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Fiat should fare well with funky 500

Thursday, 03 July 2008

I HAD been waiting patiently for a few months to test drive the new Fiat 500, but when I arrived home with a bright yellow coloured model I got a few strange looks.
It’s not that my family didn’t like it, but some were a bit reluctant to take a drive in such a brightly coloured car with a big figure ‘5’ written on the bonnet as they felt that it attracted too much attention. I have a very modest family.
You get a big 5‚ for 500 in the bonnet (only on press cars) and a small 4‚ on the back window which means four years warranty and four years AA membership.
When leaving Fiat’s headquarters near the Red Cow roundabout, PR woman Tara O’Leary said that with this colour she reckoned I would always be allowed out into the flow of traffic by other drivers. It proved to be true as the drivers were courteous and inquisitive.
Volkswagen were the first motor manufacturer to go for the retro look with their Beetle, then came the Mini and now Fiat. Indeed some people said that this car reminded them of a Mini.
The 500, which was introduced last year, 50 years after the original Cinquecento, is only 3.5 metres long. But size can be deceptive and apart from there being plenty of room for two adults in the front, there is room in the back for two children or maybe two small adults. But the leg room would be tight.
This funky-looking car, which is packed with safety items, should do very well for Fiat and of course there are plenty of other less flashy colours to choose from.
But if you opt for say yellow, you will get also get strong touch of yellow right in your face across the dash.
I was surprised to find six gears in such a small car and there was also an attractive sun roof. My steering wheel, which had slave controls for the radio, was black, but I have seen pictures of very attractive white steering wheels.
The front seats in the sport model I drove were very comfortable and unusually they were coloured brown and grey. There is just about enough storage room for drinks, pens, etc. and you can also play your MP3.
The 500 comes in three different designs, Pop, Lounge and Sport.
Prices start at e13,995 for the 1.2 Pop and rise to e17,995 for the 1.4 Sport version I drove. It handled very well and while it’s obviously not a family car, the 500 would be ideal for first time buyers, both male and female.
A few years back when on holiday near Cannes we took a train down along the coast, through Antibes, Monaco ending up in Venti Miglia, the first town in Italy.
There the narrow streets were full of old Fiats of every shape and size. I would love to go back again and see if the locals have embraced the new 500.
Already the 500 has been voted European Car of the Year, but following the recent ‘no’ to Lisbon we know that Irish people don’t always agree with the rest of Europe.
We will have to wait until November to see what way the Irish motoring writers vote.

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