Chrysler

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Wednesday – It’s a tiny Tardis!

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Jessica When you venture inside the ‘bubble’ that is the modern Fiat 500, you enter into a spacious little pod with buttons and surfaces that you want to explore with your fingers. Passengers are surrounded by the comforting sound of a sewing machine engine,  good for any fashionistas out there.

It’s particularly enjoyable when you put your foot down and find the TwinAir bombing up hills, passing bigger cars with hefty engines and a lot less flair.

I do admire the individualistic approach the Italians have to car design, not swayed by the well trodden features or layout of other manufacturers, they definitely take their own route.  One has to admire that when we are all in danger of becoming clones in dress, cars, gadgets and decor.

Talking of decor, the two tone finishings are retro but cutely modern and I loved the website where I could plan a Fiat 500 of my own and experiment with a range of possibilities. Very satisfying.

And finally, as if there was not enough going for this car, yes my pet hate, the manual! This one is cool, to the point and definitely designed to appeal to their particular target customers.

Go Fiat 500! Fun, zippy and a very pleasant surprise!

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Sunday – The Dog’s Do Das

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I don’t think I’ve ever driven a car as small as the Fiat 500. That’s small on the outside because inside, it seems to stretch to accomodate all you can throw at it. The back seats would certainly take two toddlers, or a couple of young teenagers.

Jessica and I managed to pack weekend bags, coats and assorted wet eather gear into the boot easily. Our backseat was a more than comfortable platform for a large, brown Vizsla who accompanied us to the Pembroke Arms in Wilton, near Salisbury.

Fitting Malin into an assortment of cars can be a test of nerve and ingenuity. I feared the worst with the 500 but he seems happier in it than most cars.

It’s either because he can sit upright with plenty of headroom, or because he read the blurb for the Pembroke Arms, which provided him with a dog bed, his own canine menu (steak, saugages – can you believe it!) and some biscuit treats as part of the deal.

You have to accept a few idiosyncracies with the Fiat interior. It’s tricky to find the slot for the safety belt, the white steering wheel and headrests are going to get grubby pretty quickly and the 500 really should have steering columns controls for the music system.

But I still sit very comfortably on the wide fabric seats and there’s a tremendous ambience about the cabin. If colour, form and function affect your driving mood, you really need to try a Colour Therapy.