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Hermansen posted:You can now only get the freakisly slow 1.2 69hp petrol and the 1.3 MultiJet Diesel. I love the diesel engine in my Panda. As long as there are no other cars on the road to remind you how slow your car actually is, it feels like the goddamn torqueiest, meanest, gruntinest, most unrestrained thing ever as you nail it all the way through 1st, 2nd and 3rd, feeling that turbo on the boil and going to the redline in 3rd, feeling like you're just about to take off and fly. At which point you're going ~100kph  5 gears, 165kph top speed, you do the math 
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Nov 23, 2010 00:48
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:why wouldn't it? why don't they have it in europe, anyway? i mean it's a cute slightly upscale commuter/city car, not a boxster. doesn't an auto make the most sense? I was absolutely certain you could get an automanual gearbox for the 500 in Europe, since the Panda is (was?) available with one. Guess not v  v
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Nov 23, 2010 16:22
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InitialDave posted:Poland has been building Fiats for decades, and my experience of working with Polish skilled labour is that they're pretty competent and have a decent work ethic. I've had my Polish-built Panda for 2½ years and the most serious issue I've had with it was a slight squeek from the driver's seat. Everything else has been rock solid. The Turkish-built Fiats, on the other hand... Oh dear.
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Nov 24, 2010 14:32
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:At one point I heard we would be getting an Abarth that was more US-market specific using the 170HP 1.4 from the Alfa MiTo but that seemed more like idle speculation. If it was a MiTo with the MiTo interior styled like a 500 Abarth on the outside I would fuckin go wild. This is quite simply too awesome to ever happen 
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Dec 8, 2010 22:49
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I'd have massive respect for them if they put the 1750 TBI engine in a 500, 230hp should be good for a few laughs, but I'm afraid that engine is Alfa-only, and the Giuletta QV is hella expensive...
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Dec 31, 2010 12:00
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Throatwarbler posted:And this Giuletta is putting out 230hp out of the 1.75l? I thought the 204hp 1.8t in the Mercedes E250 was impressive. It does and they're working on a GTA model which should have around 300hp or so, possibly from the same engine.
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Dec 31, 2010 20:55
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You're quite right about the driving position, you sit quite upright in all Fiat's small cars. Probably because you need the short wheelbase to have a small overall size, but you can increase the height a fair amount without compromising that characteristic. I have oodles of headroom in my Panda, significantly more than in my parents' Citroën C5, which is a much much bigger car. I'm glad you're getting the new Multiair engine in the US, it's got that fancy new fully variable valve system (and no throttle valve, I think BMW has something similar, too) and won Best New Engine of 2010. Like you noted, it drives great below 4000rpm for normal driving, but you really owe it to yourself to rev it like an Italian It also makes 170hp and 180 lb-ft in the Alfa MiTo, so there should be plenty of room for tweaking. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Mar 20, 2011 |
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Mar 20, 2011 10:52
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Seat Safety Switch posted:the shifter felt like the usual Dodge/cheap-car manual transmission with wimpy linkages and indistinct gates. That's a standard feature on all Fiats. That and horribly wimpy synchros, I double clutch all my downshifts now.
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Mar 24, 2011 19:04
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VideoTapir posted:Is there anything special about it beyond the badging and leather? No. Absolutely nothing. Mechanically, it's a bog-standard Toyota iQ.
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Mar 26, 2011 14:02
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Imagine some douche wannabe player showing up to a party or something and flashing his keys everywhere, "ooh, he's got an Aston, he must be loaded". Perhaps he succeeds in picking up a chick who thinks she's hit the jackpot and bagged a totally loaded dude, she's set for life and all that. And then they go outside and see that piece of crap. "Wanna go for a ride in the Aston, baby?  "
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Mar 26, 2011 17:32
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D C posted:Tonight I saw my first 500 on the road, looks so sweet, just too bad about the power. It's a teeny-tiny hatchback, what did you expect? The standard engine for the 500 outside the US is a 69hp 1.2, and people seem to be plenty happy with it.
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Mar 27, 2011 10:56
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DJ Commie posted:Its not a really fair comparison, modern engine management and variable valve tech makes so much more torque and flatter too. The 60/69hp 102nm 1242cc base 4-cylinder engine in the Panda and 500 is an old 8-valve, solid lifter etc. design, it's basically the old Fiat FIRE series cleaned up a bit emissions-wise. Obviously they've been able to tweak the engine management a bit, but there's no variable valve trickery etc. The 875cc turbo 2-cylinder on the other hand is pretty boss, I hope you get it in the US too. 85hp, 145nm (at 1900rpm!), fully variable valve timing and lift and it gets 4.1L/100km, although people are finding it pretty hard to hit mileage quite that good so far. That's 15 more hp, more revs and the same torque at the same RPM as my 1248cc 4-cylinder turbodiesel, which admittedly is also available with 90hp and 200nm, but still that's pretty good for less than 900cc. And they're talking about doing a 105hp version as well.
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Apr 1, 2011 09:00
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Mr. Wiggles posted:The US base version comes with 101hp. And a fatter torque curve due to VVT.
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Apr 1, 2011 21:42
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VideoTapir posted:How did it affect fuel economy? Unless you really cane it, it stays the same. Some people have reported a slight increase in economy because the increased torque means they can shift at lower revs.
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Apr 3, 2011 17:59
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Swastikaman posted:How's the reliability on these? The 500 (and Panda) is probably the most well-built and reliable car Fiat has ever made. Take that as you will 
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Apr 5, 2011 17:35
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If it's anything like here, Pop is the base model and Lounge/Sport are higher spec trims. Each has their own interior design, the Sport seats have slightly thicker bolsters, but it's very minor. The major difference between Lounge and Sport is that Lounge gets a chrome trim pack (exhaust tip, trim around the side windows, on the bumpers and around the shifter) a sunroof and "Lounge" alloy wheels. Sport gets the sport seats, a spoiler, a few extra color choices for the interior, a chrome exhaust tip, "Sport" alloy wheels, fog lights and special gauges. Most of the above stuff can be optioned on the other trim levels, at least in Europe the 500 has a shitton of options, but I have no idea what sort of options you'll get in the US. Amusingly, only the Lounge trim has a light in the trunk, it isn't even an option on the other trims
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Apr 5, 2011 18:39
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dissss posted:German ones are closest to this, but even then you get as many niggling problems as catastrophic ones. In 3½ years and ~55000km of Panda ownership, I have no complaints. There have only been a couple of minor niggles. The driver's seat creaked a bit, which I could probably have fixed myself, but it was in for its 1-year service anyway. At the same time, they replaced a couple of suspension bits as a preventative measure. Apparently, some people have managed to bust the front suspension (probably driving over curbs etc.), so they uprated some of the components and retrofit them on all the cars they service. The paint on the rear seat brackets was flaking, so they replaced those as well. Apart from that, not a single piece of trim has broken, no odd sounds, engine runs perfectly. It's been a very enjoyable ownership experience so far. I had the windshield replaced about 8 months ago, but that can hardly be blamed on Fiat
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Apr 6, 2011 09:01
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grover posted:More power would certainly help, but it was simply... uncomfortable. It ain't a couch by any stretch, that's for sure. You just have to sort of "get" it, the ride and feel has sort of a cadence to it. It's hard to explain, I really like my Panda, but my parents absolutely hate driving it. Perhaps "(over)enthusiastically lively" is a good way to put it, it can get a bit much when driving for a couple of hours.
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Apr 24, 2011 17:51
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grover posted:I was unable to get the seat into a position where my legs and arms were both comfortable; the spring on the gas was so light, my foot would cramp up after just a few minutes and I'd have to shift so my toe was only 1-2" above the hinge point. Which of course only works for open driving; in any sort of traffic, it was literally painful to drive. That's one of the things that put a lot of people off, the 'correct' seating position for a small Fiat is surprisingly upright, much more than you'd think. Is the gas pedal bottom-hinged in the 500? Because it's top-hinged in my Panda and literally no different from any other car I've driven, apart from having a somewhat longer travel than especially the Peugeot/Citroën vans and VWs I've driven. My right foot rests on the floor on the heel when working the gas, when I'm working the clutch and brake both feet are off the floor. Works fine for me v vDetroit Q. Spider posted:The six speed is an auto and it still gets crap mileage compared to the five speed manual. Also the engine's max power is at 6500 RPM. Best to flog it Grover drove a car with the 1242cc 8v FIRE engine, a venerable (old) Fiat engine that has powered a shitton of different models since about the mid-80s. It reaches max power at around 5500rpm and redlines at 6000. But with FIRE engines, the redline is more like a polite suggestion. I have a friend who used to drive a Seicento Sporting (1108cc and 54hp!). He never shifted before 6500rpm and never had a problem with the engine. Plenty of problems with the electrics, but the engine was fine. Be glad you get the 100hp 1.4 multiair engine in the US, it's a much more modern design and it loves to rev!
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Apr 24, 2011 19:19
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dissss posted:What model(s) are you hoping to see? The current Panda is on its way out, but perhaps you'll get the new Panda that's set to come out in 2012. Probably only the 4x4 model as sort of a baby SUV or something.
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Apr 26, 2011 09:01
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VideoTapir posted:Um, since when do baby SUVs in the US come as 4WD only? We'll be getting the 2WD version and lording over all the Smarts and Yarises with our delusion of power. I meant that you'll probably only get the 4x4-styled (or Cross) version, even it's going to be available in both 2WD and 4WD. The Panda is already pretty squared-off and chunky-looking, but I think they'd go all the way and just give you the slightly raised 4x4 styling to make it more distinctive and appeal to your Patriot/Compass sensibilities. In fact, they'll probably just lob off the 4WD system from the successor to the Cross and stick the 100hp 1.4 in there that you're already getting in the 500. 4WD as an optional extra. And yes, lording over Smarts, Yarises, Altos, Twingos, Lupos and so on is even more fun than you'd think. You're like the big kid in the sandbox. You know, the kid who had to take 1st grade over again because he's a bit slow, but he sure as hell can beat everyone else up.
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Apr 26, 2011 11:09
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InitialDave posted:He still knows not to try it on with his older brother, though. Nah, his older brother is cool. The problem is that all of the bigger kids are jerks.
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Apr 26, 2011 11:35
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dissss posted:The Yaris is a bigger kid too, at least the US spec ones are. That's because you fatty fatty Americans mostly buy the sedan You sit higher up in the Panda and if riding a motorcycle has taught me anything, it's that being taller=better.
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Apr 26, 2011 12:29
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dissss posted:What a lot of people in North America don't realise is the Yaris is actually two rungs up from the bottom of the Toyota UK range size wise. Same as here, I look down on both iQs and Aygos (+107s/C1s) with great enthusiasm
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Apr 26, 2011 13:16
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The clutch is extremely light and has a wide engagement point, it's extremely easy to modulate. My ex-gf jumped right in and drove off with no problems at all, even though it'd been like two years since she last drove. How is the brake pedal on the US 500s? In my Panda it's got pretty long travel and you have to press the pedal a fair amount to get semi-hard braking. Very unlike the Opel I test drove where even looking at the pedal would send you into the windshield, it was ridiculously overboosted.
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Apr 30, 2011 07:47
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Lilleput posted:Rosenthal just did a very good review of the US Fiat 500 (And 500c) That's a very good review, they got to the core of the matter, that the 500 isn't about performance, absolute luxury or macho attitude, it's just a fun little lifestyle car. Sergio Machionne said "I want Fiat to become the Apple of the car world and the 500 to be our iPod” and I think they're pretty well on their way. You get more bang for your buck other places, "but it's SOOOOO CUTE! "The Abarth is a slightly different bag of bolts, I can't wait to see what people think of it.
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Jul 2, 2011 17:40
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Corbet posted:Can someone clarify the difference between the Pop and Sport/Lounge seats? I read on one of the reviews that they have different seat types and the Sport/Lounge is more narrow. Is this true? The Sport seats have thicker side bolsters, I can't remember how the Lounge seats differ. quote:Also, a couple reviews I've read have said that the sunroof option on the Lounge reduces the amount of headroom. Can anyone confirm this? The mechanism for the sunroof will intrude down into the cabin a fair amount, if you're already close to using all the available headroom in a 500 without the sunroof, you will probably hit your head on it.
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Aug 15, 2011 08:30
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toaster_pastry posted:- numb clutch engagement with zero feedback I'd love to know if they've changed the clutch mechanism for US spec cars, because the cable clutch in my Panda gives me loads of feedback. True, it's extremely light, but there's still plenty of feel in it. Totally agree on the steering being somewhat numb, the electric power steering on modern small Fiats just doesn't feel as good as a hydraulic system or even a higher-spec electric system.
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Aug 15, 2011 16:39
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Corbet posted:Honestly, most of their larger hatchbacks seem pretty cool, particularly their Grande Punto. There's a pretty good rule of thumb, the larger a Fiat gets, the crappier it is. The Panda and 500 were the cars that helped turn Fiat around from an utter fiasco to a company with enough spare cash to buy up more than half of Chrysler LLC. On the other hand, the Croma (their largest car to date) is dreadful and should have been named the Coma. Nobody makes small cars quite like Fiat, but every time they try their hand at larger cars, they gently caress it up. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Aug 18, 2011 |
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Aug 18, 2011 19:08
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Jay Leno has a video up where he drives the 500 and talks about the MultiAir engine: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/2012-fiat-500-prima-edizione/1346961/
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Aug 20, 2011 19:16
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Totally digging the seats in that Cabrio Italia edition. I don't really get the criticism of the steering and clutch/stick. Sure, they're very light, but small cars benefit greatly from the ease of doing everything with a light touch. The Panda is probably the easiest car to drive I've ever been in and the 500 is identical for all intents and purposes. And the motoring press has heaped tons of praise on both cars. Even Jeremy Clarkson remarked in his review that he preferred driving the Panda to his Mercedes SL and Volvo XC90 and all the other test cars he was reviewing. He likes the 500 (and the Abarth in particular) even more. And he's not the only one. Jay Leno's excused since they gave him one for free, so of course he'll be positive. But every other review I've read of the Panda/500 has praised the way it drives and how much character it has. I have a blast every time I drive mine, even with the decidedly non-sporty diesel. Sure, it's bouncy and you feel every little nook and cranny in the road despite the relatively soft suspension. But the way it tackles B-roads is just plain good fun. Not fast, but fun.
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Sep 2, 2011 09:04
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kimbo305 posted:Light and flimsy are two different things. The stick and clutch on any Civic are light, but the feel when you use them is more precise and less toy-like than in the 500. The parts should not be so cheap that it feels like an errant sneeze would cause something to snap. See, I don't get this. The controls in my Panda don't feel toy-like at all, the 3rd-4th shift in particular is just right, heavy enough to feel solid and feel the synchros working, but slick enough that it can be done with a flick of the wrist. It isn't as luxurious as a BMW or even a VW, but compared to my parents' Citroen and Peugeots, it feels drat good.
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Sep 2, 2011 19:18
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DJ Commie posted:My Charade has really light steering (strong power steering) and it really makes a good difference in tight radius stuff. Either de-powered or the actual manual steering feels ever so slightly more ponderous in tight spaces, though it has like a 12 foot turning radius. Absolutely, it certainly makes a difference. I know the super light "city steering" that you can switch on and off in most Fiats has been decried as the "girlie button" and drawn into question why you would even want it since the steering is so light already. Now, I drove a car with manual steering before, and it's not like I wouldn't be perfectly fine without it. But it's just so nice to have when parallel parking or navigating tight parking lots or all the other small spaces which Copenhagen seems to be full of. It makes palming the wheel completely effortless and with 3 turns lock to lock, you can pull some really nifty stuff like a proper Italian. When I have to drive a couple of hours on the freeway, I sometimes think to myself "why the hell didn't I buy a larger more comfortable car?". Then I get to a really tight parking garage and think "oh right, that's why!". KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Sep 3, 2011 |
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Sep 3, 2011 08:51
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Sounds like Bourdain 
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Sep 5, 2011 21:11
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Boozahol posted:http://youtu.be/qIGORDUHgwM?t=11m27s Definitely a Smart.
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Sep 9, 2011 07:06
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200hp from a production turbo 1.4 is pretty drat solid if you ask me.
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Oct 27, 2011 20:32
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BonzoESC posted:That's what the 2.0T in the GTI does, right? 210hp, 270hp in the R version.
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Nov 16, 2011 23:13
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Previa_fun posted:cheap feeling interior materials, super light steering and clutch, and gearbox feel. Cheap interiors are standard on cheap cars. It's a cheap car. I can see how people don't like the light steering because soul and passion and a sporty driving experience and all that. There's still plenty of feedback once you get a feel for it, though. But what's the problem with a light clutch action, do you really need to feel like you're doing leg presses every time you change gears? Gearbox feels fine to me, apart from not being very fun to downshift when it's cold, probably the synchros being sluggish or something. Just another excuse to work on your double clutched downshifts
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Nov 17, 2011 20:57
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Detroit Q. Spider posted:The same reason people dislike light steering: no feedback. Trying to slip a clutch (or even just engage/disengage cleanly) when you can't feel it is frustrating at best. Still, it doesn't seem to be a problem in my car (Panda, but same underpinnings), I have no problems finessing the clutch even though it's really light. You just have to calibrate yourself to it.
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Nov 17, 2011 21:33
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^^^^That must have taken some abuse. The handle in my Panda is doing fine after three years of normal use.kimbo305 posted:Do the Panda and 500 have very different engine bays? The Pandas engine bay is probably ever so slightly bigger due to the 500 being more rounded everywhere, but it's a tiny difference.
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Nov 17, 2011 23:21
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