the new FIAT 500 on USA?

[dan67]

hi, i'am Danilo from italy, I'm curious, what do you think of the Fiat 500 in the U.S.A ? what kind of car is considered? has spread everywhere or just in town?

[dan67]

the effect is this? )))
the Autobianchi Bianchina cabriolet (engine old fiat 500) vs Impala(I do not know)

[LWJ]

I see lots of them. I am on the West Coast, just North of California for perspective. I think they are cool. Chryseler / Fiat is having some very strong sales recently. This can't hurt.

[Jim Richards]

My wife rented one on a recent business trip to Nebraska. We see plenty on the East Coast. The one in your picture looks pretty cool, Dan. Same for the Impala.

[wdfifteen]

Love that Impala. Fiat 500s seem to be doing well here in Ohio. I see a lot of them in sea green.

[Oh Haha]

We saw a fleet of them yesterday on I 69. All camo'd up to hide by the manufacturer but I could see they had 4 doors.

[recycled sixtie]

I see a few in Edmonton, Canada. They look a lot better than Smart Cars. If I had a car collection a Fiat 500 would definitely be a part of it.

[Cannonball996]

I see a lot here in the city

[speedracing944]

I have seen a few in Madison but there isn't a dealership in the area. I think the closest is in Milwaukee which is 60 miles away. They seem mostly driven by women except the red Abarth which raced away from the stoplight while I was driving my 944. That one was driven by a 50's gentleman reclaiming his youth. Boy it did sound nice pulling away from the stoplight.

When we were lined up I was amazed at how tall of a car they are compared to my 944.

I am keeping an eye out for the Dodge Dart multiair turbo which has the same engine as the 500 Abarth although the Dodge does weigh more. I am going to needing a replacement compact commuter car soon but also need to haul the family on occasion, my bride and 3 kids, so the 500 Abarth is out of the question. I have read one can modify the Multiair turbo to 200 HP fairly easily and if you open the exhaust up the engine sounds sweet as heck.

Speedy

[KevinTodd]

My wife loves hers.....and I can attest that it handles like it is on rails. This thing is fun to drive, especially in sport mode.

Speedy--you are correct--with a simple cold-air intake, performance chip and sport exhaust you can easily increase the output of the Multiair 1.4, although I think it works just fine as it is in our 500 Sport. Solid little engine that revs like crazy and pulls well in every gear.

[pwd72s]

I love the Abarth TV ad...The car? Not my cup of tea.

(edit) I'd post a pic of my driver car, but it would only upset
some who post here.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by dan67

hi, i'am Danilo from italy, I'm curious, what do you think of the Fiat 500 in the U.S.A ? what kind of car is considered? has spread everywhere or just in town?

Funny you should ask - I wrote this yesterday for another forum:

And thus is the Trinity complete: I've now owned each of the current city cars available in the US, and wrote this to share my thoughts.

The Smart Fortwo Pure:



The Fiat 500 Sport



And as of Wednesday, the Mini Cooper S:



That naturally leads to comparing them. Especially since when I bought the Fiat, I test drove a new base Mini the same day and chose the Fiat 500 over it. So, now that I've run all of them, here are my thoughts:

The Smart Fortwo remains, imo, the best "city car." But that's in the purest sense, the way a Caterham 7 or Ariel Atom is a better sports car than many that strive to be more well-rounded. If you're a die-hard city dweller, using highways mostly just to jaunt to nearby suburbs (running from Chicago to, say, Old Orchard mall), it works best. It's 70hp 3-cylinder engine is sufficient, it's roomy, has great cargo capacity, gets decent mileage and you never, ever won't find a place to park it. But...

My biggest criticism will always be the transmission. I handled the auto-manual better than many, from what Smart owners that rode with me have said, but the car cried out for a stick shift. And at the time, when my driving was 99% urban, the car's performance was more than adequate.

Since then, my company moved out to Naperville and while the Smart would be able to handle the commute, I have to say it wouldn't be pleasant for me. The Smart's top speed is ~90mph, but at that speed the little 3-cylinder 1-liter is straining, and it would need to be there constantly to handle the cut-and-thrust of I-88, where maneuvers have required bursts of speed up to 100mph at times. There are people, I'm sure, that would simply move to the rightmost lane and resolutely plod along within the Smart's performance envelope (and the state's speed limit), mulishly glaring at the frustrated drivers flowing around them. That's not really me (nor many of TCL, I suspect). I never had to do it, so this is just speculation.

The Fiat 500 Sport would have no such issues, especially now that they've added the Abarth and Turbo models to the line. The Fiat 500 is the perfect compromise between the two city car extremes - it's got a similar upright and up high seating position to the Smart Fortwo, but the sportier demeanor and upscale quality of the Mini Cooper. It's also a bit shorter, so has almost Fortwo-like versatility when it comes to parking around the city. I'll spoil the ending for you: the Fiat 500 is my favorite. Of the three, it's the best all-rounder in terms of driving fun, useability, value, and performance.

So how'd I end up with a Mini this time around? Well, when I decided that I would sell my M Coupe and get an M Roadster next spring, that meant getting something reasonably practical as a daily driver for the winter. My first impulse was to get a 500 Abarth, but that would have me breaking pretty much even on the trade for the Z4MC unless I ordered one and though roadsters run cheaper than coupes, I've got some ideas for my next one and will need the cash (evilgrin). Once I dropped my price range, I was looking at getting either another 500 Sport or a used Cooper S. As they say, when deciding between two vices, pick the one you haven't tried before. The Mini also had the temptation of Abarth-like performance while getting a fat wad of money back.

So how's the Mini? I test drove the base Cooper last time, so the extra power is nice. The twin-scroll turbo is almost lag-free, like my old Solstice GXP, and gives the car nice get up and go for the size, though there's a bit of torque-steer when I really get on it. I've long felt run-flats aren't ready for prime time and the Mini's previous owner agreed - it's running on regular tires, which seriously improves the ride and handling (and saved me some bucks, as I was definitely going to do this). The lower seating position is a bit nicer than the other two, and the sport seats fit well and give decent grip. The steering is decent - I'd like more feel, but I've felt worse EPS systems, though I think the 500 is better. The clutch feels a bit light, but that's more likely me, as the M Coupe's was a bit hefty. The shifter seemed a bit vague at first, but I'm getting the hang of it. It's got a carbon Works shifter, and I'd like to try a stock one and see if I like it better. (Oddly, it's the only original part that wasn't in the car - the PO conscientiously included everything needed to return the car to stock). I thought it might be a bit of wear, but I sat in a new one and it felt about the same.

I've got the same minor gripes I had a year ago: content cost and design. Though mine came well-specced as a used car, the pricier Mini misses some features as options that the Fiat has standard. Reading the included 2009 catalog, I splutter in outrage at the cost of things on the original owner's behalf. And that mid-mounted giant dumb-a$$ speedo just kills me. In fact, the entire center stack is just a retro-themed mess - the stereo controls are all over the place. I will say I'm impressed with the quality if not the design - there's no trim-wear or breakage, no rattles or jiggles; it's held up better than my Boxster in that regard. And after the Boxster and M Coupe, I'm loving the mileage.

In sum, I liked all three cars overall, but rank them Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, and Smart Fortwo. I could see the Mini taking the number one spot if not for some artificial constraints on it. One is the run-flats - it would work better without them, but I know BMW is putting them on everything without an M badge currently, so I can't blame the Mini for that. The interior design's faux-retro leanings, though, is all on them. I wish that, rather than mimicking what the old Mini did, they mimicked what it went for - a philosophy of form over function and simplicity. Some grouse that the Fiat 500 feels cheaper. I agree, and say it should. So should the Mini. That's where the roots of both cars lie - fun, cheap city runabouts. The Fiat 500 seems more true to its roots than the Mini, and in my opinion is somewhat the better car for it. Just my two cents.

[ronster]

I live on the left coast in NorCal and don't see very many of them at all. I've actually seen as many on used car lots as on the road. I think they are a cute design for a car and the Abarth version would be fun to try out but the impression I get is the still suffer from the Fix It Again Tony syndrome.

[creaturecat]

We had a SmartFortwo Car.
Hated it. Everything about it. Hated it.
Despised might be a better word.
The Fiat appears to be a nice car.

[Steve Carlton]

Ditto. The Smart is the worst driving car ever.

[Steve Carlton]

I'll take one of these...

[creaturecat]

does the car come with it?

[speeder]

Fiat 500s are selling extremely well in Los Angeles, at least from my unscientific observations on the road. They are everywhere you look. I absolutely love the Abarth 500. I'd drive one and be very happy. Nothing like a hot sub-compact for city fun.

[Ronbo]

There are several in my neighborhood. A guy a block away just picked up a black/red Abarth. If I were looking for a new car now they would be near the top of my list.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Hideous. No, fugly. Proof that even the Italians can design a stinker once in a while.

For things like this I use my wife's response as a barometer. While driving around yesterday we saw a 500 on the road. I mentioned (in a non-biasing tone) that there seemed to be more of them around lately. Her response: "They sure are stupid-looking, aren't they?"

FWIW she thinks the Morris Mini is "cute". I haven't asked her opinion on the current model.