Just picked up a fiat 500 Sport

My first brand new car after owning alot of modded and built cars it was time for a brand new one with a warranty!

I have no idea why there seems to be alot hate on them in this forum. From what I understand everything from the abarth is bolton and will be covered by fiat if you add them to the car.

Looking to do some autocross and having fun with the car.

End of story for a 20K car its great, does feel like a enco box and is different from the norm.

Shifter placement is great yeah its small but if you have a family you should not be looking at mini's or niche small cars in the first place. Its not a pick up truck, but its meant to pick up goods from the store.

The car is soild cruising at 70-80:)

I was going to ask how heavy it was but that seems kinda silly after reading your meaningful review.

joeya wrote: I have no idea why there seems to be alot hate on them in this forum.

Not from me. I dig 'em. I'm REALLY coveting the Abarth at the moment.

Even if I got a basic one, it would be hard to resist lowering it and getting some Abarth-like 17" wheels for it.

Does it have room for a bicycle when the seat is folded down? I'm guessing a resounding "no".

Good luck with it.

if I were in a position to buy a new car.. I would be all over one

In reply to gamby:

Your going to need a roof rack for this car to fit bikes and skies.

Pretty much is a little smaller than a mini.

They do sell roof racks for them right now.

I drove all the under 20K cars and for the money this car is the closest thing to "feeling" like a higher end car. Its the only thing out there that feels more upscale than what it is. I forgot I test drove a festiva. It just didnt have character for me. The fiat/mini have that thing that I look for in cars and what most of us like. Not that its a bad car, but this was for me and I like it.

In reply to mad_machine:

Its really is the best thing out there for the money when looking at brand new cars and wanting something out side the box.

I also looking at the mazda 3 hatch but just like the fiat more.

You guys can bitch about dodge all you want but they are parts being made were=When the car is out of warranty your not going to be raped like how MINI rapes you on prices.

I like the 500. The thing is though, for $20,000 there are lots of cars that I'd rather have.

The car has that soild feel it doesn't feel cheap, there is a great thud when you close the door. The ride is nice with some roll but for the most part has that "planted euro feel".

The sport button firms up the throttle and the elec power steer also becomes firmer and reacts better.

All in all its a great car with good handling, great brakes and you can have fun on the back roads with it.

I hope to autocross it this year and now can build a 2nd car.

LS1 rx7 or a miata is on my list

In reply to nderwater:

20,000 brand new in the wrapper?

Yeah I could have bought a vette,viper,evo,supra,3000gt,rx7,cobra all used and out of warranty.

My whole point is it is a BRAND NEW car.

Hell you can buy a viper with low miles for 30,000 or a NSX

But were talking about toys at that point.

A fesitva with opions is almost 20K and the new focus hatch is over 20K. Minis barley start at 20K with no options!

I pretty much have everything but nav in this car.

Leather,sunroof,audio"bose", blue tooth blah blah sport wheels etc

Lets keep to the topic of NEW cars because we can go all over the place when it comes to used cars or prices.

how does the fiat handle compared to the fiesta? the fiats interest me but i still havent seen one in real life and im sure there wont beany dealers near where i live.

joeya wrote: A fesitva with opions is almost 20K

snicker

I really rather dig the 500, myself. Seems like the most fun one could have in a front driver with warranty for the money.

Awesome, Keep us updated on anything you do. I am considering getting one if my wife does not.

$20k full of options is just right IMO. There are strippers out there that start at $17k, but I'm not a barebones type of guy for the DD.

I really wish they had a Sport version of the Convertible if the wife did get one, but you're stuck with the Pop, Lounge, and Gucci.

I really like the roof racks. I would consider getting one so I could carry my bike and someone elses when I like to travel to go cycling. I also like that the racks are removable.

Just curious, how tall are you and how are the seats? I've seen some reviews that say the bottom pad of the seat is too skinny. I also heard that if you are over 5'9" the sunroof makes the roof too low and you bump your head on the sunshade.

How much room is in the back floor board? I really like that it's outside the box. The 500 is on my list for next car. I want to have a trouble free daily and an d school jap to drive. I have a CRX that has been great but it's 22 years old and I do t know it's history.

monark192 wrote: I was going to ask how heavy it was but that seems kinda silly after reading your meaningful review.

One of the first things I want to know about any car. Getting it to 2,000 lbs. seems doable.

2350 w/5spd

joeya wrote: 20,000 brand new in the wrapper? Yeah I could have bought a vette,viper,evo,supra,3000gt,rx7,cobra all used and out of warranty. My whole point is it is a BRAND NEW car.

Nope, as you guessed I was referring to used cars. There are plenty of low-mile trade-in's that are still under warranty - a quick look on Autotrader shows a 2011 Accord with 2,900 miles for $20K at a Honda dealer near me. As long as their are deals like that, I can keep convincing my wife to stick to used cars ;)

Is it legal for stock class autocross?

Meh, we tend to be like wine snobs. Take no offense to the haters. If you like it, that's all that matters. Most of Europe agrees with you, it's a cool little car.

Headroom a problem? I wonder if anyone who's saying that has actually sat in one. I'm 6' and I have quite a bit of room.

I haven't noticed the seat problem, but then the only one I've driven has been on relatively smooth roads.

I'll go back tomorrow and flog one a little more.

The the price I haven't seen another new car that has the features or pizazz that the Fiat has. While I would prefer a little edgier style it's still very distinctive and I'll bet will hold value better than a Festiva.

I think it's a cool car and will probably buy one. Trying to determine whether to wait for the Abarth and whether a rear-facing infant seat will fit in the back.

When I looked at them I was surprised the sticker said 59% of the content is from Mexico. Are they building them there?

I'm anxiously awaiting details on the Abarth, aren't they supposed to be released sometime today???

they are releasing something on the Abarth today.

In reply to carguy123:

I've read from a couple different car blogs, one a test drive, the other a long term tester, that if you get it with the sunroof, it decreases the head room. I am 6'2" and I was curious if that was true.

We now have a dealer in town, so I stopped by at lunch one day to have a look. They had a row of about 10 or so and they look pretty cool all grouped together like that!

I looks like I could have walked out with a sport model for about 17.5k, but that did not include the leather. It was still pretty cool for an economy car, and compared to a MINI close by, it was much smaller than I had expected. Those two really aren't in the same class size-wise.

When the Abarths come in, I'm definitely going back to have a look.

Congrats on the new car!

They really need to get more dealers. I have no idea where I could even look at one.