Fiat 500 - Deceptively fast!

[Raz316]

Until last weekend I had a 2 litre BMW from 2001. I loved it, but enough things were going against it that I just couldn't bring myself to spend any more money on it (air con not working, driver window getting stuck open, parking sensors knackered, not the most economical car, road tax is now £200 a year etc etc etc). It was probably what I consider to by my only real luxury purchase ever and I loved owning it.

We didn't really want to buy a second hand car. We wanted to have some stability with regards to our outgoing payments and the only way to do that is go with a small new car. We're not in a position to pay a large deposit on a car and we happened to see a deal at a local Fiat dealer which was basically a £0 deposit and monthly payments we could manage for a Fiat 500 POP 1.2 engine.

We took it for a test drive and while it was "ok" from a driving perspective, you could tell it was underpowered with up hill acceleration being quite a struggle. We decided this was something we would just have to take on the chin, we needed an economical car with some guarantees in relation to repairs if required (3 years warranty).

We discussed finance etc etc and with what I felt was a very healthy part exchange for my BMW we we able to "upgrade" the model we went with. We've now got a "Fiat 500 Colour Therapy Twin Air Turbo".

To start I said "upgrade" to myself ironically, "we are upgrading from a 1.2 engine to a 0.9 litre engine?", to my logic it didn't really seem like one, however, I am very happy to be proven so categorically wrong!

It is actually taking some getting used to. I need to retune my sense of speed based on the engine noise, as the 500 can easily sit at 30mph at much lower revs than the BMW (which seems crazy to me). It's very easy to be pushing 40mph and I have to be very very careful of that! It feels like a very enthusiastic car. It feels like it's constantly hinting "you know I can go faster than this right, right?!"

Yeah month on month we have a new outgoing payment, but road tax for this thing is £0 a year. My girlfriend is a care worker doing lots of small journeys around town so we will save loads there on petrol and also we don't have to worry about expensive MOT and garage bills for a few years (unless we do damage to the car ourselves).

I still have the BMW bug and hope to one day own one again, but all said and done, I am very happy with the Fiat 500

[kalniel]

Come on, it feels fast, rather than is fast. But that said and done, it's a cracker - fun to drive and well suited to your requirements, so spot on.

[Raz316]

Come on, it feels fast, rather than is fast. But that said and done, it's a cracker - fun to drive and well suited to your requirements, so spot on.

If anything, right now it feels slow, in as much as it doesn't feel like it's going as fast as it actually is, hence not realising how fast I am actually going (if that makes sense?). Regardless though, you're right, it's fun and it does what I need!

[ConnorLowe]

Considering you like the Fiat 500 Colour Therapy Twin Air Turbo as much as you do, you might want to take one of these on a test drive

http://www.abarthcars.co.uk/Site/uk/Abarth500

[Butcher]

To start I said "upgrade" to myself ironically, "we are upgrading from a 1.2 engine to a 0.9 litre engine?", to my logic it didn't really seem like one, however, I am very happy to be proven so categorically wrong!

The 1.2 is 68 bhp, the 0.9t is 84 bhp. That's almost 25% more power, so yes it's a decent upgrade.
Also turbo cars tend to be more fuel efficient so it's probably cheaper to run day-to-day.

[Raz316]

The 1.2 is 68 bhp, the 0.9t is 84 bhp. That's almost 25% more power, so yes it's a decent upgrade.
Also turbo cars tend to be more fuel efficient so it's probably cheaper to run day-to-day.

Yeah, that's why we went with it in the end, due to it being more fuel efficient. Very much a bonus that it feels more fun to drive too!

[DanceswithUnix]

Welcome to Italian car ownership!

Some of the small cars can be almost as much fun as the fast ones

Considering you like the Fiat 500 Colour Therapy Twin Air Turbo as much as you do, you might want to take one of these on a test drive

http://www.abarthcars.co.uk/Site/uk/Abarth500

My wife had a go in one of those, shame I didn't get to play. It was owned by our mechanic, who as he runs a tuning business as well as doing servicing his was pushing about 190bhp!

[Zak33]

FIAT 500 = the most fun with ya clothes on

but... be warned... twin air's do not return the MPG they suggest.

however.. it's SUCH a good car, and so much fun to drive.. it can be forgiven entirely for that.

(Fiat subject maintained: I love Panda's. truly love them...I hanker a LOT for a new 4x4 Diesel now... really REALLY want one)

( and I mean... lust after)

/gets coat

[TheAnimus]

It's a very light weight car. Think of the Power to Weight ratio.

It's a brand new engine. Your last one was 12 years old. Sorry to sound Top Gear like but one or two horses will have escaped. (often the gear box becomes inefficient too, especially if an owner liked to play tunes).

I need a website as well that shows cars performance at 0-30, 0-50, 0-100. The mix of power to weight and design of aerodynamics can really impact this figures.

Panda? Zak you are a sick man. Not even Pandas lust after Pandas, that is why they are practically extinct!

[kalniel]

(Fiat subject maintained: I love Panda's. truly love them...I hanker a LOT for a new 4x4 Diesel now... really REALLY want one)

I'm with you there, especially in winter.

[Zak33]

I want a panda 4x4 diesel nearly every time I drive past a field.....

and when I'm parked in car parks outside little Herefordshire farm shops in summer..and in Shropshire lane's ... .

and when I see a Skoda Yeti I want a panda 4x4 most of all.

[TheAnimus]

I was passed by a Panda 4x4 the other day, they do have some speed on them, but then again my legs were tired and I had already done a few miles on the bicycle by this point. Still she was just about able to out accelerate me, must have been in a hurry to get to the hair dressers.

[Biscuit]

I want a panda 4x4 diesel nearly every time I drive past a field.....

and when I'm parked in car parks outside little Herefordshire farm shops in summer..and in Shropshire lane's ... .

and when I see a Skoda Yeti I want a panda 4x4 most of all.

My friends mum has one of these and I have to admit aswell.... I kinda want one.

[circuitmonkey]

At what point should we start to be concerned about Zak33 & Buiscuit's mental health?

Desiring a 4x4 city car (an oxymoron if there ever was one) and admitting it on an open forum, the shame!

Am considering getting a 500 for the Mrs though, quite intrigued with the twin air engine, might have to book a test drive

[Biscuit]

At what point should we start to be concerned about Zak33 & Buiscuit's mental health?

Desiring a 4x4 city car (an oxymoron if there ever was one) and admitting it on an open forum, the shame!

Am considering getting a 500 for the Mrs though, quite intrigued with the twin air engine, might have to book a test drive

It's not as crazy as it sounds. We have had decent amount of snow in winter for a few years now and the council's response is quite unpredictable. Although in maidenhead there isn't any need to go out into the country, I have moved in with my parents temporarily and that is surrounded by country roads! Knowing that the snow won't stop me is useful for my job which could require me to be anywhere in the country.
Given that the panda is also still actually small car unlike some of its competitors, it can be used as a daily without too much change in lifestyle.
I just don't have space for it and the Type R :-(

[circuitmonkey]

It's not as crazy as it sounds. We have had decent amount of snow in winter for a few years now and the council's response is quite unpredictable. Although in maidenhead there isn't any need to go out into the country, I have moved in with my parents temporarily and that is surrounded by country roads! Knowing that the snow won't stop me is useful for my job which could require me to be anywhere in the country.
Given that the panda is also still actually small car unlike some of its competitors, it can be used as a daily without too much change in lifestyle.
I just don't have space for it and the Type R :-(

For me it just seems a massive compromise for the rest of the year, the same reason I wouldn't buy a soft top for (traditionally) the one week of summer and having to put up with the added road noise for the rest of the year.

There's got to be something closer to Type R performance with selective 4x4 when you need it