The info screen varies by model and options. The largest available is 6.5 inches. The larger screens also do have more features available as well.

 

I have a white lounge AWD with the 6.5 screen. This is my fourth of the rebirth models and I love it. I also own a 2015 auto Abarth. The X is my favorite car of all time and the Abarth is my second favorite.

 

I have no idea why someone needs an "InfoTainment" screen. Can someone explain what it is used for? I have a TomTom for when I really need it -only travfeling really. It can be updated easily and moved from car to car; and a cell phone for the rest. Why does anybody need a screen built into the car?

tEdolph

 

Depending which version you get, its used for a number of different things.

1. Provides access to radio and sat radio.
2. Connects to your phone to make calls and play media off your phone.
3. Provides navigation.
4. Allows access to certain vehicle settings.
5. Provides screen for back up camera.

There are probably other things that I am missing, but it is more than just entertainment.

 

I hate to divert but I understand there are probably laws that prohibit the rear view camera from being on all the time(notice the wording) but how much more of a distraction would that be compared to looking in a 6.5 inch rear view mirror. With a wide angle lens the blind spots could be covered on both sides.

 

In order to get a wide enough angle to cover the blind spots, it would end up with a very distorted image. On the size of the screen it would be hard to understand the image.

I think the blind spot monitoring with a light in the mirror works well. Only need it on a lane change and more than likely you are using the mirrors anyway.

 

I'll put in my two cents. I do tend to agree with Tedolph. I'll take the auto braking system on the Subaru over album cover art every time.

 

Didn't this start out to be a 'review' of the 'X'? Smark, did you ever actually do the test drive you were alluding to in your 1st post?

 

Didn't this start out to be a 'review' of the 'X'? Smark, did you ever actually do the test drive you were alluding to in your 1st post?[/QUOT

The 500X drove really nice. Very quiet. Handled well. Very comfortable seats. Good cargo space and backseat room. Higher-quality interior materials. Build quality a lot nicer than the small 500. Info screen very small compared to competitors. My feelings is its just priced high.

 

Tweak, I think you should drive a vehicle, with a built-in system and see if it bothers you, or distract you. 97% of the cars on the road have them. High-end sports cars like Porsche Lamborghini Maserati Corvette Jaguar. Even the cheapest Chevy Spark. Handheld devices are very dangerous. You take your eyes off the road when you're just a heat or AC or,the radio actually there's no difference. This issue, should be a whole different tread.

 

For the most part with dials you just know where they are...muscle memory or whatever and with steering wheel controls there is really not much if any need to look at the stereo on our cars. Since we check our speedo and the radio is shown in the same area we really have less distraction now than with the newer 500. Simple fact is anything, knob, slide, dial, screen, mirror, phone, food, makeup application...any of it COULD be a distraction that is my only point. I think the horse has seen enough of a beating at this point.

Every car ever made has items on the dash that require the driver to divert his/her view from the road to see the content. Video screens are just the latest iteration of a round dial on the dash. What we really need is heads-up displays with voice-activation.

9'9 Vette has HUD, LOVE IT. If we had steering wheel controls and a HUD as well as VR I think we'd have a much safer driving scenario.

 

Every car ever made has items on the dash that require the driver to divert his/her view from the road to see the content. Video screens are just the latest iteration of a round dial on the dash. What we really need is heads-up displays with voice-activation.

 

There are some that do have HUD displays, like the newest generation Mazdas. Now its not exactly augmented reality, but its the right direction.

 

There will be no safe driving anymore as long people drive and check there FB/IPhone at 65+ MPH. I see it all Day long when they pass me drift in my Lane or just forget they have a Semi next to them. Out of 10 Driver 7 fiddle with there IPhone while driving. They need to ban them just like they do in Europe.

 

Amen brother. And don't forget when they sit in the left turn lane after the light turns green and finally go with just enough time for them to make the light but no one else.

 

thread derailment... I rarely use my horn but those folks looking at/fiddling with phones when the light turns... well they get the horn!

 

Speaking of rear view camera and parking sensor...coincidentally, I tested it today, to see how close it gets me to the car behind. At the point where the parking sensor flips out (meaning, beep beep beep becomes continuous beeeeeeep), there were about 13". Looking at the screen, it's a bit difficult to see how much space is exactly there, but you can definitely tell that there are fair space. You get used to your own car, and you develop the sense about it, I could get all of my cars' rear bumpers comfortably within 3 inches of cars behind. Rear view camera and such, to me, aren't so much distraction, but just another device that creates bad drivers. I wonder what happens if I put a clear tape on the sensors...just kidding, I wouldn't do that.

 

Smark, I'd be interested in hearing your detailed comparison of the X to the HRV. Was there enough power in the HRV? Which handled better? Which was quieter? Which had the better interior? Has Honda finally designed a comfortable driver's seat without too much lumbar??

The HRV EX peaks my interest because I can get all the features I want with a stick. But the Mexican plant gives me pause, as does the tepid engine. I'm also concerned it would rev to high on the highway like previous Hondas.

 

Carfreak, were going to find out real quick now. Our beloved Honda Fit was totaled yesterday by a deer. Honda built in Mexico don't bother me. My 500 was built there. The thing that tilts me toward the Honda is the fantastic service department we have. Our Honda Fit never been in the shop for anything but scheduled maintenance. It's a 2007 model. We've own 8 new Honda's in the past. I like the magic seat that are in the HR-V. Same as the Fits. The styling wins me over on the 500X. A well equipped one is $$$$$. Then you have Fiat service to deal with. Few of them for service. We like automatic's, and the 9 speed 500X shift rough according to reviews. Honda CVT. The HR-V, is built off the Fit platform too. The first 2 weeks offered, the HR-V sold one 6K unit, while the 500X, only 325 units. Utility space is going to be a big factor too. On top of that Honda high resale value. Some choices to make in the next week or so.

 

In my experience, the shifting on the 500x wasn't that rough. I think most of the reviews were based on the pre-production models.

The low sales numbers have been a limit of supply. Some dealers didn't have anything on the lots in June. Those who did had very few models. The Jeep Renegade, which is being produced at the same factory and was released a couple of months earlier has been selling quite well.

The HR-V looks more like a good utilitarian choice. It doesn't have much character or an interesting engine, but it does have a lot of space. It will also likely hold up to Honda's quality reputation.

 

Our poor little Honda Fit was destroyed by a deer last week. It's most likely going to be totaled. My wife was lucky she wasn't hurt. the police put the deer down. The best Honda we ever bought. Going to miss Hissy Fit.

Took a drive to the new Overland Park Fiat. We went test driving new cars again today. Been looking at small crossovers. We drove this new Fiat 500X. Really a nice little cross over. We also looked at the new Honda HR-V. Bigger then a Fit, smaller then a CRV. Both vehicles are really nice. I wish my little 500 had the interior of the 500X. Top notch. Good work Fiat. No cheap plastic's. Heated steering wheel. The studio manager, told us, he'd knock 1000 buck off cause were repeat Fiat owners. Going to be a hard decision. The HR-V, has more cargo space. The new 500X engine gets up, and goes. 9 speed transmission smooth, as butter too. Both cars are AWD. The Honda is better a value, for the equipment it offers. They sell Mazda there too. They new little crossover isn't ready yet to sell. This little 500X Trekking picture below was $29K, no sunroof, navigation, or leather seats. It did have the larger alloy wheels.

 

Smark at 29K a Mini 4 Door is cheaper. The AWD will not help you to get out/in of your driveway after one of the fine KC Ice Storms. Heated Steering Wheel is a must in KC.

 

I find it amusing that Honda and Toyota and others had these small cute utes 10 plus years ago, slowly made them bigger, then "invent" a new class of vehicle. Imho, they all look the same. Get a Subaru wagon instead. (Drop the mic.)

 

The Subaru XV Crosstrek is nice. I like the Outback too. They gotten $$$$$.

 

I had my 500e R20 recall today (which was surprisingly fast) so I took the 20mins or so to check out the 500X. A heavily optioned lounge AWD was inside; still some hard plastics but surprisingly felt reasonably solid car. Didn't have a chance to take the test drive but for what it is, it seemed decent enough. FWIW on mpg - the sticker on the nearby VW Jetta showed $0 saved ie it's the in average fuel range set, the 500 Abarth saves $1500 in fuel costs compared to the average and the X costs $500 more.

 

That's not exactly comparable is it? They are different sized cars. The 500x gets decent mpg for its size with the manual. But only average with the automatic. Some competitors have better mileage, but they do so with smaller engines.

 

I also checked out the X while having my car's shifting issues looked at. Love the exterior style and the interior is nice too. The seats seemed comfortable and I liked the thick steering wheel and sun visor extenders. I did not like the gauge layout (speedometer should be in center), nor the dim markings on the gauges. I also didn't like the door pulls in the front. They seemed too thin and cheap, but the rest of the interior is definitely a big improvement in quality. I found the roof to be oddly designed in the front. They made pockets for your heads but the center portion extends down quite a bit, almost giving it a confining feeling. I don't understand why that center portion is raised like that. The base stereo actually seemed to sound better then the Beats. The Beats was clearer but the base stereo had way more bass (and yes I adjusted it).

What kills the X for me is the lack of Bluetooth on the Pop, a low roof, especially over the rear seat, and the small cargo bay. The rear door opening was no higher then in my Elantra wagon and the cargo bay was half the size of my wagon. I was looking for something I didn't have to bow my head when removing my delivery bags from the rear seat and the X fails here (as does the HRV with its swoopy rear door opening). The X also fails the front seat test: when getting in the driver's seat, your left leg presses up against the rocker panel. This means that you would get dirt/mud/dirty snow on your pants or on your actual legs anytime you got in the car. The Renegade doesn't seem to have this problem. The Renegade also has a higher door opening and a much more useful cargo space. I think my options have been narrowed down to the Renegade or the Trax.

 

I think my options have been narrowed down to the Renegade or the Trax.

But, you can NOT get the Trax with a manual transmission in the U.S.. But, in Canada, you CAN.

 

Don't get the love affair with all these jap cars mentioned. I checked out the 500x this past wknd, Trecking awd model with pkg #5 which is 18" wheels, NAV, blind spot indicator...msrp is 27.6k. They will currently give 1k lease conquest, wife has an ATS + I get approx 1.3k for an affiliate discount. Car will be a surprise for my daughter, junior in college in sept. All in all I thought Fiat did a very nice job and should be a nice toy for my little girl. Buy American or if you have roots with Fiat buy Italian. My roots go all the way back to the ride home from the hospital...I'm now 58. American muscle cars as a teen and various Italian cars over the years, no desire for Iron from Japan as there is no connection.

 

Very few cars are made in a single country now days. A lot of american brands are actually assembled in Mexico, using engine/transmission made in the US and parts sourced from a range of countries. Several Japanese brands assemble cars within the US.

The US version of the 500x uses an engine and transmission built in the US, which is then shipped to Italy for assembly. Its then shipped back for sale.

There are very few cars if any that can be considered truly American cars anymore.

 

Yeah really dont care where the car is assembled, American car or Italian car is pretty much a mindset and represents the people and ideals of that particular country. But anyway the 500x seemed really nice, Hope they sell a ton of them.

 

I drove a Renegade with the 1.4/6 speed manual with the manual MySky roof yesterday. Overall, its a solid, comfortable, quiet, good riding and handling SUV. However, the power was awful off the line. I know its a heavier vehicle but the turbo lag combined with slow throttle response made it feel like driving a 500 Pop without the Sport button on. It was THAT bad! Once you rev it some, it accelerates ok but with no real urgency. Having to dig in the throttle more will kill the gas mileage which negates the whole point of a small suv. This car is an excellent candidate for the GoPedal but even then I still think it would be annoyingly slow. The lack of power totally ruined the Renegade/500X for me. Also, build quality at the Italian plant appears to be lacking (no surprise there). The passenger side rear door had weatherstripping at the bottom of the window that had already popped up and wouldn't reseat when I pushed down on it (will this be Jeep's version of the peeling side skirts? LOL). I pointed it out to the salesman saying, you might want to have it fixed as others might be turned off seeing that on a new car. This SUV is now completely out of contention.

 

I think it's worth noting that you test drove the absolute base version of the Renegade: 2WD, manual, 1.4 Turbo. That's not exactly spec'ed out how most people would buy theirs.

More typically people will opt for the 2.4L Tigershark 4x4.

And at low revs, you are essentially driving an NA 1.4 because the turbo has not spooled up yet. TFLcar.com tested the 1.4 version and actually loved it.

 

I specifically wanted a stick and decent gas mileage, so the 2.4 is not an option. It was a moderately equipped car. It had back up camera, touch screen radio, and the dual sunroof. I own this same engine so I know when it makes power and it simply didn't have it in the Renegade. You feel a strong shove from the turbo around 2500 rpms and it continues to gain speed rapidly through about 5000 rpms in my 500. I rarely feel the need to rev past 2800 rpms. In the Renegade, there was no surge of power and only moderate acceleration past 3k. It felt like it would need to be revved to 4k regularly to get decent acceleration. It just felt limp and the jerky power delivery of the turbo was greatly amplified in this heavier vehicle. I was mainly posting my critique for those that are interested in this specific combination. Otherwise, the Renegade is a very nice package if you can deal with an automatic and mediocre mileage from the 2.4.