Tell me about Fiat 500's

pulliptears

My little Clio is fast approaching the end of his life. At 15 he's starting to display signs of an ECU failure (again) and tbh the cost of replacing it isn't really worth it so I'm looking to replace the car over the summer.

Fiat 500's have caught my eye. I'm nervous as I owned a Fiat Punto once and spent more time sorting the electrics than anything else, and then the head gasket blew at 39k so I'm understandably nervous of the brand.

There will usually only be me and a passenger in it so size isn't an issue. I'm looking more at the 1.4 Sport (secondhand not used) than the other models.

My only small concern is I'm my Mums carer, and whilst she's currently fit and active I'm wondering whether I will be able to fit a small wheelchair in the boot (with the seats down!) if needs be.

I've read so many reviews and almost all seem glowing so I thought I'd ask here for a more balanced opinion. Do you own one? What do you think?
Thank you

Herzlos

You'd need to take the wheelchair with you and try it, but it definitely won't fit with the seats up, as it's not very deep or wide (it's 185l seats up, 500l seats down), but I don't think it's a very good shape - you'd need to try fitting the chair in to know for sure.

Other than that it's a fairly standard car, but will probably use more fuel than you expect. It's essentially a Fiat Panda underneath, so if you're being MSE or worried about space I'd get the equivalent Panda - it'll be cheaper and have more space.

Hintza

Not as pretty but the Panda will be more suitable, and is great wee car. Hold their value well and are pretty bomb proof.

Ezmondino

Driven a panda and the 500 lots of times.
You can get 2 normal suitcases easily into a Panda boot.
You can just about get 1 in a 500 because of the way the roof slopes. It's a really poor boot. I'd be surprised if you'd get a wheelchair in it.

To drive, I prefer the 500. It feels more nimble, whereas you can't really 'feel' the Panda, even with the the city steering off. But I am car person, I don't think your average driver would find much to complain about with either.

I'd take both for a spin and see if you can do what you need to do with the 500's space inside.

I think they are both pretty good cars tbh.

pulliptears

I'm not as keen on the Panda
My original plan was a Mini Clubman, but I've realised that the cost of them is somewhat beyond my budget of £7k max (or at least I could get a much newer, lower milage car for my money). Added to that, it wont fit in the garage and sadly neither would a Panda.

I don't actually have a chair to test yet, I'm future planning more than anything else. It could well be that she never needs one (hopefully!). I did have my Dads at one point which fitted happily in the Clio with the seats down but we donated that after he died. Ironically the 500 is slightly wider than the Clio so you'd think it should fit as well.
I guess if all else fails I could use DH's car on the days I needed to get a chair in the boot.

spacey2012

Fiat are master of making cars that last 40,000 miles then, well as you have owned a punto, you know that once they go, they go large.

Herzlos

What size is the garage and do you really need to keep a car in it?

The Panda isn't a big car, and I know that modern garages are small (I looked at a house where I could have got my car in if I folded the mirrors, but I'd need to get in/out the boot), but it seems like your choices are very limited.

Edit: What about a newer Clio?

pulliptears

spacey2012 wrote: »

Fiat are master of making cars that last 40,000 miles then, well as you have owned a punto, you know that once they go, they go large.

Thats kind of what concerns me, though reliability reports on the 500 do seem pretty favourable so far.

Herzlos wrote: »

What size is the garage and do you really need to keep a car in it?

The Panda isn't a big car, and I know that modern garages are small (I looked at a house where I could have got my car in if I folded the mirrors, but I'd need to get in/out the boot), but it seems like your choices are very limited.

Edit: What about a newer Clio?

The garage is small, a little bigger than my current old clio. I can fit the 500 in (I've measured) and providing I don't put weight on I should squeeze in and out.

I'd prefer something I can garage (newer Clio wont fit anyway I don't think), we have a one car drive where DH keeps his car and the garage so otherwise it would have to be street parking. Whilst we are on a pretty quiet side road we have had instances of kids vandalising, DH had the mirror covers stolen from his old Astra, I've had dust caps taken from my clio when it's been on the drive in the day.

I don't travel many miles, my daughter has a few health issues which mean she needs ferrying to/from school/hospital and I take my Mum shopping and other appointments but all are within a 5 mile radius of home usually. My yearly mileage is usually 3k or less. Whatever I buy I will probably be keeping for a very long time so I need to buy the right car really.

You seem to get a lot of car for your money with the 500's and for my short run town journeys it seems ideal.

Browntoa

had to have the front discs replaced on mine after 2 years due to judder under warranty

windscreen washer jets freeze solid and pop out each year in the winter ( replaced twice now , 2nd time supposedly with improved ones but seem to look the same as the old ones) but they are about £9 off ebay and a doddle to fit

nippy in town , city parking button makes it easy to park as makes the power steering more responsive

blind spot when driving on the left side as the head rest on the passenger seat obscures your view through the rear window on that side but you get used to it

would say it would easily take a wheelchair with the rear seat down , moved daughter from uni residence halls to digs in one car load

Tiddlywinks

Take one for a test drive... see if you like the drive.


When I was looking around I really, REALLY wanted the two tone retro looking 500 Abarth... I went to the dealer ready to buy... took it for a test drive and instantly changed my mind.


I didn't like the driving position and there was a large nearside rear blind spot when trying to reverse into a space or around a corner which was surprising with a small hatchback and a real deal breaker for me.


I ended up buying a Mini hatch - I love the visibility and it's great fun to drive.


As to boot space... I have fitted a disabled buggy into a Smart car boot before now - would you be happy with a two seater Smart? It has bags of room in the front and has a high platform that is easy for someone with limited mobility to access... just a thought.

pulliptears

Thanks again all for taking the time to reply.

The thing I love about my Clio is it's visibility, I have avoided driving DH's cars over the years because of the appalling visibility in them (PT Cruiser, Astra Sport hatch) so that might be a deal breaker.

There is a Fiat garage literally down the road from here with hundreds outside so I'll head there. I might even nip in this weekend when passing and have a closer look.

I'd considered Smart before but a friend put me off when he said 'having seen you drive around roundabouts I'm in no doubt you'd kill yourself rapidly in one of those'

I've also considered going down the automatic route as I've got a few health issues which will worsen over the years and an auto box would make life a little easier.

I'm just tossing ideas around at present and the 500 seems to fit, though I did follow a strange little thing yesterday called a 'Myvi' which firmly went into my 'NEVER!!' list