(S2K4ME)

I think Fiat have done wonders with the brand image with the little 500, but the flagship Cooper S Works competitor is a little corker

Admittedly they are a lot of money but these light compression turbo petrol engines seem to be all the rage at the moment

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/fi...h_esseesse.html

Would do people think?

nomadicS2k

I really like them, a little different from the 2-a-penny minis that are out there. Dont get me wrong the minis are cool(ish) and the performance is great, but theres a little more exclusitivity right now in the 500!

Polemicist

The Mini is 2-a-penny - there's two in my household - but it's with good reason. It's a great car for what most owners want of it and the ownership experience is good.

The new Fiat 500 is a great car (although I would suggest the Panda 100 is an equally great car), but I'll never own another new Fiat or Fiat Group product - the dealer experience has been, is and will always be, the absolute pits.

Dan Hale

I don't like these, or the Mini's for that matter.

GarethB

Testing the standard Abarth on saturday. I think I'd spring for the esseesse pack though.

Apparently it weighs the same as the standard model at 1,035kg.
Not a lot of people know that!

arsie

A brief end of first year of ownership summary of the 1.4 litre model.

The steering feel is not as direct as I would like and not as good as the Mini's.

Seats are rock-hard perch-on. No sideways support. Not anything like as comfy as Carol's previous R reg Ford Ka. Long trips would be a pain.

Oh and if you are long in the torso, it could be a problem. Your head might hit the roof and/or the seat height adjustment range may prevent you seeing out the back window via the rear-view mirror. I am only 5'9" and I had to remove the dealer's logo from the top middle of the rear window to see out - and then only just.

The bonnet release is by the front passenger's left foot

It is quite nippy. And feels/looks

Shiskine

That's always the first thing to go on any car I've ever owned/driven ...

GrittyShaker

Which is quite impressive considering you own an Alfa.

I like the 500. I'd have one as a second car if I could afford to run a second car.

GarethB

Brilliant.

I've not had to reach over to open the bonnet like that since my first car, a 1979 Golf

arsie

I almost forgot

The brakes are good but fierce, suddenly

But I don't drive it all that much and practice makes perfect