Fiat

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Tuesday – No Charge

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It’s one thing knowing that your car doesn’t qualify for the London Congestion Charge but quite another to actually enjoy driving around the capital without paying a penny!

I’ve spent most of the day in the city and you can’t help but notice how many TwinAir 500s are on the street. At Fulham Broadway car park I counted 11, plus one high performance Abarth. There were more Fiat’s than Minis – what does that tell you?

I suppose it is just a result of the zero Congestion Charge but the TwinAir is also a great car for city driving. Official figures claim 60+mpg around town – expect a more realistic 47mpg in reality.

The 500 is brilliant for squeezing into small parking space and it skips through narrows gaps in traffic that other supermini drivers just envy. It’s less enjoyable at high speed on motorways, jittery and susceptible to cross winds. That said, it more than keeps up with the big boys.

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Monday – Lounging About

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The original Fiat 500 was launched in 1957 – I think my father was involved in the Suez Crisis a few months before that! One of the crazy facts that resulted from the launch of the new 500 is that prices of the original have gone sky high. I recently saw one advertised for £7,000!

And while change isn’t always for the better, the new version has brakes that actually stop the car and airbags from all angles. It also boats hazard warning lights that are activated automatically when the brakes are applied hard. Clever.

I genuinely like the 500 and if I could find an excuse to to buy one as a city car it would beat the Mini and the Vauxhall Adam (also tested on this site). The styling and interior are just a cut above and give the 500 a genuine feel-good factor.

My choice would be the top-of-the-range Lounge version because it adds alloy wheels, glass roof and Bluetooth connectivity. The Colour Therapy has neither and even with air conditioning and electric windows, it does seem a little expensive compared to some other city cars out there.

An example? Well, if you can live with the styling, the brilliant new Hyundai i10 starts at around £8,200 and is superbly equipped. It just won’t put a smile on your face, that’s all…

 

 

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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.

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Friday – Cute Alternative

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The fact that I’m already looking for reasons to drive the 500 and it’s only Friday speaks volumes. A 875cc car with modest performance and a wacky paint job might not sound that exciting. However, the appeal of this tiny Fiat – based on the same running gear as the Panda – is much greater than the sum of its parts.

You don’t need to be a fashionista to be seduced by the retro curves and gorgeous interior either. Just look at the huge number of 500s there are out there. Fiat has taken a healthy slice of Mini sales from BMW and is now copying the German manufacturer with a stretched version and the racy Abarth too.

True, the 500 lacks macho appeal but it does put a smile on your face every time to climb inside. It’s not just ‘a girls car’ either, although you can sort of understand why hairy-armed blokes wouldn’t be seen dead driving one.

I’ve got an open mind on the supermini. I want to know if it’s a practical alternative to the lower-priced Panda and whether it’s worth the £12,000 price tag too.

Today Jessica and I will head down to the Pembroke Arms in Wilton, Wiltshire, with a large Hungarian Viszla on the back seat. Not sure many dog owners would choose a 500 for transport but nothing ventured!

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Tuesday – Accuracy All Areas

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Jessica Just for the information of the motoring public, I am not a size 9 shoe! I may be tall but accuracy in foot size is definitely needed here, I’m a size 8 shoe and proud of it… one does need suitable feet to hold up a 5’10” frame but there are limits!

But yes, it has to be said there could be a problem if you try to change gear in a hurry driving the Giulietta and your foot can’t find it’s way out from under the clutch.

I love the fact that Alfa Romeo are trying to impress by going their own way with this car.

The dashboard is especially thoughtful, with tactile buttons and intuitive options – but without the standard looks and positioning that seems to prevail in many new cars.

I love the hidden back door and handles handles, as they lull you into believing this is a coupe. The design is inspired but also streamlined and practical.

Would I swap it for a Golf? Not sure. My main problem was a distinct lack of vision beside the car ( a major blind spot), which made me nervous on a busy Sunday evening M25.

That said,  I may have been irritable due to the extreme numbness of my buttocks after only one hour in the seat.  It certainly wins the ‘numb rear of the year award 2013’ and will be hard to beat I’ll wager.

It reminds me of my slightly leaky, green Alfa Romeo Spider that I drove in my early 20s. It was fun, a little out of control but certainly looked good. There is something of that character here.

The Giulietta is exciting, good to look but suffers from some edgy flaws, which may be enough to put off less adventurous types.

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Tuesday – 180

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Jeremy There are 180 good reasons why the roof on the DS3 Cabrio works so well but one word sums them all up – Webasto. The specialist convertible roof supplier has a history of making sliding soft-tops that dates back to 1901.

The DS3 roof is made up of 180 different parts in a co-build between Citroen and Webasto. It works brilliantly – even better than my 1969 MGB GT, which sported a fantastically simple but beautifully designed sliding Webasto sunroof too.

The DS3 Cabrio roof is operated by a one-touch button next to the rear-view mirror. It powers all the way back but does make the Citroen cabin very windy when fully retracted. There is a small wind deflector for back seat passengers but it works best when the roof is only folded back half-way – especially at high speeds.

Citroen has taken the DS3 roof design very seriously indeed, with a rigorous testing programme during the design stages. It’s certainly worked a lot better than the old Citroen C3 Pluriel. When that car was launched, a friend was awaiting delivery of a test car, only to receive a phone call saying the roof had blown off en route!

Trust me, that won’t happen with the DS3. It has one of the best folding roofs available for a car costing this sort of money.

 

 

 

 

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Monday – Weightwatcher

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Jeremy I think I’ve found out why the DS3 is such a nifty little mover – it’s all down to weight. Turning any car into a convertible means beefing up the structural integrity of the body, usually compromised by chopping off the roof. Then you have the extra weight of the roof folding mechanism itself to add to the equation.

So, far from being lighter, cabrios often tip the scales in the wrong direction. The DS3 is different. Like its Fiat 500C rival, the cars B and C-pillars (the metalwork around the windows) remains in place, keeping the structural rigidity intact. According to the Fiat press blurb, this means the Cabrio is only 25kg heavier than the hatch!

On the road, this translates into a convertible that feels exceptionally sharp turning into a corner, with none of the rattle and body shake associated with soft-tops in the past. Great fun for a car that is essentially a hatchback with the roof peeled off.

I have also finally managed the get the DAB radio working today! It’s obviously an aftermarket fit for UK customers, which makes operation less integrated than a lot of other cars. That said, it works, although as far as I can work out it does not flash the chosen station onto the screen, making station selection harder.

 

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Saturday – Classy Cabin

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Jeremy – The choice for buyers looking for an affordable cabriolet with a soft-top rather than a folding metal roof probably comes down to the Fiat 500C, Mini Convertible or our new Ds3 Cabrio. All very different cars, each with styling that is going to split the buying public down the middle.

I’m warming to the DS3 because the cabin area is so much larger and it just feels like a bigger car when you are inside. This is especially true in the back, where there are three seats, instead of the two found in the Fiat and Mini.

The boot is still crazy small like its rivals – except the Citroen boot lid is hinged so that it slides vertically upwards on opening, a rather unique twist on conventional thinking which might be a nightmare for tall people loading bags because they have to bend down to see inside.

What has truly surprised me about the Ds3 is the interior. The leather seats in our car are deep and comfortable and there’s a touch of class about the dashboard that is a cut above the Mini. Over the shoulder vision is, however, non existent with the roof folded down.

And then there’s the quality of the fittings. Citroens never used to be this good! The DS3 is solid, with buttons and dials that could have come off a Mercedes. Even the big doors shut with a reassuring thud.

I’m off to watch the international cricket final in Birmingham tomorrow, so more words after that…

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Wednesday – Tech Savvy

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Jessica I have taken the Adam to a Polo match in the rain where it got fantastically muddy and was mistaken for a Fiat!  It seems 21 year old polo players think it is cute, even with the ‘Autumn leaves’ dash trim… It was raining and they can be excused for poor taste as they were being very polite, they though it was a new purchase of mine.

I actually like the little car inside, well laid out, chunky steering wheel, easy to operate touch screen sound system, but that is where it all ends.  What is it with the youthful dashboard trim and the option to have dead fly print on the wing mirrors?

When I started to drive the Adam I was disappointed at the lack of power ( and yes, I know it is better not to let our young folk loose with a powerful car) to the point where I was reluctant to overtake a 1950’s vintage car going up a hill as I did not have the zip. I dont know if any one has ever ridden a tricycle but it does corner in a similar fashion.

All of that aside, this car is sold as one that is fun and can be bought in a range of personalised options.

I must say I was very exited at the thought and rushed to the website once I knew an Adam was on the way – only to be utterly disappointed and fustrated by the set up, the lack of actual choice and the snail pace of the site. What are Vauxhall thinking?

Why sell a car on the basis of choice ( which can only mean a sophisticated interactive website) and not get even close to delivering that claim?

In my fustration I did visit the Fiat 500 website and easily put myself together a little blue car with smart wheels and a choice of trims and additions.  I also (to prove a point that it must be possible to have the software to manage car customisation) went to H Modder and had a fantastic time making myself a hot car with spoilers, trims, lights, and more.

Move over “pimp my ride” and catch up Vauxhall!

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Tuesday – Cute But Flawed

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Jeremy – It’s been an interesting week behind the wheel of the Adam – the upmarket city car that Vauxhall hopes will compete against the Fiat 500 and Ford Ka.

On the one hand, I really like the styling, the funky interior and the range of options available but the Adam is let down by lifeless engines and mediocre handing. Get those right and this really could be a great little car.

As it is, the Adam doesn’t match the expectations I had when it first turned up at Car Couture. So much work has gone into getting the image right that the actual driving experience has become secondary.

I’m really hoping that the next time I drive an Adam, it will have a range of new engines, a sportier gearbox and, perhaps, a ‘hot’ version that brings it to life. For now, it is going to struggle against the established opposition which have style and drivability in abundance….