Drove a 2013 Fiat 500 for a week; Love my Yaris even more

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Then wouldn't handling, styling and color preference, and slightly better ease of parking be the only reasons one might choose the 500?



Didn't mean to insult your previous choice. This is anecdotal, but I was thinking about Europeans in Europe telling CTScott why they chose the Yaris over the 500.




IMO, this is important. If you are away from your home area, a Toyota dealership might end up being the most expensive choice, but the best one re getting the repair done right the first time. Among different makes, I would think Toyota dealer repair would be the best or among the best re a quality repair the first time.

if they got the dealership/service issues squared away, I would be back in a 500 yesterday (even thought the yaris gives me some needed extra room...id sacrifice it). the long term reliability doesn't much concern me. the 500 in Europe is not proving to be unreliable, and it has been there for 6 yrs.

I will see how this are going when the next gen 500 comes around. the abarth never appealed to me one bit. for the price it uses most of the same interior materials as the regular 500. fine for a $16k car, but not acceptable for a $22k+ car. for an everyday driver, it has a pretty harsh ride. the regular 500 is a blast an a much better choice as a daily driver.

[Thirty-Nine]

Originally Posted by roxy1

if they got the dealership/service issues squared away, I would be back in a 500 yesterday (even thought the yaris gives me some needed extra room...id sacrifice it).

What kind of issues did you have?

for the price it uses most of the same interior materials as the regular 500. fine for a $16k car, but not acceptable for a $22k+ car. for an everyday driver, it has a pretty harsh ride. the regular 500 is a blast an a much better choice as a daily driver.

See, I don't much like the regular 500. I wouldn't buy one. However, I love the Abarth, and would plunk down $22K for one. While the interior isn't a whole lot better, you're getting the turbo engine, a limited-slip setup, better brakes, better suspension, bigger wheels and stickier rubber, and some other exterior stuff. And the sound. Oh the sound! The Abarth to me is just so much fun.

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

What kind of issues did you have?



See, I don't much like the regular 500. I wouldn't buy one. However, I love the Abarth, and would plunk down $22K for one. While the interior isn't a whole lot better, you're getting the turbo engine, a limited-slip setup, better brakes, better suspension, bigger wheels and stickier rubber, and some other exterior stuff. And the sound. Oh the sound! The Abarth to me is just so much fun.

first, there were indications from fiat that there would be a lot more dealers that never materialized. in fact, one confirmed studio that would have been an hour closer to me backed out a month after I bought my car. it was the proximity to this dealer that made me take the leap of faith. beyond that, it had been mostly an inability to fix simple things right the first time (for example a side skirt that was peeling off). this gets amplified when each round trip is 3 1/2 hours.

as far as the abarth, it depends what one is looking for in a small hatch, for me it is about having fun when I want but having a comfortable daily ride and maximizing mpg's the rest of the time. the base 500 did this very well.

the good thing for anyone wanting an abarth (or any other fiat) is that they are getting discounted pretty heavily these days. the downside is that right now the resale value on fiats is quite poor.

to be honest, if I had a dealer within 30 minutes of me, I probably would have stayed with the 500.