[nkrishnap]

I had a chance to live with the little Fiat 500 for about 4 weeks time clocking a good 800 kms on the odd under varied road conditions.

Likes

• Design eye catchy more so with the yellow paint shade

• Compact dimensions makes life easier in the maddening Bangalore Traffic

• Lovely Steering with modes for city and highway

• Smoother Multijet and a much better gearbox

• Small car with Big efficiency.

• Moon Roof makes the cabin really airy

Dislikes

• Rear seat is for name sake, better left unused or carry light luggage

• Headlights are bright enough but does not light up the road ahead as expected.

• Service back up for this car is literally nonexistent

[nkrishnap]

The Drive experience

Engine Characteristics

The car is a delight to drive compared to the multi-jets sold here in the Punto and Linea. One major change difference is the gearbox which this gets from the international variants and not the good old C510 gearbox that comes with the Punto/Linea. There is a drastic difference in shift quality, however the clutch is slightly on a harder side. It could be due to the wear and tear too. The shifts are slicker and crisp even on the vehicle which is approximately around 9 years old. Now even though this engine comes in the 75 bhp tune, the power delivery is linear with barely any turbo lag. To observe this difference, drove my Linea back to back with this 500 and compared it against my cousin's Punto too which comes with the 75 bhp tune. After driving this 500, the Punto and Linea driveability felt a lot to be desired, in simple words disappointing. It is the same company which makes these cars and how could they falter on this aspect, this thought just determines the priorities for the company in India is awry. The cost definitely would not shot through the roof to have this gearbox and tune. A prime example of penny wise pound foolish stuff from Fiat.

Apart from the tune and the slickness and the gearbox, the ratios are much better too. For example, the Punto and Linea does 100 kmph around 2500 rpm mark and 120 at 3000 rpm. The engine is already producing boomy noise by 3000 rpm. No such thing on the 500, it does 100 kmph around 2200 rpm. does 130 odd by 3000 rpm. The tall gearing does help too, just have a look at the highway efficiency cruising around 2500 rpm. Be it the city drive or the highway road conditions, there is sufficient drive in all the gears. The apt gear ratios mean you are not over-revving the engine nor lugging it flooding the engine with fuel.

Ride, Suspension and Handling

The car came with 16-inch wheel shod with 205/55 R16 tyres. This particular one had Continental MC5 tyres with 50% of life done. The ride is definitely on the stiffer side a little more than the Punto Abarth. Increase your speeds and matters improve significantly. Many may find the ride to be harsh but the stiffness does help in the steering department. You can point and shoot the car in the direction, the little 500 does the job without much fuss. Unless some seriously high speeds are carried into a corner it barely understeers. The steering is direct and precise. It came a button to switch between City and Sport modes

Efficiency

City efficiency never dropped below the 16 kmpl mark in varied traffic conditions and a good amount of the bumper to bumper 1st gear crawling. The AC was always on. With a tank size of 35 litres and average mileage of 20 kmpl, the highway runs for 600 km is never a worry with this car.

32 KMPL with average speeds of around 75 KMPH



Overall Mileage for over 450 kms



Steering

Fiat 500 comes with an Electric Power Steering and has two modes to choose from. City and Sport. City mode helps in making the steering light in the city conditions and it is a breeze to use. Anyone who drives a Punto or a Linea after driving the little 500 would feel there is no power steering the Punto and Linea. The sport mode tightens the setup, but it is still not as stiff as the Punto or the Linea. It is as light as a Hyundai Steering city mode and weighed up in Sport mode. However, gives ample feedback in both modes.

Brakes

The 500 has a disc at the front with the brake pads getting the wear indicators and the rear hosts a drum brake. Brake is sharp and the modulation is not difficult. In simple words, brakes are confidence-inspiring.

[nkrishnap]

Little things with the little car

Moon Roof



ORVM Adjustment



Front Row



Door Pad and Door handle



Dashboard





Center Console - Notice the power window buttons and the steering mode selector



Alloys



A few random pics





















Handed it over to the owner and was happy to see his little back to top shape.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews Section. Thanks for sharing!

[V.Narayan]

Cute and attractive as can be. It is without doubt an eye catching car. It wouldn't be hard to fall in love with this bugs bunny. I guess it is fine for singles and couples only. What is the ground clearance. Thankyou for sharing your experience with the car.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Cute and attractive as can be. It is without doubt an eye catching car. It wouldn't be hard to fall in love with this bugs bunny. I guess it is fine for singles and couples only. What is the ground clearance. Thankyou for sharing your experience with the car.

Thanks.

The ground clearance clearance on the 500 is 135 mm I believe. Coupled with the stiff suspension and short wheel base, it was difficult to scrape the underbody unless it is a huge monster speed breaker. Didn't manage to scrape anywhere in Bangalore or on the Highway.

[M00M]

Lovely car and colour. How did you manage to find this beauty ? I have been looking for one but sadly haven't found any. What's the response and availability of parts and service ? With Fiat literally out except Jeep I wonder if that could be major issue in maintaining this beauty.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by M00M

Lovely car and colour. How did you manage to find this beauty ? I have been looking for one but sadly haven't found any. What's the response and availability of parts and service ? With Fiat literally out except Jeep I wonder if that could be major issue in maintaining this beauty.

Fiat has abandoned this car long ago. Unless you breathe down their neck they won't bother. So unless you can pull a few strings and have lot of patience dont bother about this car.

[bharatbits]

Was this ever sold in India or are the very few that we see here personal imports? If it was sold, what was the pricing?

Nice car. I see a Fiat 500 in the same shade many times on my way to work in Mumbai. Gorgeous and very apt for city drives. The yellow dashboard - is that plastic or metal? The finish looks great.

[TRANSAM]

Nice looking and well kept car, seen one here in Mumbai on Marine Drive, parked in one of the buildings there, rarely used.
The car was launched as an Import in India with limited numbers, priced if I recollect under 20 Lacs at that time.

[--gKrish--]

Originally Posted by TRANSAM

Nice looking and well kept car, seen one here in Mumbai on Marine Drive, parked in one of the buildings there, rarely used.
The car was launched as an Import in India with limited numbers, priced if I recollect under 20 Lacs at that time.

Yes it was a CBU and costed around 16 lakhs on road in Trivandrum back then.

[desiaztec]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

Was this ever sold in India or are the very few that we see here personal imports? If it was sold, what was the pricing?

Nice car. I see a Fiat 500 in the same shade many times on my way to work in Mumbai. Gorgeous and very apt for city drives. The yellow dashboard - is that plastic or metal? The finish looks great.

Yes it was, IIRC it was retailing for about Rs. 15+ Lakhs OTR Delhi around 2010. I used to spot these oftenly on Delhi roads back then.

[ads11]

Oh man I remember when my dad bought the Linea when it came out, mum caught whiff of the 500. I tried, much like my mum, in vain to convince dad about getting it as her city runabout. I'm afraid though as fantastic a car it is in principle, at the price it sold in India, and the lack of service we experienced with the Linea, in reality it was best kept a pipe dream.

Old though it may be, I still think it's the perfect city runabout for single folk, couples, or those with very young kids.

[theunstabledesi]

Wonderfully written. It would have made a great city car had it been priced appropriately. However, I have never spotted one in this part of the country were I live.

[rdcm1985]

Is there a Fiat 500 around for sale ?