Fiat 500 - Q & A

[Spam]

Hi All,

Just have a few question to shoot to towards owners of the new Fiat 500

1. In terms of build quality and reliability, any issues so far?

2. What is the handling like?

3. Any other general problems you have had?

4. Does anyone know the servicing costs?

5. 1.3 Multijet or 1.4?

and finally...

Has anyone put their name down for the Abarth version?

Thanks,
Spam

[JulesV]

Mrs JV has a 1.3 Sport. So far it has been great. Feels quite nippy and build quality seems fine. Ne experience of servicing yet. It is averaging just under 60mpg, much of which is short runs. I have only been allowed to drive it once but it seems to handle well!

The Abarth sounds great but I just cannot get my head around the prices, our one ended up costing over £11,000 with a couple of extras. I guess it depends what you want.

Good little car though.

[Spam]

JulesV said:

Mrs JV has a 1.3 Sport. So far it has been great. Feels quite nippy and build quality seems fine. Ne experience of servicing yet. It is averaging just under 60mpg, much of which is short runs. I have only been allowed to drive it once but it seems to handle well!

The Abarth sounds great but I just cannot get my head around the prices, our one ended up costing over £11,000 with a couple of extras. I guess it depends what you want.

Good little car though.

Unfortunately even if I wanted to, I couldn't justify the cost of the abarth at the moment. I must say on paper I prefer the diesel.

[maclf01]

were they still planning to bring them to the states?

[jacobyte]

Spam said:

1. In terms of build quality and reliability, any issues so far?

No problems at all. 6,000 miles so far.

Spam said:

2. What is the handling like?

Bear in mind that it's not meant to be a "hot hatch" and you'll be fine. The rear setup isn't great (it's underdamped), but it's still fun.

Spam said:

3. Any other general problems you have had?

None.

Spam said:

4. Does anyone know the servicing costs?

£100-150 IIRC for the first service after 12,000 miles or 18 months, whichever comes first - something like that anyway.

Spam said:

5. 1.3 Multijet or 1.4?

1.2

Edited by jacobyte on Tuesday 26th August 16:42

[kryten22uk]

Spam said:

Hi All,

Just have a few question to shoot to towards owners of the new Fiat 500

1. In terms of build quality and reliability, any issues so far?

2. What is the handling like?

3. Any other general problems you have had?

4. Does anyone know the servicing costs?

5. 1.3 Multijet or 1.4?

and finally...

Has anyone put their name down for the Abarth version?

Thanks,
Spam

1. Front right suspension squeak. Has done so from word go, but havent been arsed to take to garage. Cant hear it with window up.

2. At first I thought it was a pretty poor drive, but then I got used to it and it was better. Then I had the use of a brand new Corsa for a week and I realised what bad is. The Fiat is incredibly more fun in comparison, and now I really enjoy the drive. Perhaps it just needed to be "worn in" a bit. Man that Corsa is bad, realllllly bad. It makes me angry just thinking about it!

3. A lame gripe, but the spring pulling the door back in is too strong. Such that when you open the door to get out, it'll bounce back at you, rather than staying open.

4. No idea. Probably peanuts.

5. Neither. 1.2 is way to go!

[penryar]

jacobyte said:

Spam said:

2. What is the handling like?

Bear in mind that it's not meant to be a "hot hatch" and you'll be fine. The rear setup isn't great (it's underdamped), but it's still fun.

I'll second that, bumps mid corner seem to unbalance the rear quite alot. Also in my opinion its a little over-tyred , even the 1.2 has 175 section tyres on which make it tramline more that I would have expected.

My wife has a 1.2 Lounge Dualogic (semi-auto box) and loves it. I grab the keys whenever I don't need to carry anything about because its such a fun car. The fuel economy is pretty good as well. The last 2 tankfuls have given @45mpg and according to the onboard computer we got 4.6L/100km (@61mpg) on the 50km run home last night.

Steve

[Nuova500]

8200 miles on my 1.2 here.

No reliability issues, a problem with the paint & the rectification work carried out has resulted in FIAT offering to give me a brand new car with an upgraded spec, so customer care is excellent too.

I love the car, evey day when I get into it to drive it & have a little smile to myself, can't help it.

[Robertf]

Echo all the points above really. I got a 1.4 in april - about 3k on the clock now, very good build quality, no reliability issues.

Ride is quite choppy, and the back moves around a bit, but its quite nippy, and very good on the motorway believe it or not. The 1.4 engine is a bit gruff, but its lots of fun to drive, and you can get near 40mpg with no effort at all, even when all your driving is around town.

I really like mine - might trade up to an abarth next year.

[Spam]

It is worth hunting around for a Sport over a Lounge or Pop? I haven't even though of the 1.2 as I thought it would of been horribly slow. Is it as bad as the figures suggest?

[isuk]

I've had my 1.4 for 6 months and use it mainly for local trips so haven't covered big miles but it's been fault free with impressive build quality (mine was one of the first UK RHD cars). The handling is fun with a degree of body roll which can seem exaggerated due to the high seating position until you get used to it. The engine is a typical small Italian four pot in that it likes being rev'ed hard. It's fairly swift if you are driving one up in the car ..... I very nearly had the speed ticket to prove it The servicing is every two years for high mileage cars but somewhat bizarrely for low mileage cars it is every 12 months. I've ordered an Abarth to replace my Lounge model next January/February and am looking forward to it as the chassis certainly feels capable of coping with a fair bit more power than the 100bhp of the 1.4.

[jacobyte]

Spam said:

It is worth hunting around for a Sport over a Lounge or Pop? I haven't even though of the 1.2 as I thought it would of been horribly slow. Is it as bad as the figures suggest?

Sport, Lounge and Pop are only trim levels.

The 1.2 is much lighter than the other 2, and keeps up with the traffic no probs. Remember, it's meant to be a simple town/commute car, not a tarmac-ripping rally weapon. It fits its purpose extremely well.

[TheDetailDoctor]

It does fit the purpose very well indeed.

With the added cool factor, I still get looks everwhere I drive the 500, loads of people make comments like "makes a nice change from a Mini".

[Robertf]

You can get all the trim levels with all the engines - the sport model is no sportier, except in looks.

Mines a Pop with the 100hp 1.4 and six speed box. Pop appealed to me because it looks more traditional inside - sort of 50s style which suits the car well, especially with the cream steering wheel. The Lounge is nice inside as well, but I think the sport looks more "ordinary" inside in a way because of its dark trim - more like any other car.

Just my opinion - to each their own of course!

[Noger]

Same story here. Very solid. Handles as well as can be expected, and is quite a giggle. Quite a few toys on the Lounge and Sport.

The 1.3MJ is never going to win races, but it comes in under the "magic" 110g/km CO2 which is good for tax and congestion charges. And despite the price of diesel, 55-60 mpg is nice.

[stephen300o]

A couple of down sides are:- blue and me is very temperamental, quite alot of road/tyre noise and suspension to firm for some.

[Real driver]

Spam said:

1. In terms of build quality and reliability, any issues so far?

Slight buzz appears in the dashboard every 1 in 10 drives. Not really a problem

Spam said:

2. What is the handling like?

jacobyte said:

Bear in mind that it's not meant to be a "hot hatch" and you'll be fine. The rear setup isn't great (it's underdamped), but it's still fun.

Same here

Spam said:

3. Any other general problems you have had?

None. That's quite a bit better than our Mercedes B-Class

Spam said:

5. 1.3 Multijet or 1.4?

1.2

It's fast enough. Maybe a bit gutless if you live in a hilly town. Most importantly it's quite a bit more economical than the 1.4 (119g CO2/km).

I haven't had any problems with the Blue & Me, which I definitely consider as a "must have". Although the system itself is really stupid and not user friendly.

Edited by Real driver on Tuesday 2nd September 10:44

[TheDetailDoctor]

1.2 is fine at 90leptons on the m/way.

[KTiM]

Wifey has a 1.4 Sport. The only complaint that we have (other than Blue and Me/iPod which goes without saying!) is the very poor steering lock (turning circle, not security measure!) this is supposed to be a nippy little "Town" car but the lock is very poor. Although it is the smallest of our "fleet", the 500 makes a meal of turing in to our driveway, whereas all of our other vehicles (Octavia, TVR 450SE & Mitsubishi Pinin) can do it with ease.

[stephen300o]

KTiM said:

Wifey has a 1.4 Sport. The only complaint that we have (other than Blue and Me/iPod which goes without saying!) is the very poor steering lock (turning circle, not security measure!) this is supposed to be a nippy little "Town" car but the lock is very poor. Although it is the smallest of our "fleet", the 500 makes a meal of turing in to our driveway, whereas all of our other vehicles (Octavia, TVR 450SE & Mitsubishi Pinin) can do it with ease.

Thats because of the longer six speed box in the 1.4.