Fiat 500 Convertible.. thoughts?
Discussion
Any ownership experience? Anything to avoid? Any must-have options?
Probably looking at a 1.2 version. Both SWMBO and I think it looks cute, chirpy and fairly distinctive for a fun runabout. I appreciate it is not going to win any drag races at the lights but would appreciate any real world feedback if there are any owners kicking about.
More generally, it would probably replace a MINI Cooper, which has also been fun, fab, solid and totally reliable and as a bonus also cheap(ish) to run with the tlc package.
How do Fiats compare these days in terms of reliability and servicing? Unfortunately my only experience of 'real' Fiats has been 3 Fiat X1/9's which were fantastic little cars but weren't exactly reliable.
Probably looking at a 1.2 version. Both SWMBO and I think it looks cute, chirpy and fairly distinctive for a fun runabout. I appreciate it is not going to win any drag races at the lights but would appreciate any real world feedback if there are any owners kicking about.
More generally, it would probably replace a MINI Cooper, which has also been fun, fab, solid and totally reliable and as a bonus also cheap(ish) to run with the tlc package.
How do Fiats compare these days in terms of reliability and servicing? Unfortunately my only experience of 'real' Fiats has been 3 Fiat X1/9's which were fantastic little cars but weren't exactly reliable.
The 1.2 is incredibly lethargic and I'd avoid it at all costs. My mother made the mistake of an impulse trade in of her 1.3 diesel Lounge for a 1.2 petrol By Diesel special edition and hated it. She kept it for 3 weeks and has now traded it back in to the dealer and is waiting on a new 1.3 desel 500 C.
I drove the 1.2 on the day she took it back to the dealer and it is truly woeful. I had a 1.4 Lounge for a year before getting my Abarth and the difference in power between the 1.2 and 1.4 is astonishing on the road. The 1.3 diesel is a much better bet IMHO as it qualifies for the low RFL band of £35 per annum and has plenty of torque to allow overtaking to be achieved if there is more than one person in the car.... something I wouldn't recommend in the 1.2 unless you are going down a very steep hill that has at least half a mile of clear traffic in the opposite direction and you are overtaking a very old tractor that can't achieve 30mph
I drove the 1.2 on the day she took it back to the dealer and it is truly woeful. I had a 1.4 Lounge for a year before getting my Abarth and the difference in power between the 1.2 and 1.4 is astonishing on the road. The 1.3 diesel is a much better bet IMHO as it qualifies for the low RFL band of £35 per annum and has plenty of torque to allow overtaking to be achieved if there is more than one person in the car.... something I wouldn't recommend in the 1.2 unless you are going down a very steep hill that has at least half a mile of clear traffic in the opposite direction and you are overtaking a very old tractor that can't achieve 30mph
Regarding servicing, I have a Grande Punto Sporting 1.9 multijet that I bought from the Fiat dealer in Perth, I have found the servicing to be very cheap and the service from the dealer to be very good. As an example I managed to break the cigarette lighter socket, the dealer fixed it for £6.00 and washed the car while they were at it.
I have only driven a 1.4 500 and it went well enough for a runabout but I needed 3 rear seats so I bought the Punto.
I have only driven a 1.4 500 and it went well enough for a runabout but I needed 3 rear seats so I bought the Punto.
Why do you need a 500C rather than a 500?
The C is just rubbish, unless you do a couple of miles a day in a city.
On the open roads with the roof "down" the buffeting is unacceptable, the instruments are hard to read and even the 1.4 is gutless.
The normal 500 or even Panda is a much better bet.
The C is just rubbish, unless you do a couple of miles a day in a city.
On the open roads with the roof "down" the buffeting is unacceptable, the instruments are hard to read and even the 1.4 is gutless.
The normal 500 or even Panda is a much better bet.
isuk said:
The 1.2 is incredibly lethargic and I'd avoid it at all costs. My mother made the mistake of an impulse trade in of her 1.3 diesel Lounge for a 1.2 petrol By Diesel special edition and hated it. She kept it for 3 weeks and has now traded it back in to the dealer and is waiting on a new 1.3 desel 500 C.
I drove the 1.2 on the day she took it back to the dealer and it is truly woeful. I had a 1.4 Lounge for a year before getting my Abarth and the difference in power between the 1.2 and 1.4 is astonishing on the road. The 1.3 diesel is a much better bet IMHO as it qualifies for the low RFL band of £35 per annum and has plenty of torque to allow overtaking to be achieved if there is more than one person in the car.... something I wouldn't recommend in the 1.2 unless you are going down a very steep hill that has at least half a mile of clear traffic in the opposite direction and you are overtaking a very old tractor that can't achieve 30mph
'allo 'allo what have we got here? I drove the 1.2 on the day she took it back to the dealer and it is truly woeful. I had a 1.4 Lounge for a year before getting my Abarth and the difference in power between the 1.2 and 1.4 is astonishing on the road. The 1.3 diesel is a much better bet IMHO as it qualifies for the low RFL band of £35 per annum and has plenty of torque to allow overtaking to be achieved if there is more than one person in the car.... something I wouldn't recommend in the 1.2 unless you are going down a very steep hill that has at least half a mile of clear traffic in the opposite direction and you are overtaking a very old tractor that can't achieve 30mph
OK, but at least it gets me from A to B with a smile all times. I haven't endeavoured any prospect of overtaking a tractor - yet.
Let's face it, the state of the roads is dire!
pixelpimp said:
Why do you need a 500C rather than a 500?
The C is just rubbish, unless you do a couple of miles a day in a city.
On the open roads with the roof "down" the buffeting is unacceptable, the instruments are hard to read and even the 1.4 is gutless.
The normal 500 or even Panda is a much better bet.
Thanks for the feedback The C is just rubbish, unless you do a couple of miles a day in a city.
On the open roads with the roof "down" the buffeting is unacceptable, the instruments are hard to read and even the 1.4 is gutless.
The normal 500 or even Panda is a much better bet.
I had a test drive a few weeks ago in a normal 500 (think it was a 1.3) and, whilst it was fine and perfectly fit for purpose as a chirpy cheery little MINI replacement, I didn't think it quite hit the spot enough to want to change. Once I started looking further up the range at the more sporty models it began to become more of financial decision as to what else you could get for the money rather than a "what the hell" decision. The Convertible throws things back in the mixer.
Why a 500C? Hmmm, I guess if I need to get anywhere quickly then like isuk, I probably have something more suitable to do it in. It's the ability to pootle around with the roof down that actually appeals ... including the buffeting I guess, although I take on board the views so far about a lack of oooomph.
Living out in the countryside at least I will have a lot of tractors to joust with
Exoticaholic said:
'allo 'allo what have we got here?
OK, but at least it gets me from A to B with a smile all times. I haven't endeavoured any prospect of overtaking a tractor - yet.
Let's face it, the state of the roads is dire!
Oops..... sorry Ed. Forgot you have a 1.2 OK, but at least it gets me from A to B with a smile all times. I haven't endeavoured any prospect of overtaking a tractor - yet.
Let's face it, the state of the roads is dire!
To be fair I am comparing it to some zippier toys 
I still would recommend a 1.3 diesel or 1.4 petrol though if the car is going to regularly have multiple occupants or be used mainly out of town where speed and overtaking ability become more relevant. Edited by isuk on Monday 24th August 15:59
Mr2Mike said:
isuk said:
I still would recommend a 1.3 diesel
Surely you'd want a petrol for a convertible?Hogging my own thread here but....
Collected a test-drive car today after arranging a 3 day test drive with a local Fiat Dealer (Arnold Clark, Kirkaldy) which I thought was a fantastic and generous offer.
Initial impressions: SWMBO and I like it!! However,
Sluggish?.. err.. yes. Managed to get up to 70mph fairly easily so kept up with the flow of traffic ok, but probably not the car do do swift B-road overtakes.
Rear vision?.. wow, definatlely compromised (ie zero) with the roof down, although having owned enough Exiges and Esprits it's nothing that bothers me too much.
Wind buffeting?.. Although it was a really windy day, the buffeting was far more than either of us were expecting. Don't think it will be a deal breaker but it's a good reason for having an extended test drive to see if today was as good as it gets.
Apart from that... all cool so far. 2 days to go
Collected a test-drive car today after arranging a 3 day test drive with a local Fiat Dealer (Arnold Clark, Kirkaldy) which I thought was a fantastic and generous offer.
Initial impressions: SWMBO and I like it!! However,
Sluggish?.. err.. yes. Managed to get up to 70mph fairly easily so kept up with the flow of traffic ok, but probably not the car do do swift B-road overtakes.
Rear vision?.. wow, definatlely compromised (ie zero) with the roof down, although having owned enough Exiges and Esprits it's nothing that bothers me too much.
Wind buffeting?.. Although it was a really windy day, the buffeting was far more than either of us were expecting. Don't think it will be a deal breaker but it's a good reason for having an extended test drive to see if today was as good as it gets.
Apart from that... all cool so far. 2 days to go
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