Soldato
Right. Mum has had her new 500 for a few weeks now, and I managed to get hold of it long enough to take it on a variety of roads. The car is a 1.2 Pop - 69ish horsies @ 5500rpm, supposedly 99mph top speed. That last figure, I am happy to report, seems to be complete ********. At 70mph, there is still enough gearing to get you somewhere past 100mph. But top speed is fairly meaningless in a car like this. So, how it drives.
Rather nicely, in fact.
It rides....well, like a small car. Anything with that short a wheelbase is going to make a meal of large speed-bumps. It certainly doesn't even come close to my Olds (hell, they aren't even in the same universe). But it's not bad by any stretch. Handling wise - seems to communicate fine, but I didn't really get it right on the limit since it's my mother's car
Power - small car, small engine. Properly Italian. The engine spins like a top, and with peak power arriving at 5500 rpm it thrives on revs. Again, properly Italian. Not the most musical of creatures, but not many modern small four bangers are.
The interior is wonderful. It's stylish, it's comfortable. I won't comment on the plastics because I'm sure the Almighty Germans Of Ultimate Justice™ produce better....and even if they don't, owners of those cars will not be persuaded by me. The dashboard is great fun - the rev counter runs inside the speedometer rather than in completely separate dials, and it tempts you into chasing one needle with the other
Looks. Now, I know this is totally subjective....but I reckon this is the best looking small car on the market. It's certainly better looking IMO than the BINI. And the Micra. And the old Ka (soon to be replaced by a car based on the 500....). And the new Twingo. Gran's Citroen C1 is sat on the drive next to the 500 right now, and the 500 is definitely the looker of the pair. But I will add a caveat - colour and options make a lot of difference. Mum's 500 is Bossa Nova White, with chrome kit and body coloured mirrors. Same body colour without those two options doesn't look anywhere near as good. Also, chrome mirrors are available....but they don't look good on certain body colours, white being one of them. As for the sticker packages on offer - I wouldn't bother, but I know a lot of people who have and they seem pretty happy.
Other stuff:
1) Rear visibility is utterly appalling coming from the Seicento. Seriously. You get more rear visibility from a WW2 pillbox. That said - while the interior mirror is useless, and the rear screen is small, and the rear windows aren't easy to see through from the driver's seat, the wing mirrors are bloody enormous They definitely help make reversing the car out of tight spots easier, if it had mirrors of the size that the Seicento has then it'd be a tad more difficult.
2) The controls. Pedals are just like the Panda that it takes it's platform from. Not bad in the case of the brake and clutch, bit un-nerving with the throttle pedal going from a lot of cars. It's got a lot of travel, and feels very "springy".
3) Fuel economy is pretty good. Mum has averaged 47ish mpg so far according to the computer in the dash. Judging by the lack of fuel receipts in the envelope here, I'd have to say that it seems quite accurate.
Rather nicely, in fact.
It rides....well, like a small car. Anything with that short a wheelbase is going to make a meal of large speed-bumps. It certainly doesn't even come close to my Olds (hell, they aren't even in the same universe). But it's not bad by any stretch. Handling wise - seems to communicate fine, but I didn't really get it right on the limit since it's my mother's car
Power - small car, small engine. Properly Italian. The engine spins like a top, and with peak power arriving at 5500 rpm it thrives on revs. Again, properly Italian. Not the most musical of creatures, but not many modern small four bangers are.
The interior is wonderful. It's stylish, it's comfortable. I won't comment on the plastics because I'm sure the Almighty Germans Of Ultimate Justice™ produce better....and even if they don't, owners of those cars will not be persuaded by me. The dashboard is great fun - the rev counter runs inside the speedometer rather than in completely separate dials, and it tempts you into chasing one needle with the other
Looks. Now, I know this is totally subjective....but I reckon this is the best looking small car on the market. It's certainly better looking IMO than the BINI. And the Micra. And the old Ka (soon to be replaced by a car based on the 500....). And the new Twingo. Gran's Citroen C1 is sat on the drive next to the 500 right now, and the 500 is definitely the looker of the pair. But I will add a caveat - colour and options make a lot of difference. Mum's 500 is Bossa Nova White, with chrome kit and body coloured mirrors. Same body colour without those two options doesn't look anywhere near as good. Also, chrome mirrors are available....but they don't look good on certain body colours, white being one of them. As for the sticker packages on offer - I wouldn't bother, but I know a lot of people who have and they seem pretty happy.
Other stuff:
1) Rear visibility is utterly appalling coming from the Seicento. Seriously. You get more rear visibility from a WW2 pillbox. That said - while the interior mirror is useless, and the rear screen is small, and the rear windows aren't easy to see through from the driver's seat, the wing mirrors are bloody enormous
They definitely help make reversing the car out of tight spots easier, if it had mirrors of the size that the Seicento has then it'd be a tad more difficult.2) The controls. Pedals are just like the Panda that it takes it's platform from. Not bad in the case of the brake and clutch, bit un-nerving with the throttle pedal going from a lot of cars. It's got a lot of travel, and feels very "springy".
3) Fuel economy is pretty good. Mum has averaged 47ish mpg so far according to the computer in the dash. Judging by the lack of fuel receipts in the envelope here, I'd have to say that it seems quite accurate.
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