The Fiat 500

[MadMax]

I just got back from an overnight work trip to Vegas (it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it!) and had the opportunity to rent a Fiat 500. Here's my impressions...

First, interior space is woefully tight. I was shoehorned into the car and the center console makes a tight fight even tighter.

Secondly, the short wheelbase makes the car squirrely at speed. Maybe my Yaris is stable because of the wider tires, but this thing moved around on the highway quite a bit more although it didn't feel dangerous, just squirrely.

Thirdly, I didn't feel the quality to be any better than our entry-level Toyota. I didn't like the ergonomics (dash, buttons, etc) and even the girl at the rental place couldn't figure some of it out.

Since it was a rental, the car was an automatic. It was adequate for getting around but the Yaris 1.5L 1NZ-FE VVT-i I4 feels stronger (mine is also an auto). The a/c put more of a strain on the engine in the Fiat, and on full blast the dash buzzed quite noticeably. That might have been an issue unique to my rental, but it was annoying and unpleasant. Also, since we're talking about the a/c, it wasn't adequate to deal with the 109° heat of Vegas. If I had my Yaris, I expect it would have been better (but still not that great).

Still, it wasn't a bad little car and I can see why they are so popular in places like London. And, the gas mileage was very impressive. I don't have actual figures but I did a good amount of driving and the gauge was still on 'Full' when I turned the car in. Trunk space was comparable to our Yarii, I didn't find the seats to be any better or worse, and it was easy to dive in the city, parking lots, etc. I didn't like the split driver's side mirror, either.

Would I buy one? No. Would I avoid renting one again? Probably not. It isn't a bad little car and the fact it is made in Mexico has no bearing to me as the car seemed have been built to the same standards as would be expected. And this is not the Fiat of the 1970s, the company has still held on strong in the European market and has come a long way since the issues its cars had back then...

Cheers! Mike