pwreimann wrote:
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the new Fiat 500, looking at a 2013 model with 45000mi.
Check out the Motor Trend road test of the 2012 version.
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/fiat/500 ... -fiat-500/ I've never owned a 500 (the current version) but a rental experience reflected the thoughts in the Motor Trend article.
Bent Wrench wrote:
Old Fiat's were not engineered to drive over 35mph or in temps higher than 75°.
I can think of several different ways to reply to that statement but I think I'll leave it at there isn't any truth in that outlandish opinion.
seven13bt wrote:
it should be mentioned that SCCA doesn't allow the Fiat 500 in the "street" class due to rollover tendency.
It pulled 0.85 g's in the Motor Trend test and NHTSA results are Rollover 4 out of 5 stars, Dynamic Test Result "no tip", Risk of Rollover 14.7%. Not bad results.
Bent Wrench wrote:
I read some where the new ones have a horrible failure rate, I don't know if that was for primary systems or ancillary.
Some good information here.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Fiat/500/ The 500 is not perfect.
Disclaimer - I'm a Fiat guy. I've owned, raced, slalomed and rallyed Fiat 500 (old style), Fiat 600, Fiat 750, Fiat 850 coupe and spyder, Fiat Abarth 850, Fiat 128 (a whole bunch of them), Fiat X1/9, Fiat 124 sedan and spyder, and a 131 sedan. My locost is based on Fiat 124 drivetrain. I worked for a few years at a Fiat dealership in the early 1980's. In general they are wonderful, fun vehicles that may present a few interesting challenges to ownership (such as the poor quality metal that was prone to rust through the 60's and early 70's) but they were cheap, easy to fix, and always fast for their engine displacement.