I really want a Fiat 500

[Afternooninthepark]

I really, really want one. I love small cars (easy to drive/park etc) and love their quirky, retro look. My friend has one and says they are really economical and great to drive etc. However, dh says they are crap (he likes big vehicles and drives a discovery). He keeps putting me off saying they are shit looking and a crap car in general and if I get one I’ll regret it.
I only drive about locally so not likely to be regularly driving miles or on motorways etc so I think it would be perfect.
Any Fiat 500 owners out there, are they any good?

Friend has had a 500L for a couple of years - loved it at first but now planning to sell as it's frequently losing power when moving off at junctions making her fearful about its responsiveness in an emergency. Garage can't find a solution.

DD wanted a fist 500, but we settled on a Ka. She loves it, same car different platform. Reliable and nippy

I've got one, had it from new. I have access to a different car so do less than 5000 miles per year in it - no bother at all. Parks easily and is hugely economical. It only seats two in the back though. I'd get another one.

I had one as a courtesy car, I loved it but it just wouldn't be practical as an every day car for me, a second car maybe but to use all the time it just isn't big enough or comfortable enough for long journeys. A Fiesta or Seat Ibiza are a better choice if you want a small car, more reliable & practical.

We have owned three 500 twin airs since 2012. Tough efficient little cars. Incredibly cheap to run and service. Fun, neat on the road, responsive, good design.

The twin air (2 cyl turbo) hass more torque than the other models. Find a car with a great spec incl the glass pan roof, and add heated seats. Terrific car.

I’ve owned top of the line AMG Mercedes (£100k plus cars) and the wee Fiats have been more reliable and more fun. Nb: your OH knows fuck all - his big clumsy 4WD is shit.

I have a thing for small cars.. just gave up my peugot 108 and been wanting a 500 for the last 6 years. My Yaris (which i love and chose over the 500) is waiting repair so i have had a 500 for the past 6 weeks and i hate it. Its gorgeous to look at but i hate the inside layout and feel quite unsafe. Please take several test drives before buying.

Crikey, a real mix of good and bad experiences with them. I won’t lie, I am a little worried about the safety aspect but then aren’t all small cars a bit of a worry against larger vehicles (although I had always felt safe in my minis as they seemed to be built like brick shit houses!). Still love the look of the 500 and although there are suggestions of other small cars they just don’t cut it (for me) in the cute and cool stakes like mini’s and the fiat 500, although Countrysidelife that spider looks fab but I still have a 14 and 11 year old to ferry around for a few more years until they are driving so that will have to be out in the wish list for later!

I drove one as a rental car for 4 weeks, loved it to bits but took me a good mile and a bit to get from 0-60! Too slow for me. I went for a Mini Cooper s which is super speedy but still quite small.

If they had better engines, I'd love one. Amazing to park and the size reminds me of old style driving in my first car which was an old mini.

Absolutely adore my Yaris, if you like em small!

I had one for two years - never gave me any trouble, but in the end I felt it was a bit too small and having only three doors annoyed me.

Bit gutless going up hills, otherwise okay.

Btw I find the Panda a much better drive.

I’d always wanted a 500 and got myself a convertible in a limited edition colour so it looked a different the the many white fiats on the road.

I absolutely loved it, especially with the top down. My favourite car ever

It struggled up hills, I don’t think the motor for the roof helped matters, but I never struggled on the motorway with it.

I'll admit lights on the dashboard started appearing just before the 3 years were up. I swapped it for a Vauxhall Adam which was a great car but I did miss my fiat

Go for it!

I loved mine, ...it was the twin air and they fairly shift. They are not good for rear passengers though, I don't know what they did as I've had a wide selection of seicentos and cinquecentos and all have been MUCH better for passengers

There is a good deal of hostility from other drivers though...interested to see this has not already been mentioned, but mostly other drivers will not let you out, will not pull over to let you by on the dual carriage way and will not care one jot about their standard of driving until they are back in front of you should you dare to overtake. You may get away with this in the abarth, but the twin air is very difficult to ID and it offends others to imagine they have been bested by an middle aged woman in a BeepBeep car.

I now have a Mk3 MX5 and really notice the difference in the behaviour of other drivers. I love that even more than the 500 :o

I have one and I love it! Get one, you can always change it in a yr or so

Fiats are notoriously unreliable

I should also say my Corsa is seriously quick, well built, drives like a larger car and only has a 1 litre engine.

They're very much style over substance and have a really poor ncap safety rating.
Particularly for children and rear passengers.

www.euroncap.com/en/results/FIAT/500/26307

If I was in your position I'd get a Mazda 2. Nice to drive, reliable and have excellent safety ratings.

www.euroncap.com/en/results/FIAT/500/26307

Or a Toyota Aygo. Great for city driving, really reliable and better safety ratings than the fiat ( though not nearly as good as the Mazda)

I fancy one too but I wouldn't like the hassle from other drivers, I experienced that when I had a smaller car and when I occasionally drove DH's much larger one I noticed the difference in the way I was treated by other drivers. What about a Renault Twingo? My sister has one and it's great, I've driven it a few times.

I have a Fiat 500 Lounge. It’s nearly 10 years old and it’s been an absolute dream, it’s looked after but I’ve had no issues at all, it’s so cheap to run and easy to park. I’ve never owned a car so old but I’m scared to part with it as all my previous cars have had so many expensive issues. They are a bit like marmite I think ... and it’s normally men that tend to dislike them! Go for it!

Mine is 11, 95000 on it I love it.

Depends where you live and the roads you drive. I had one in a town but it would last 2 minutes on the rural roads I drive now plus the suspension is NOT good on bumps. I drive a small Kia now and it copes with the bumpiest farm tracks and is still small and nippy when I take into town.

I drive a Fiat500 in a rural area. I spot other F500s all the time, especially in villages. The 'fast' roads are too lousy to go much faster than 50 (50 is usual speed limit anyway) and the lanes are so narrow you love having a tiny car.

I got to 44k miles before I had an expensive repair (£700 to sort the power steering). I think 8-9yr old ones like mine cost about £3k to buy, now.

I am on my second. First was the turbo diesel, super fun car. My current one is twin air, 5 yrs 85,000 mi.I drive it on motorways regularly and also some country lanes, but a bit low for that on a regular basis. Great fuel economy, cheap to tax & insure. I only ever had one problem, a blocked spark plug, which I think was the result of bad fuel. I have found them very reliable ( and FIAT supposedly stands for Fix It Again Tony) But I think that is historic.

Get an Abarth same look but DH will
Love it they are rapid!

I had one as a courtesy car when mine was being repaired (I drive a BMW X5) and it was a nightmare for the DC; they have rugby, football and cricket kit to lug about, the oldest is over 6 foot tall and it was the most pointless car I'd ever driven.

For normal sized folk who don't have to drive three million sweaty kits about, I'm sure it's fine.