Car Review: Fiat 500

I had the opportunity to drive a Fiat 500 Sport.
I had the car for a week, and traveled about 190 miles during the week.
Here is a rough map:

The weather ranged from sunny and 68 to snow, wind and about 28 giving a good all around idea of the handling of the car.

I have to tell you, I was skeptical from the word GO. I thought I was about to drive around in a small, expensive, piece of jewelry. Was I surprised? We'll see.

The Fiat can be found here: http://www.fiatusa.com/en/500/models/

They actually have a pretty attractive offer going on right now as well.

So let's start off on looks, WINNING. I first thought it would be a little too "girly" but was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't feel this way after getting into it, and heading out on my trip.

I did notice right away, that I'm used to a four-door. The door swing seemed crazy long, and I felt like I had to squeeze into the wedge to get to the drivers seat. (I'm sure this was not the car, as later in the week I didn't notice this at all) I had to laugh... must be getting old!

So something about the wheels, and the front end conspire to take what could be a girls car only, and turn it into a nice quick looking little runabout. Likewise, the rear being raked as far as it is, adds to the sporty manly look.

Lets talk space for a while... we know it's a small car so no beating it up on sheer size. This means we need to look at it's practical use of the space that is available. So how did the Italians do?

Up front, they have done well, the seats are long ride comfortable. the wheel is fun to hang on to, and the overall layout makes the car feel bigger than it is. I think some of this can be attributed to the gauge cluster. It has all the info you could want, and yet takes up VERY LITTLE precious dash space. I really enjoyed the solid feel of the switches and toggles. There was enough quality to give the impression things would go on working for a good long while.

How about in back?

You can see that the seats are designed with the rear passengers knees in mind, however even with this the seats remind me of coach airline seats. Not much room, but then we knew that didn't we?

As far as driving enjoyment goes, I have to say I was impressed. I found that even with "sport" mode turned off, it was fun to drive. Once the sport mode was turned on, it was even more peppy. The only time it felt a little slow was on the run to 70. I must point out that this run was still acceptably short for this type of car, and that once up to highway speeds, it still felt capable of getting out of it's own way.

The little engine that can... most of the time.

You can see that my well traveled Samsonite large suitcase fits in the cargo area, JUST. However, the seats can be pushed down for more room, and actually leaves you with quite a bit of space.

 And finally a peek into the glove box showcasing a USB / line in spot that only a passenger could love. Due to the center console arrangement, the drive could never reach these plugs.


So overall what do I think? I think they managed to make a small car do well in america, not an easy task, and for that I give them a 4 out of 5.
Great fun to drive, peppy enough for me to have fun, small enough for ANY parking spot, and still big enough for most of my errands. Prices are nothing to laugh at either in the 20's when loaded.
Is it a small expensive piece of jewelry? Not 100%, it's actually a good little car, that can look like jewelry.
Would I buy one? You bet, although I may wait for the Abarth version to come before making an order, something tells me the added pizzazz may make me want one even more.