Fiat 500, C1, Aygo - what do you love/hate?

xbrenx

daveyjp wrote: »

Any car will have battery problems if you only drive it a mile occasionally!

Which is what the OP was asking about

forgotmyname

KA = a Fiat 500 but better. Far more stable than the 500. Try the 500 on a 70mph road on a windy day. Ford took the 500 platform and changed the suspension. Later ones may have the Ford setup.

Its slightly wider than the 500 but thats a bonus when you have a passenger. Your not rubbing shoulders.

Every 500's we looked at had been abused and neglected, but we were not going to pay main dealer prices. KA was 3 years newer and £500 less and in far better condition.

xbrenx

It seems I didn't explain myself very well. My fault. I'm not going into it any further though.


For the OP I would say, I wouldn't buy one quite so small, as previously said, the next size up would be a better choice.

Dawn1966

Thank you to all who replied.

I am really limited by the parking space so I have to get as small as I can. I do like the Ford Ka, and the Hyunda i10 and the Kia Picanto, but they all seem a bit bigger than the ones I mentioned.

I understand about doing short journeys, mine won't be quite as short as a mile - 12 miles for one job, 6 for the other. Hopefully that will give it a good enough run.

So the consensus is that if it's a French car the electrics aren't good, right?
Fiat seems to be a no no - which is a shame because I test drove one and absolutely loved it, however, having read some owners reviews about engine/gear/clutch issues around 30k miles I think I'll definitely give it a miss. Funny as I thought Ford was 'Fix or repair daily' lol.

Shame no one has recommended the C1, as I test drove one of those too, the older 2013 model wasn't an enjoyable ride, but the 2016 was nicer, although I did just think 'it's just a car nothing special' I think that's why I was pleasantly surprised at the Fiat 500.

From the comments it seems the Aygo would be the best choice of the 3.

I will check out the Seat Mii and Skoda, I've heard negative comments about the VW Up.

forgotmyname

Citroen C1 = Toyota Aygo = Peugeot 107 same car, think they all come from the same Czech factory?

Just different spec options.

walwyn1978

We’ve run both a Fiat 500 and a C1 at different times. The C1 was more economical (about 30-40 miles more on a full tank, cost to fill about the same) and slightly cheaper to insure, albeit only slightly. The 500 was nicer to sit in - albeit the C1 was a fairly early (and basic spec) model and I gather they’ve improved the interior since then.

If you’re looking at second hand I’m sure you know this already but buy on condition,don’t go for very low mileage stuff (some of the 500’s we saw when we looked were 3-4 years old and sub 10,000 miles so components will have infrequently warmed up and that can lead to early failure and big bills)

Muscle750

Fiat 500 suffer electrical issues

Gwendo40

The usual leaky boot issues and dodgy indicator stalk with my c1 (see also Aygo and 107)
Other than that I love it, costs buttons to run.

Nobbie1967

Love my 107, bought new in 2005 and initially used for weekly 3 hour trips and 3 mile commute. Easy to park, lively and easy to chuck around if that's your thing. Only dislike is the high rear boot lip which makes getting heavy stuff in a pain, like a wacker plate😀.

Mine has only really done around town for the last 9 years, but has 90k on the clock and the engine is still A1, always starts, one replacement battery in that time, clutch replaced at 40k as original one was underspecced (a known fault now resolved).

Someone smashed into mine recently, so probably looking at another one fairly soon.

knightstyle

As forgotmyname says above several cars use the same base so you really need to test drive them to see which you prefer, Later French electrics have improved so ignore those fears unless buying an old banger.
Just keep an open mind and look for one that seems a good deal.
I had an Aygo as a hire car for a week and it seemed well built to me, quite decent on a long run to.