Comments on: Review: Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet

By: Sinistermisterman

Sinistermisterman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:33:40 +0000

I’m glad that the 1.3 diesel impresses – Fiat’s 1.3 8v petrol is weezing and completely underpowered even in the 500.
If Fiat do something clever like bring the 500 over to North America – they’d be a lot more clever if they kept the Fiat badge on it – I mean who associates the Chrysler badge with cute, stylish, nippy & fuel efficient?

By: DarkSpork

DarkSpork — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:11:52 +0000

If reliability proves to be good I could see this car as a viable contender to the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, maybe even Mini (Mini would obviously be favored by people with the money for it). I’d be interested to see how it turns out when (if) it comes to the states. I just hope they offer the diesel and don’t pair it with a crummy automatic transmission (I think it would kill the car). My primary vehicle is ford Ranger that averages 10-15 mpg in the winter and 15-20 in the summer, I’d be interested in having it as a vehicle to commute in when the roads aren’t unbearable.

By: zerofoo

zerofoo — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:12:59 +0000

This is the one I want:

http://www.fiat.co.uk/500abarth/

C’mon Fiatsler! Bring the 500 Abarth here to the US!

-ted

By: dolorean23

dolorean23 — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:20:45 +0000

…”rendered in the metal it is desperately pretty.”“…the 500 is a Panda in a party frock after all”

Almost sounds like an episode of Top Gear.

By: jerseydevil

jerseydevil — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:44:14 +0000

Frankly, I can’t wait. Will I buy the standard one? the cabrio? (probably), the abarth (maybe).

Cant wait. Dont care what they call it when it gets here. Red will be fine, perhaps Bugatti blue.

The 1.3 deisel probably gets like 100 miles per gallon, too. Hope they dont stuff a hemi in it cause chrysler tells them that big engines are the way to go here.

can’t wait.

PS Kurt – “No. You will not get an Abarth. Pelosi et al would never allow it.”

huh? what does Pelosi haev to do with 130 hp 4 cylinder engines?

By: Flashpoint

Flashpoint — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:16:46 +0000

As an owner of a Chrysler 300, I can’t understand what happened to Chrysler.

Everyone I know thinks the PT cruiser was a smash hit. I personaly love seeing a 300C on the road. The Pacifica broke ground – practicaly inventing the crossover market.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED????

I love my 300 but I don’t wanna own a car from a bankrupt company.

By: stevelovescars

stevelovescars — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:09:37 +0000

I spent some time in a friend’s 500 in the UK last year and my take was that it was a much more practical proposition than a Mini Cooper. It’s a lot lighter but much more space efficient inside. For a small family like mine it seems much more user friendly… I can’t even fit an umbrella stroller in the back of a Mini.

I found the interior really pleasant… much better looking and apparently much better built that the Nissan Versa rental car I had at LAX a few months ago.

By: westhighgoalie

westhighgoalie — Sat, 16 May 2009 06:45:16 +0000

Who was it that suggested brining the Neon back?

Stop smoking the cheebah. That was a terrible vehicle and its name should die along with the car.

By: Mirko Reinhardt

Mirko Reinhardt — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:59:57 +0000

@rudiger :
Given the praise and sterling review, one word would seem to sum up whether this will contribute to Chrysler’s survival or be their death-knell:

Reliability.

The Polish-made Fiat Panda has shown very good reliability in the ADAC reliability survey. Better than both Fit and Yaris. The 500 is made in the same factory on the same platform.

http://www.adac.de/images/Pannenstatistik%202007_tcm8-214903.pdf

The (Italian made) Grande Punto is grouped with the older Puntos in this survey, but as you can see the last few years get a “Very Reliable” rating too.

By: TonyJZX

TonyJZX — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:45:14 +0000

The Toyota Aygo is another car that is very smart and well designed. That kind of car inspires people with its cleverness. People want to buy cars like this. Designed by real engineers and made with a flair. People want to be emotionally moved by their cars. When the salesmen have a car that can enthusiastically get behind and a car embraced by customers, the job is easier for the company.

American manufacturers have largely forgotten that.

By: Kurt.

Kurt. — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:13:00 +0000

I have to admin, the 500 is cute…and cute sells in America. I think reliability wise, it is no worse than Chrysler, probably better, even for a FIAT. It will do well, just like the MINI and the New Bug before it. Will is save Chrysler? Highly doubtful. It is just another wrench in the drawer. Just hope there are more to fit other nuts and bolts (Jeep, trucks, etc).

No. You will not get an Abarth. Pelosi et al would never allow it.

By: Buckshot

Buckshot — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:06:55 +0000

If you want the cheapest and most economical transport device, this ain´t it.
This car is NOT a competitor to small economic cars like Aveo, Yaris and Fiesta.
Yes, it´s economical, but not the most economical.
It´s an alternative to Mini.
Theys should sell it as a Fiat in the US, or possibly just the 500, not a Chrysler.
I want a blue one, named Luigi :-)

Toyota IQ may be in the same niche, but they forgot to hire a designer.

By: another_pleb

another_pleb — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:07:26 +0000

Mr. Fugly had a lovechild with Ms. Unreliability. Maybe Ms. Unreliability cheated on Mr. Fugly with Mr. Depreciation?

This car is based on the Fiat Panda, a car which is an absolute delight to drive, like the 500. The Panda has been on sale for a number of years now and always seems to finish near the top of reliability and customer satisfaction indices. Having driven Grande Puntos, Bravos and an ALFA recently, I can say that larger Fiats are improving very fast. It wasn’t so long ago that people told jokes about Skodas and Hyundais.

Small, cheap (and reliable) cars such as these frequently have lower depreciation than larger, thirstier and more complicated machines.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I for one think that this car looks a lot better than the MINI and doesn’t make you feel like an estate agent as you drive along.

Me? I went out and bought a Toyota Aygo. It was a very close run thing though.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:38:08 +0000

Also, enough cannot be said about the glory that is Polish vodka. :-)

I’m normally a whisky drinker, but a colleague brought back some Polish vodka with an unpronounceable name, and I was sold. It was a revelation.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:35:47 +0000

After seeing all kinds of FIAT’s and Alfa’s here during my time in Germany, I would welcome the return of these two brands to the US, assuming they aren’t completely unreliable. I would love to have a 159 as a DD or a 500 as a fun runabout car.

By: lukasz_kluj

lukasz_kluj — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:59:13 +0000

@hwyhobo

Cześć – I see a big Polish community here :)

You are right – Grande Punto is considerably bigger then Panda / 500. I’ve driven briefly both Panda & Punto and I’d say Punto is almost on Golf / Rabbit level. Panda has some problems in the driver’s leg department (unergonomic shape of the dashboard plastics).

By: Pch101

Pch101 — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:19:32 +0000

There are one of two possible outcomes here. Either it’s going to be a terrific brand builder, winning friends and influencing people (most of those being single women), and a regular guest of Starbucks parking lots — in other words, the next MINI — or else it’s going to sink into the landscape with all the visibility of an Astra hidden under a tarp.

It’s a coin toss. It’s a worth a shot. It’s going to work, or it isn’t. They can always sell the leftovers in Latin America if they can’t move them here.

By: FromBrazil

FromBrazil — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:10:51 +0000

This thing rocks! Unfortunately down here it’ll be priced out of its real worth as it’ll be sold as a nichy-imagy-haloy thingy.

Too bad, but maybe 2nd hand? Though knowing that I’m a more practical sort of person, it’ll probably never grace my garage. But the city will look better with these things zipping around.

By: meefer

meefer — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:05:49 +0000

@Alpha Class

No mention of Chopin?

Oh and there’s a car here somewhere, I just can’t seem to find it. As much as it doesn’t appeal to Americans, it’s not like Chrysler has a choice.

By: kaleun

kaleun — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:00:13 +0000

WTF? Does anyone with eyes see what I see or does your browser show a different picture? That thing is supposed to rescue Chrysler? Mr. Fugly had a lovechild with Ms. Unreliability. Maybe Ms. Unreliability cheated on Mr. Fugly with Mr. Depreciation? Who knows.

And how much would it cost in the US? Being imported from euro-land it sure won’t be able to compete with Kia price-wise.

What about US crash test ratings? how long will it take them to become compliant? You know, there is a reason why many European cars are not sold here because it would be too expensive to have them pass both (US and EU) crash tests.

I know looks are subjective and in that region price, fuel economy matter more. Are you sure this isn’t a picture from one of the 1970’s Polish Fiats with some smoothed corners?
It sure beats an Aveo, but will it beat a Fit? Sold at a profit?

I today walked around the Pontiac dealer and saw the G3. As expensive as the Fit but with mileage as my Mazda 3. WTF? And Aveo reliability and 100% depreciation in the first year. good luck! And now they want to bring a car even uglier, with completely unknown (or if known, then bad) reputation from the past and try to compete? At least Chrysler has some home-team advantage among some folks who ignore the bad product. Will Fiat have that same advantage? no…

Unless they sell it really cheap, I don’t see many of them being sold. Fiat has the worst reputation in Europe, a bad one in the US from the past. I know they improved… but everyone else improved more.

That is what the governments hope lays on? We are doomed…

By: TonyJZX

TonyJZX — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:08:08 +0000

no it’ll be a smashing success among the italophiles and latte set

a symbol of the coming Fiat/Chrysler failure… like the Pontiac G8s… decent machinery just not a good fit for the adopted market

By: TriShield

TriShield — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:55:13 +0000

I’m not convinced there’s a market for this car in the States under any brand either.

Chrysler hit something hot with the PT Cruiser, then let it whither with a lack of freshening and redesigning it. They ceded the market to GM.

No different with the Pacifica, it was hot right out of the gate and they screwed it up. It was worth redesigning but they didn’t. Ceding a market they had.

Chrysler and GM both seem to be very good at that.

By: akear

akear — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:45:56 +0000

Nice car, but like the Astra it will fail in the States.

By: hwyhobo

hwyhobo — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:14:40 +0000

I think they are quite pretty, but during my last visit to Europe I tried the Panda this seems to be based on, and with my 6′3″ (190cm), I had a real problem shifting and operating the clutch comfortably.

BTW, I like the modern Punto. I take it Punto is bigger? Different styling, but quite good looking.

@lukasz_kluj:
Cześć! :)

By: phargophil

phargophil — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:26:45 +0000

I’m waiting for the Chrysler commercial featuring this car, showing a guy walking up to the car who asks the driver, “That thing got a Hemi?”