I saw the 500 for the first time in the flesh this morning - cool little car but not quite MINI cool . Fiat of South Richmond VA (showroom not completed yet) has 6 of them......dealership just happens to be close to my office: 4 red and 2 charcoal gray. Some of them are the special edition Prima Edizione.

I am going to try to test drive one next week. Not interested in buying one, at least not until the Abarth or pure EV versions arrive Stateside.

 

I'm just not digging this thing.

 

Funny, I went to see it undercover yesterday. When I asked the sales rep the advantages over the MINI he said: "Well.....MINIs are great and all but the 500 sits higher..." After a long pause I understood that was his argument. It's not even in the same league

 

I'm close to the dealership that will carry the little Fiat and I'll definately go look. Nothing could take the place of my MINI but I drove Fiats years ago and still have fond feelings for them. I think they're a sweet little car.

 

I would not give up my Mini for 1 of them, however when gas hits 4.25 a gallon this summer, Fiat may just be in the right place at the right time with the right car

 

While I'm pretty sure I'd still prefer a MINI, I won't completely dismiss the FIAT 500 before I even see and drive one. An informed sales rep should be able to list a number of assets, starting with purchase price and gas mileage. Since they hope to attract would be MINI customers, the sales reps had better do some MINI research and develop their pitches.

I recently read that the U.S. spec 1.4L Turbo MultiAir engine will develop 170 hp and 231 Nm torque. That in a car weighing several hundred pounds less than a MINI might be a fun drive.

 

I saw a video review on latimes.com and I thought the interior looked cheap.

Not feeling it, either.

 

I have sat in one (although I haven't driven one yet). I'd agree the interior is a bit cheap, and that cracks me up about the sitting up higher than in a MINI--that was the first thing I noticed, and maybe it's because I'm used to my lowered MINI, but it felt too high.

Now, when the Abarth comes out, that may be a different beast. Clarkson LOVED the Abarth on Top Gear....

 

i wan the abarth version

 

Dude, where do you live, We are at 4.199 as of last week...I have to time for "wacky wednesdays" for my $.10 off.

 

I paid $3.70 for hi-test here a few days ago.

Yeah, some parts of the interior (but not the whole interior) look cheaper than the MINIs at first glance but I have yet to sit in or drive one. The seats are too flat - they are not sporty at all...........the mid-level Sport model should come with MINI-like bolstered chairs. I am guessing the Abarth has better seats.

The car, IMHO, overall looks nice as long as there are no thick 500 stripes running down the side a la Prima Edizione model.

The front brake calipers look puny........even comparing them to a base Cooper's brakes. Hope they are up to the job. My JCW's rear brakes are bigger than the Fiat's front ! Of course apples and oranges there.

 

I just came back from the Netherlands where I had a Fiat 500 for my rental car. Not a bad car, but not as sporty as a MCS. Now, I'm sure I had the smallest engine since it was a rental car. It came with an automatic transmission (with manual shift available) and was always in the wrong gear for passing. It also had the annoying stop/start function. You pull up to a light or stop sign and the engine cuts off. It starts again when you took your foot off the brake. I was ready to punch the start stop function by the end of the trip.

Like I said, not a bad little city car, but not a Mini.

 

Well I spend alot of time in the air flying these days, however when I am grounded I am either in NY, were gas is already close to and in some places over 4 a gallon or in NJ were I am paying 3.55 for 93 Octane, 6 cents less on Mondays and Thursday at BP

 

We will have to wait for the abarth 500cc to come out, I think they are very cool looking cars.
They have a Lamborghini version if I am not mistaken for a **** load of money, but very tricked out looks also cool, but over priced

 

I spent some time looking these over at the NAIAS in Detroit. They do have a particular look about them that isn't wholly unattractive, certainly way above the upcoming Chevy Sonic.

However, they are not a MINI. The controls, while in the right place for where you sit and hold the steering wheel, in terms of being able to reach for the stick on the manual, just looks wrong and would take some getting used to.

I sat in one of the premium interior editions, out the grouping on display, it was the most interesting exterior wise, it had a nice chocolate brown exterior. The interior was complete with some cream colored components, a nice brown leather and was comfortable.

Would I drive one?

If we had space for a second vehicle and I had a fairly heavily modified Cooper S, it would be on the short list as a daily driver/winter "beater".

Living in the Detroit area, I have seen them on the road, loaded up with test equipment and Chrysler engineers for going on just over a year now. Mostly white, black, grey and red, base models.

 

I had one as a rental in Italy, it was a diesel with a 5speed. It was pretty fun in the southern alps there but it had tiny brakes up front and drums in the back so brake fade was a problem pretty quickly. Also it probably wouldn't be a nice drive for the highways here, too slow with that tiny diesel but great torque at low speeds. I'm sure an Abarth would be a really fun drive

 

Well, my MCS ,even though owned by BMW is at least assembled in England.

US Fiats will be assembled in Mexico and at least at first will not have a 6 speed manual available, only a 5 speed.

But still Fiats are neat. I had a 850 Sport Spider in High School and also owned a new X1/9

 

Consumer Reports (April 2011) has a short blurb on the base FIAT 500. They say it "... lands in size and price above the Smart and below the Mini Cooper."

"Handling is very agile, but the 500 is not quite the go-cart that the Mini Cooper is."

Maybe that will serve to enhance respect for CR around here.

My spell-check says "go-cart" is right, and "go-kart" is wrong too.

 

Bah.
My sidekick sat in one. Not as nice as the MINI he said.

My complaint is pricepoint.

Whether it is a fiat crysler or a crylser fiat I don't know or care.
Both end up in the back yard within 4 years anyway.

So I'm thinking to pay $6k for a car that becomes a dog house in 4 years, not 15, 16, 18k.

Double Bah.

 

I'll take a look at the "500" when the opportunity presents itself, but I won't tell my MINI that I looked at another car.

 

I have a little bit of love for the Fiat for some reason. My husband drove a Spider in college, so he has a soft spot for them as well. I spent some time "building" one on the Fiat site back when I was ordering Mozart and wasn't impressed with the options available. Maybe when the Abarth comes out I'd change my mind. Based on the price it might make a good 3rd vehicle for my kids to use, but I wouldn't give up our MINIs for one.
Annette

 

Went to a local FIAT dealer today to check them out and a test drive.
They had all 3 models on display; Pop, Sport and Lounge. All look somewhat distinctive trim wise but share the same engine so all the "extras" are "visual" more than performance.

Went in as I was thinking to possibly get one later this year along with a used SUV to help my growing family have the best of both worlds in a sense. Small runaround car with great mpg in the city and a larger one for hauling and longer hwy drives.

Anyway ... some sort of stream of consciousness bulleted review is below

- walking up to them, they look pretty cool and hip but more in a Beetle kind of way than a MINI one. The Sport has some agressive looking bits and tires but still more cute than sporty.

- door has some serious heft to it and closes with a thud much more solid than the MINI. this was surprising.

- great looking two-tone seats available on the Pop and Lounge in different color combinations. The Sport is only available with black ones. The cloth seats feel and look really nice; much more so than the leather.

- Interior is cheaper looking and feeling overall than i was led to believe from photos. The auto a/c controls especially so even though they are a premium over the standard manual a/c.

- the center console and shifter area are way too protruding (especially for my long legs) as to where it was real hard to find a good position to fit comfortably.

- seating position is really high. it's nice as you get a nice open feel but not nice if you want that more low to the ground sporty feel the MINI seats can give you. combine this with the shifter at that odd angle on the console (see pic below) and I was feeling more like I was in a minivan than a small compact car.
add the sunroof in and I was not sitting straight up anymore (although headroom was adequate without it)

- i test drove the A/T and it was was really smooth. Surprisingly so as it's the same one that's in the MINI. Almost seamless shifts which can be good and bad. Bad as it made the car a bit detached. Good that it felt more "premium"

- cabin is really quiet. too quiet for a 4 cylinder with a little over 100hp. I was expecting some Italian rowdiness but it was rather lifeless. Even cracked the windows a bit but not much came though from the engine/exhaust.

- handling ... hmm, it was raining a bit and was afraid to push it but through some slight local twisties it didn't make me feel confident. Maybe it was this high driving position but I felt "tossed around" inside. Maybe the car was doing ok, but it didn't feel tight.

Overall I was rather dissapointed as you can tell. I really wanted to like the car, and was looking forward to possibly even owning it, but this one test drive changed that. There is also that untangible cool feeling that a MINI has that's missing from it, where you feel like you are driving more than the latest trendy car.

I think I would rather compare this to a Beetle more so than a MINI overall.

The dealers are all having opening day parties throughout this month and would be great if some of you went to check them out and post your feedback as well.

 

I'm trying to get on with my local dealership to sell them but I wouldn't give up my MINI's for one but I do really like them.

 

I had a 500 Abarth as a rental car in England and absolutely adored it. Very peppy, fun little car. It's not just taller but slightly narrower than the MINI. I drove it for well over 1,000 miles so I was quite comfortable with it. The car was very tossable and handled great. I will say I do prefer the MCS but the Abarth did get better gas mileage. I usually was in the low 20's with my two MCS's and was up to 40 in the Abarth which translates to low 30's in American MPG.

I welcome as many small cars to the market as possible. Sure, it will compete with the MINI but that's not a bad thing. I love seeing smaller, efficient cars on the road. Less things to run me over

 

new guy here.....not a Mini owner but a fan, none the less. regarding the FIAT, I have a question:


has anyone actually Driven the 500 yet and if so, honestly, how did it compare to your Mini? I can see pros and cons for both the Mini and 500, so I think it will come down to which vehicle fits not only the needs of the buyer but the buyer themselves.

I'm a rather large guy, not as young as I used to be, and I've found that the 500 IS easier for me to get in and out of.

the Mini is a proven great car and the 500 appears to be one......just not proven (at least here in the US) to be one yet.

so, anyone take a test drive yet and if so, whatcha think???