible. You don't care how non sensible it may be, you still love it.
@checksumday Believe me (I've been having a 500 for 4 years), you will NEVER believe how fun to drive this car is until you get to driving one, and since the first second you get in, you just can't stop smiling.
9.4 faster than any K car from the 80s and most tanks from the 60s and 70s-- my 09 Accent SE 5 speed is just a tick quicker-- i can barely beat some old Honda civics-- i used to have a 93 Ford Festiva 1.3 with a 5 speed, over 45 MPG hwy, wish i could get one now-- i loved that car
Formally it's an electric car with a range extender (this is what a GM man would say). practically it's an hybrid that has an electric engine to give traction and a thermal one to recharge the batteries (just to make it as simple as possible). I do believe this is the way to go on hybrid cars, while we wait for better batteries (I totally agree with you about the fact that they are now the limit for electric cars spread)
@7477238 I know what you mean. I drive an Impreza and the routes I usally take have buses, and big SUVS. (Escalades, Tahoes, Expeditions etc) And it's damn scary because the don't signal, don't use there mirrors, dont check there blindspots so you really need to be aware. Btw I live in Toronto also so I know what you mean.
I have a Fiat 500 pop 1.2 litre and today I got 54MPG highway. City driving gets 45MPG every week. Greatest city car. Feel a bit vulnerable on the open road in Australia.
the car is definitely fun to drive as well...i've driven a mini and thought it sucked royally...it was controlled but so are a prozac and a soma...the fiat is fun, spirited, and a pleasure to drive.
@smoguli I agree that mpg ratings have changed, there's driving the car with no traffic in the middle of the night and then there's the grid lock that we face every day in a work commute. There are times you get on the open highway now a days that yoiu can come to complete stops and sit in traffic (Florida during a hurricane evacuation or peak holiday and vacation traffic).
@smoguli .3 of a second isn't that big a difference 0-60, that might even come down to the particular run or a driver's skills to switch gears and so on. At a 1/4 mile it'll be more noticeable a lead. Where some of these 0-50 & 0-60 cars fall off are higher speeds and what it takes to get from 60-70, 60-80, even 60-90+ mph. One thing I will qualify it with, I drove a Dodge Caliber the other day, auto trans, thing had like 6 gears to shift if I wanted to take control and shift it myself.
I've a '12 Sport I bought used. It has only one setting (as far as I can tell ) concerning the headlights, meaning all or nothing. I've no setting on the switch to just turn the parking lights on only.
@jgcamp99 BTW, the higher performance 80's econoboxes, they weren't asking $ 28K for one.When you weigh the cost of Fiat new vs used Japanese, I can drive a used car 8-10 years and save way more than what the Abarth will run me off the lot. You can get quite a bit of car for under $ 10,000, that means the 500 to Abarth is $ 12-18K more. 38 mpg highway is decent, but I can get 40+ in a Honda or Toyota.
@multijetIT 33 mpg is not economics for such a small car. You could buy a much nicer diesel audi which will be more fuel efficient, much larger, and faster. Plus diesel is cheaper from what i remember in europe!
excellent review...consumer reports, and others really seem biased in their criticism whereas this review presents the positives and other areas as I see it. Prior owner of a Fiat x1/9 and know these performance numbers well. 30/38-x1/9's numbers also...small car doesn't mean 500 miles to the gallon...there are many factors involved...all of the fiat that i loved came back with the 500 and gladly paid for it...numbers are a little off though...you can have a pop for 16,100, 20300 for sport...
@smoguli I Owned & drove a Colt GT and it did 0-60 in about 8 seconds, 16 seconds for 1/4 mile. The Civic Si was similar, The CRX too. I'll agree that the new Fiat has all the safety features the 80's cars didn't, but a friend had an 86 Civic Si and I recall his car being solidly built and getting 40 mpg highway. The Fiat is a throwback to that performance of the more economical 1.5L engine models. The Abarth might beat out those cars, doubt it takes a 200 hp Vtec Civic Si of today ?
@checksumday you are entitled to your opinion, but this car has won many awards.What you call novelty some call it unique and out of the box thinking. Anf if you hate small cars so much why even come here and check it out??? or pass opinion on it if you don't care about it.
I'm a 50+ American Man, so I have a little more leeway social norm wise, but screw them all, just remember you don't have to prove a Goddamm thing to anyone.
I’m 20 years old, almost 21 in 3 months, and I think the Fiat 500 is OK looking even though in my opinion, it looks like a cheese wedge. I prefer the 500X more though.
@cb7pwn According to fueleconomy.gov, the 1989 CRX does 32mpg combined, and the 2012 Fiat 500 does 33mpg combined. Don't compare old fuel economy numbers with modern ones, because the EPA changed the way it's calculated in 2008. They even have a page where you can compare the old and new numbers for any car. For the 1989 CRX it was 37mpg with the old rating.
Come on, i had a 93 Festiva 5 speed for 10 years--- yes better MPG than the Fiat but slower and forget handling!!!! with those 12 inch tires and straight axle-- some people said they handled like a 'wheelbarrow' but great in snow and super reliable
well both PSA/Mitsu and Nissan modles have a declared authonomy way below 200km. "Declared" means: no AC, no heater, no radio, no lights. so they are definitely just city cars. But if you are speaking about the Volt (Ampera in Europe), it's not a pure electric car
Parent: Hey kid I got you a nice Italian sports car. Kid: What did you get me? A Lamborghini? Masarati? Ferrari :D? Parent: I got you a nice Fiat. Kid: Oh... :(
From my brief experience with it, it was little more than a docking station for your ipod. Way too small to be anything more that a personal commuter for two. I recall the hatchbacks from the 80's, those had cargo capacity in comparison. You could even get a couple of people in the back seat for leg room.
you know mexico is the 5 car builder in the world. they make , renault , nissan, ford, chrysler, vw, honda cars and moto, gm, mazda in 2013, etc. ..... wow.
@sexyboi142 I owned a BMW, the 3 series and now I'd say its not worth the money. A well powered focus is equally good. The focus suspension rocks, even better than a golf. Although if you live in the US the focus offered there might be different to the european one. Not sure...
@qazxnx08 There are a few people I know who are still waiting for a Fiat 500, the car's that popular and the output of the cars or how many rolling off the factory floor isn't like lightning. End of the waiting list to buy a Fiat 500 is quite long.
True but those are electric cars and how many miles can you drive with those untill the battery runs out? They say around 500 KM for Europe and that isn t much. : (
I think most eleectric cars have a range of 200-300 km today. Thats OK, if the car is an additional one in your family for city drives only. But when you can afford only one car it just doesn't make sense because you would be stuck in one place (city).
80mph is 130kph, which is already at the high end of expressway speed limits. I'm not sure what kind of limits you're expecting unless you live in Germany. Even then, only certain sections are unlimited and still have a suggested speed of 130kph. Americans have high expectations of power because fuel economy isn't a priority with relatively low gas prices, and most people drive automatics which tends to sap power. I tend to think it's a waste of power, seeing how lackadaisically people drive.
Yo heavy metal gods.... yep get the Sport...and I highly recommend the sunroof...it just completes the design ...get the Bose too if you have the $....THIS car is a helluva lot of fun... buena fortuna!
@BlueFox284 I've read too many negative comments about cars made in Mexico, specially from people from the U.S. Just to know.. what is the perception you have about it? is just a question, since i am mexican, and... here we often listen about car companies setting up factories here in Mexico, not only because cost reduction.. but because we have "qualified workers" and good reputation on making cars.
Volt and Ampera not pure electric? I didn t know that That is news for me. Anyway,,i am sure that in the future will find out how to make better and cleaner batteries . Also a cleaner way to make them.
Also, rhetorical question, if it's so easy to just "ask" for a higher speed limit, why don't Italians just ask for a higher limit? Your limit is only 130kph too. Oh, that's right, Italians don't follow speed limits anyway. Anyway, Americans did end up raising the speed limits. It was federally lowered to 55 mph in the 70's, but then was repealed in 1995. Almost all the states have higher limits than pre-1995.
@checksumday you must still live in the past. Let it go it was 30 years ago, move on. things change. And yes we get great cars like the fiat 500. a diamond is also small , but has a lot of value.
Yeah, just read that Chrysler is bringing back the Viper, shows us all how much whatever bailouts for those companies, even the current $ 4-5/gallon increases are for profit, not a sharing of vital resources on this planet. And if Ford & GM taking Mustang & Camaro to higher hp output, that's a function of 6 speed automatics that squeeze a mpg or few out of those products. It's all about a top n % still having the life and offering passable cute products for the rest of us ?
@kornellster A focus? tf...never in a million years. I'm working for what i want, my dad offered to buy me a used BMW 545i. That's the car im working towards getting.
