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hey all. i have really becomed intrigued with owning a fiat 500. i have always been a hatchback lover. howerver, there just isnt much soul in the small cars these days. heck, even my 79 year old dad, who has been driving camry's and maxima's forever loves the look of this car.
i want a car that looks fun and is a little fun to drive and gets good mileage.
101 hp in a 2350 lb car is plenty, so that is not a concern.
i have a toyota echo loving friend who always brags how his 05 echo is rated at 35 city/42 highway and thus says the fiat 500 mileage should be that good. i knew the epa changed its rating methodology in 2008. lo and behold, i discovered that his echo, under todays testing standards is rated at.....
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=20800
...............30 city/38 highway. same as the fiat 500 (well, in manual tranny form, which is the only way to drive a small car, imo). so, same epa numbers as the echo, but most certainly (im hoping) much more fun to drive.
so, i expect getting into the 40's mpg should not be hard at all with reasonable driving.
havent driven one yet, as there are no dealers remotely close (i live in southwest Michigan). ill drive pretty far to test drive one and even to buy one.
here is my concern: even if all the dealers listed were open, a big chunk of people would be left with drives of 100+ miles just for service.
this doesnt seem to be reasonable, especially with the blind leap of faith purchasing a fiat requires. are chrysler dealers who dont sell fiat's going to be able to service the 500's?
if not, i cant see pulling the trigger on this car.
thanks for any replies.
i want a car that looks fun and is a little fun to drive and gets good mileage.
101 hp in a 2350 lb car is plenty, so that is not a concern.
i have a toyota echo loving friend who always brags how his 05 echo is rated at 35 city/42 highway and thus says the fiat 500 mileage should be that good. i knew the epa changed its rating methodology in 2008. lo and behold, i discovered that his echo, under todays testing standards is rated at.....
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=20800
...............30 city/38 highway. same as the fiat 500 (well, in manual tranny form, which is the only way to drive a small car, imo). so, same epa numbers as the echo, but most certainly (im hoping) much more fun to drive.
so, i expect getting into the 40's mpg should not be hard at all with reasonable driving.
havent driven one yet, as there are no dealers remotely close (i live in southwest Michigan). ill drive pretty far to test drive one and even to buy one.
here is my concern: even if all the dealers listed were open, a big chunk of people would be left with drives of 100+ miles just for service.
this doesnt seem to be reasonable, especially with the blind leap of faith purchasing a fiat requires. are chrysler dealers who dont sell fiat's going to be able to service the 500's?
if not, i cant see pulling the trigger on this car.
thanks for any replies.