Modern Vespa

Does anyone here have the Fiat 500?

I'm actually very drawn to this car, but still have memories of the 'fix-it-again-Tony days. Yes, I'm old enough to have been around for the Fiat days of the 1960's. But I'm wondering what the owners of the new ones are experiencing as far as day to day reliability with modern electronics in place of the 50's and 60's paper clips and chewing gun electrical systems.

Thanks.

I have had the new shape ford Ka 1.2 which I have been told is same engine and mostly the same as the fiat 500 1.2. They are built in same factory.

A girl at work has the new 500 and constantly raves about how good it is.

I doubt it shares anything with original fiat 500 other than the name.

All modern cars are reliable these days. At least whilst under the manufacturers warranty.

I wanted the 500 but don't see where the extra 3 grand is going. I'd love the abarth one day though.

I don't... but, do a quick 'search' and you will find several threads on the topic with a ton of feedback!

All the best,

Desi B.

I have the Fiat 500 Abarth... the much-tweaked version of the 500 (so much, in fact, that it is almost a different animal).

The Abarth has been the most-fun car I've had since my mid-life-crisis 1990 Miata. I only have 2400 miles on it so far over 7 weeks, but it arrived with zero manufacturing defects and has been perfectly reliable so far.

I had two Fiats back in the '70s. They were great fun, too, but they were admittedly high-maintenance vehicles back then. The Fiat of this millennium, though, seems to be completely transformed. The new Fiats seem to me to be extremely well-engineered and assembled. If you've ever seen a video of their Toluca assembly plant, you've seen that they are just as automated in assembly as any American, Japanese, or other European car.

Best of all, they are Italian designs and have that Italian soul! Great fun to drive, even the slow ones.

[quote="Silver Streak"] My GF has the panda and I couldnt disagree with that comment more

I bet the 500 is a blast though

[quote="Major-Jump"] Well, the Panda (at least the one I'm familiar with) is a 4X4 that isn't sold on this side of the pond. I was talking about the slower versions of the 500, which are the only other Fiats available here.

I'd probably agree with you about the Panda, as 4X4s aren't my cup of tea generally as a fun driving experience.

Nothing that exciting just a billy basic 1.2 litre.

we like small cars over here

Cute cars. My wife wanted one but I did not fit in the car. Too bad I liked it a lot.

Have had 2 fiat pandas first car we had when we got married, 2 UNO,s 1 punto GT, 1 Tipo, 1 Bravo, I think fiats make some of the best cars they are fun to drive, and the best of all I have had 2 Alfa Romeo 147's my favourite was the red with red leather interior. Just to let you know not all Italian cars. 1 Renault Laguna 1 Chrysler neon, 1 jeep Cherokee 3.7 ltr 1 smart car, 2 Honda crv's, 1 Honda accord estate( station wagon ), I have had a Fiat doblo van, and now currently have a Vauxhall vivaro van, currently we have the 2 nd of the CRV's.
Oh and almost forgot my wife had a Subru imprezza turbo as a company car once.
Think that's the lot

No we also had a Suzuki swift.

My wife has had a Fiat 500 from new for a year, now on 13k miles. No problems at all - loves it

I'm thinking of buying an Alfa Romeo Giulietta myself, which would make us an all Italian vehicle family. 8)

Alfa have pushing hard to dispel the old memories of poor reliability - 5 year warranties from new, and the Giulietta service interval is every 2 year or 20k miles now.

I fancy a guilietta too. In red though.

How much are they?

If you speak Italian, here is a comparison of the two:

The US-market 500 has a different engine -- a 1400cc engine made in Detroit with non-mechanical variable intake valve timing and lift. The 500T version is turbocharged, but not as highly tuned as the Abarth.

I'd love a new FIAT 500 but they are very expensive in Australia - much like new Vespas that are thousands of dollars more than the USA. Why? who knows, perhaps government import taxes.

I had a FIAT 850 sports coupe in the early 1970's. Fantastic driver's car with loads of character!

Not that powerful but amazing handling and engine response (unlike the USA, no emission controls at that time in Australia). 903 cc engine, dual throat weber carby, the exhaust system was 4 separate tuned length pipes, one from from each cylinder straight into the muffler, Pirelli tyres as standard and Veglia instruments. Only weighed just over 700kg. They're a collectors item now.

Heh... the US-version Abarth has NO muffler. Just straight pipes past the catalytic converter. Nice and throaty, but not TOO loud. Amazingly, you only really hear it when you punch the pedal; at cruise there is no annoying drone.

I like the look of the Fiat 500, Just wished it had TDI,
I guess that why I like the VW Golf TDI better.

I have had a lifelong love/hate relationship with Fiats.

Had 2 128ps in my teens and early 20s. Then an Uno. Followed by 2 miriafioris.Then a Strada Abarth.

All of them had their quirks and bad points. I mainly had them when I didn't have much money and I could work on them myself. When I started erning some dough I got suckered in by Mercedes Benz.

However, I was home in the UK for a couple of months over the su mer and rented a 500 Twinair. Man, 875 cc of unbridled madness. 70 mpg, sounded like a spitfire and went like a train. If they were 10 k cheaper here in Aus I'd have one in a heartbeat. I 'd love an Arbath but at 45k they're way too much.

The Twinair is the most fun I've had on 4 wheels since I had a first gen Civic Type R. Seriously.

My only criticism is the seat height - feels like your sitting on, ratherr than in the car.

And Dave, it looks like our parallel lives cross again with our Fiat related history!

Cheers,
Mark

We get the tdi version in the uk, plus the two cylinder twin-air.

modern fiats are pretty good
I had a punto td for 5 years and 90,000 miles.
no real problems apart from when I filled it with petrol one morning when half asleep.
Body work - still good after 5 years in scotland ...nuff said.
engine - had one injecter go
suspention - one broken spring....again my mrs audi has went through 3 in the same time.
one down point the paintwork, it might have improved but the water based paint in mine wore thin where the door rubbers closed.

It's in Greek....

Hi David my friend in Adelaide ( finnis just between strathalbyn and goolwa) on the fleauriu peninsula, long winded but he is contemplating selling his black fiat 500 a couple of years old if you are interested I will ask him what he wants, he is also called David, don't worry about viewing as they both work in the city. He is called David also.

Alfas only had the bad name from the 70's when they used crappy steel that rotted. Having had two Alfas would love another one had no problems with them.

They had a bad reputation for electrics until far more recently than that.

There was also a problem with the cam belts as used on the 156 and others - they originally specified 72000 mile replacements but lots failed before then and the life has subsequently been dropped to 36000 miles.

I'm not putting them down too much - I drive a Fiat Bravo myself which has on the whole been a decent car, especially for the price I paid - but Alfa hadn't left all their problems behind in the 70s.

Owner of five Fiats, an 850 Arbath, one Uno, two Tipo's and a recent Punto.
The Punto's CVT gearbox sh#t itself and we did a ton of dough

The new 500 has a similar CVT. Good for round town but don't overload or thrash it.
IMO...get the 'stick' version...way more fun and reliable.

The 5-speed stick is the only option on the Abarth, and that's fine with me!

I bought a 500 Pop Cabriol for my daughter to try and help her with parallel parking. The test is this Fri. We've put 1,000 miles on it. I'm not that fond of the car. First, it is slow and under-powered. Next, steering is only so-so. The worst thing about it is that you cannot see very well out of the back. You must totally rely on your rearview mirror to see the rear and left rear. You can turn to the right and see a little out the side and rear window, but the entire driver's side rear area is blocked off from view except by mirrors. They have put a fish-eye lens on the outside left mirror to help this problem, but I always prefer to do head checks and you can't do that with this car. It seems over-priced by a couple thousand too. I would never buy a car like this for myself. I owned an Audi 80 years ago that was a great little car...lots of zip, good visibility, good quality. It was a much better car than this Fiat. The Fiat handles more like the 1979 Ford Fiesta I owned. Of course that was a cheap car.

2010 plates with higher miles now possible at about £10k
2011 plates from about £13k+
2012 plates from £16k up, new around £22k

Like most cars, about 6 engine choices, two gearboxes, and 4 trim levels linked to upholstery and wheel design, so lots of price variations. The diesel engines are now putting out 60+mpg, but petrols don't seem to make the stated combined cycle numbers, more the urban rates of 34mpg.
They make 3 reds - a dull Alfa Red metallic (I'd say burgundy), a solid Alfa Red (pillarbox, more the true Alfa/Ferrari red, but much less common) and a special 8C bright red metallic

Yes, I'm an Idiot!

The new Dodge Dart shares a lot with the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

http://www.torquenews.com/1079/how-much-alfa-romeo-dodge-dart

Alfa Romeo, Dodge or Fiat? The answer to this question is a little of all. While the car rests on Alfa Romeo's fantastic Giulietta platform, Fiat components marry themselves well with a higher quality Chrysler product the company now delivers. In plain words, the Dart looks good, feels great and shows an unsurpassed quality fit and finish.

Where is the Alfa Romeo in it all? You will definitely find it in the handling and braking. The car is truly what you would expect from the old Italian race company. It's hard to fault it. It will stop on a dime. Its turn radius is surprising and the car is comfortable enough to be driven from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, thanks to its 6 speed gear box.

Where is the Fiat in it all? Fiat shows up in the award winning 1.4 liter MultiAir turbo charged engine. The sprite and lively little 1.4 makes you forget you are moving a compact car, that feels more like a mid-size inside. It comes wildly alive over 4,000 rpm, easily flirting with the 7,000 with an enthusiastic roar. The gear box is also a Fiat product, perfect for city driving.

Where is the Dodge in it all? That was the harder question to answer. I've always wanted to drive the Neon SRT but feared its quality. I had no such fear with the Dart. It is well made, sports many luxuries only found in higher priced cars and felt great all around.

In essence, this is the closest thing you will get to owning a new Alfa Romeo in the US. The car feels and handles like one and true to its origin, without sacrificing comfort, efficiency nor fuel economy. With 41 mpg, and I assume with low rolling resistance tire 42+, this sub $17,000 Dodge Dart will give a vastly improve fit and finished, have fun in city driving and still take you far on our endless highways.

That's the same engine that's in the Fiat 500 Abarth.

I am totally in love with my Fiat 500 Sport. I will have had it for a year in December, and the only vehicle I would trade it in for would be the Abarth. It is so much fun to drive. I have the 5 speed manual, so it has enough power for me. The Sport mode button is awesome...the steering tightens up, the throttle is more responsive, it becomes a whole different animal. It is a blast on twisty roads...think go kart.

It does well on fuel, I get right around 40 doing combined, mostly city/suburb driving.

I have had no mechanical problems, it's been great to me. I have nothing negative to say about it.

If you are tall, don't get a sunroof lol. I made that mistake. I am 5'11" and had plenty of headroom in the non-sunroof car, but with the sunroof, it's a tight fit. I do have plenty of legroom, and the sport seats are extremely comfy. I have done several 3 hour trips and I had no trouble with it.



To sum it up...BUY ONE!!!!!!!

I have had one for over ayear. Not one complaint. Runs beautifully and gets better mileage than what was advertised. I only have 8k on it but i love this car.

I went car shopping yesterday for myself and a friend.

He bought a Peugeot 207

I bought a Toyota iq (smallest 4 seater you can buy)

Think the IQ is a really nice car I look at it like a grown up smart car
I would have an IQ if I needed a small car.
Have you seen the Aston martin version of the IQ cost over £30,000.00


Mark

Cute, although I'd need to see those passenger seats before I really believed it was a 4 seater

the rear passengers have reasonable room but there is virtually no space for luggage, but lets face it you wouldn't buy it as a 4 seater

It doesn't say anywhere its 4 human seats

The rear seats will be folded down for boot space and as far as I'm concerned its a 2 seater. It's rare I have a passenger anyway.

I only bought it so I could get it in the garage with my bikes LOL.