http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S-7Ap6J_FU
After more than a twenty year absence Fiat is back in the U.S. market! Ok, most people who have more than a passing interest in cars are aware of this but it bears some fanfare. I have seen enough winters to remember when Fiats still had the run of American roads in the 1970’s and 80’s. Italian cars had a certain flare, a bent chromosome that just made them different, not necessarily better, but different. That difference was in stark contrast to the dark, wood-paneled drabness of the 70’s when it seemed easier to apologize than make an effort. Fiats had a zippy-ness to them; they weren’t particularly fast but the engines revved eagerly, the clutches were light, gear changes were rewarding and the handling approached sublime. On the downside they were as reliable as a promise from an alcoholic and rusted before the ink was dry on your first payment check.
The last Fiat I drove was an X-1/9, a mid-engine, two seat wedge that was a flirtatious back road companion. The X-1/9 was so willing to please that it practically humped your leg. The only downside was the power, or more accurately, the lack of it. The little Fiat sports car had 75 horsepower from its eight valve, four cylinder mill but they were willing horses and all showed up for work when you put the spurs to it.
With this memory firmly locked away I was a little hesitant to drive the new 500. The prospect of a small Italian car was almost too spicy to resist, but would I be disappointed? Resist I did however, until the turbo charged Abarth was announced. Like a lab rat with a wire connected directly to its pleasure center I had to press the happy button and drive this hot little Italian. So on an overcast Saturday afternoon I dragged myself down to the Fiat dealership, or boutique, whatever you call a car store in a strip mall. I walked in and there they stood in a row, 500’s in a rainbow of colors like penny candy. The styling pays homage to the original two cylinder, rear engine 500 that put Italy on wheels in the 1950’s. But unlike the original 500 the current model is actually useful to Americans for something other than a lawn ornament.
I crawled around the first stick shifted 500 I found in the show room. Style is a very personal thing and many auto enthusiasts treat a car styled to mimic a past model as some form of sacrilege to the designer gods. I’m OK with cars that hark back to a previous icon. The new pony cars, the VW Beetle and the MINI, to name a few, acknowledge the past but with performance and features the original engineers could only dream of. I also think it takes just as much skill to design a new interpretation of an old car as it does to design a car from scratch. As for the 500, an economy car with a sense of style and fun is about as unwanted as a lottery jackpot.
The 500 has Italian flair and style in abundance and I like it, it makes you look like you bought it on purpose as opposed to serving out a sentence in an automotive debtor’s prison.
The salesmen approached and I asked about the Abarth. He said they didn’t have one in yet but was hoping it would arrive in a week or two, he offered a consolation test drive in a sport edition 500 and I accepted. We went out behind the strip mall and there they were parked two rows deep, a sea of Fiats. I asked about the difference between the Pop and Sport models; the only differences, aside from bigger wheels and tires, are more gadgets and some cosmetics on the Sport. Personally I’d get the Pop, add a set of Mini-Lite after-market wheels and call it a day. If I have air conditioning and a marginal sound system, I’m good.
 |
| There they are a standin' in a row. Photo by Marve Harwell |
He pulled a red Sport 500 out of the line, I grabbed the tiller and the salesmen took shot gun. The driving position was good, the shifter direct and the steering OK but the clutch felt slow and vague like pushing a brake pedal down while bleeding brakes. There was no indication when the clutch would engage and it took a few stops and starts to get my footwork smooth enough not to look stupid. Maybe my experience was ruined by the fact that I drove my 2000 Miata to the dealership, a car so communicative I hear its voice in my sleep.
 |
| The yard sticks, Harwell Miatas. Photo by Marve Harwell. |
On the road the 500 is as solid as a municipal bond with pot holes and road blemishes announcing themselves with subtle muted thuds. Road holding is good but not stellar as the car plows slightly with under steer when pushed. The engine revs eagerly, at least it seems to when looking at the tachometer, but without a corresponding increase in actual speed. Merging onto a highway with my foot planted deep into the accelerator the car joined traffic at 65 MPH but wringing out the little 1.4 liter engine wasn’t as Italian as I’d hoped. That same isolation in the suspension also isolated the engine from intruding into the cabin. That level of sophistication may be a blessing over the long run but, for me, it seemed to take the edge off the driving experience. The 500 has a sport button on the dash that when engaged is supposed to make the steering quicker and increase the throttle response, which it does. If I owned one of these little Fiats I’d have the sport button on all the time, seems no need to turn it off as the change is subtle, like the difference between Dr. Jeckyll and Dr. Jeckyll without a haircut.
Once we returned from the test drive I popped the hood and was greeted with a plastic cover with rumors of an engine underneath. Why cover the power plant in plastic like yesterday’s meatloaf? My first act as a 500 owner would be to immediately trash that cover, when I open a hood I want to see the engine room not Tupperware. I check under the hood of any car I test drive to see how difficult it will be to work on after I burn though the warranty in a year. For the 500 it looks like self-maintenance would be a nightmare for anyone with human sized hands.
Overall, I enjoyed the 500 but I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. I love small cars and had high hopes for the return of Fiat. The Buddhists say expectation is the ruin of experience and I have to agree. I was looking to bond more with the 500, to make a connection through road feel, a slight buzz in the steering wheel and a playful scappy-ness like the old Fiats I remember. The only cars today that consistently give me that visceral experience are Mazdas.
So bottom line, could I ever imagine myself owning a 500, yes I could. Why, you may ask, after essentially trashing the car in the above paragraphs would I ever consider owning one? The answer is one of perspective; the 500 is a highly styled, well built, efficient commuter car for $16,000. The little Fiat promises a rewarding ownership experience with some fun thrown in and I couldn’t fault anyone opting for that.
Now, would I buy a 500 considering a used, low mileage, MINI Cooper can be had for under $12,000, no I wouldn’t, I’d pocket the difference and buy the Cooper.
Marve Harwell (c) 2012
Comments