Fiat 500

Jay Leno bought a Prima Edizione and reviewed it along with a modified 500.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/extras/test-drives/2012-fiat-500-prima-edizione/

I really like the 500. My wife REALLY likes the 500C. It could possibly be the next new car in the driveway.

wbjones wrote: been at least 3 yrs since anyone has been in the back seat of any of my cars... 'course there isn't any SO ... nor any on the horizon oh well ... more time and $$ for the car addiction

You don't get to harness the power of the superdork with silly distractions like SO's!

Mmmm, abarth goodness. I don't know who can say that car doesn't look good for a hot hatch, but hater's gonna hate.

The Abarth is such a good looking little car. I even like the Scorpion decal.

I liked the white wheels on Hammond's convertible best, but yes, the Abarth looks fantastic--and as fun as a hot 21 y/o chick.

gamby wrote: I liked the white wheels on Hammond's convertible best, but yes, the Abarth looks fantastic--and as fun as a hot 21 y/o chick.

Niether the Yaris nor the Fiat could ever be called "looks fantastic". Cute could be applied to them but that's about all.

MitchellC wrote: I have a strange aversion to four-door cars vehicles. Perhaps because my rear seat is used maybe once a year, the rear doors just seem like superfluous entry points to me.

Quoted for pithy, awesome, truth.

I took the rear seat out of my Swift, and have been driving it for the last few months without a passenger seat.

I just test drove a 500 today. I thought the fit and finish was pretty solid overall. The interior was a lot nicer than I had expected and the whole car felt like it was put together well. Plenty of interior space and decent enough room in the trunk. I thought the handling was decent as well. I do have a few complaints though:

1) The seating position. I could not get comfortable at all. I felt like I was sitting up too high and my right leg was pressed up against the console the whole time. My 6'5" friend seemed to fit comfortably in the passenger seat though. 2) The clutch and shifter felt really really bad. The clutch pedal was just really squishy and I wasn't able to drive the car smoothly at all. The shifter was amongst the worst I've ever used. Really vague and rubbery. 3) It was slower than expected. I guess I've been spoiled after driving a 500+ hp car for a while, but I'm not used to downshifting to get up small hills.

Other than that I really did like the car. I'm curious to see how they hold up in the long run and maybe I'll give it another shot when the Abarth comes out.

Yavuz wrote: 2) The clutch and shifter felt really really bad. The clutch pedal was just really squishy and I wasn't able to drive the car smoothly at all. The shifter was amongst the worst I've ever used. Really vague and rubbery.

I suspect the aftermarket will have a fix for that in short order. Doesn't excuse it on a new car, however.

Looks way too much like this for my tastes:

The aftermarket is gearing-up for the 500:

I'm hoping we Yanks get the chance to check out the 2-cyl turbo motor for this car. They actually speak highly of it in a different car magazine (Evo). http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/254203/fiat_500_twinair_review.html

In reply to oldsaw:

That red 500 you have pictured there is in that video I posted up top.