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took a trip to wisconsin today, so i stopped at highland park fiat in chicagoland on the way home. i drove a pop 5 speed manual.
quick impressions:
-smaller than i expected from pictures, but the back seat is usuable. i have two larger dogs, and i wonder if there is a way to remove the upright portions of the back seats to create a flat load area.
-tons of legroom. i am 6'1" and with the seat all the way back i felt it was too far of a reach to the pedals. i was worried about a non telescoping steering wheel, but it was easy to reach with my legs in a very comfortable position. the seats had decent side bolstering and the fabric looked of a better quality than what is in my 09 corolla and what ive seen of the new compacts as well.
-ive seen complaints about cheap plastics. this car was a $15,500 car, and i really thought the interior was nice looking (it was the darker interior). the color matching dash is a great touch and gives the interior some cool flavor. overall the interior just had a nice warm feeling to it.
....the white interiors, not so much.
-the center speedo cluster is very upscale looking considering the cars price. i like the one in the pop better without the white background behind the speedo section, but wouldnt get the sport just for that.
-the drive was short. no freeway as it was rushour and I-94 was a parking lot. i only got up to 45 mph on some local roads. a bit of a choppy ride, but i was just coming out of my corolla which has a real soft ride so that probably skewed my perception.
-acceleration seemed adequate and i didnt really push it at all (under 3500 rpm's). i will ususally be driving alone, so without the 200 lb salesman who insisted on riding along it will feel even more adequate.
- i have no opinion on the handling. just didnt have any opportunity to feel that out.
- a bit noisy on accleration, but id say less than the yaris i owned or honda fit i test drove last week
-noise at 45 mph cruise was well subdued...far better than my yaris or the fit. i really wanted to get it to 70 mph to get a feel for the cabin noise at that speed.
-i examined the pop and sport model side by side, front to back. there just isnt enough difference to justify the extra $2000 extra in my mind. the pop looks virtually the same....cruise, power locks and windows and ac are my main wants....at $15,500 i think this car is a good value over a yaris or fit. granted, there is more room in those cars behind the front seats, but the 500 just looks and feels like more car.
-reliability..........who knows. i pray fiat has built a decent car and that the powertrain is able to go 200k without too much hassle. (i dont normally go for these, but if they have an extended warranty, especially on the powertrain, i may just feel better to have it). i keep reading about how it was car of the year in europe and such, but it seems there should be some concrete reliability data by now as it has been there a few years.
-finally, and best of all the manual transmission was terrific. the clutch pedal is sooo light and the shifter is mooth but no vague at all. the throws are a touch long but the great position of the shifter makes up for that.
a definite issue is my right leg really needing a bit more room where the center gear shift housing sits. i would have to have a soft pad affixed there...otherwise there will be definite discomfort.
im really going to have to put one through its paces before making any decisions.
quick impressions:
-smaller than i expected from pictures, but the back seat is usuable. i have two larger dogs, and i wonder if there is a way to remove the upright portions of the back seats to create a flat load area.
-tons of legroom. i am 6'1" and with the seat all the way back i felt it was too far of a reach to the pedals. i was worried about a non telescoping steering wheel, but it was easy to reach with my legs in a very comfortable position. the seats had decent side bolstering and the fabric looked of a better quality than what is in my 09 corolla and what ive seen of the new compacts as well.
-ive seen complaints about cheap plastics. this car was a $15,500 car, and i really thought the interior was nice looking (it was the darker interior). the color matching dash is a great touch and gives the interior some cool flavor. overall the interior just had a nice warm feeling to it.
....the white interiors, not so much.
-the center speedo cluster is very upscale looking considering the cars price. i like the one in the pop better without the white background behind the speedo section, but wouldnt get the sport just for that.
-the drive was short. no freeway as it was rushour and I-94 was a parking lot. i only got up to 45 mph on some local roads. a bit of a choppy ride, but i was just coming out of my corolla which has a real soft ride so that probably skewed my perception.
-acceleration seemed adequate and i didnt really push it at all (under 3500 rpm's). i will ususally be driving alone, so without the 200 lb salesman who insisted on riding along it will feel even more adequate.
- i have no opinion on the handling. just didnt have any opportunity to feel that out.
- a bit noisy on accleration, but id say less than the yaris i owned or honda fit i test drove last week
-noise at 45 mph cruise was well subdued...far better than my yaris or the fit. i really wanted to get it to 70 mph to get a feel for the cabin noise at that speed.
-i examined the pop and sport model side by side, front to back. there just isnt enough difference to justify the extra $2000 extra in my mind. the pop looks virtually the same....cruise, power locks and windows and ac are my main wants....at $15,500 i think this car is a good value over a yaris or fit. granted, there is more room in those cars behind the front seats, but the 500 just looks and feels like more car.
-reliability..........who knows. i pray fiat has built a decent car and that the powertrain is able to go 200k without too much hassle. (i dont normally go for these, but if they have an extended warranty, especially on the powertrain, i may just feel better to have it). i keep reading about how it was car of the year in europe and such, but it seems there should be some concrete reliability data by now as it has been there a few years.
-finally, and best of all the manual transmission was terrific. the clutch pedal is sooo light and the shifter is mooth but no vague at all. the throws are a touch long but the great position of the shifter makes up for that.
a definite issue is my right leg really needing a bit more room where the center gear shift housing sits. i would have to have a soft pad affixed there...otherwise there will be definite discomfort.
im really going to have to put one through its paces before making any decisions.