Sunday, February 7, 2010
New Fiat 500
The original Fiat 500 which was launched in 1957 was designed to be humble, cheap transport solution. But the New Fiat 500 is aiming at a different group of buyers, buyers who want style and don’t bother spending a hefty amount, even an amount of Rs.17,00,000, just to make a fashion statement. The New 500 is a very cute-looking and desirablebut very expensive car. The 500 may look like the original 500, but its grown considerably. The interiors lives up to its retro-styling, the center console and the steering wheel are ivory in colour, a bit of a change from the beige interiors that we are used to in a car of this price, but i love it (no complaints). The Air-condition and Audio keys placed in the center of the console are easy to operate, and road visibility from the driver’s seat is simply fantastic.
Fiat 500 Interior(Right hand drive available in India)
The front seats are very comfortable and there is enough headroom to fit almost all sizes. But there are a few let downs too, for eg. there are no auto folding mirrors, no auto headlamps, no auto wipers and the company fitted audio system too isn’t all that good, the rear seats are quiet cramped, and best suitede for children over long distances. The 500 comes with a 1.3 Multi-jet Desiel Engine, the same one which powers the Swift. The least impressive part of the 500 is its handling, the steering is over-light most of the time and doesn’t give any feedback. Otherwise the car has a decent grip and body control, and it improves as the speed increases. If you have that sort of money then the fuel-efficiency shouldn’t bother you, but still for my earth loving friends would like to tell that the fuel-efficiency of the 500 should be anywhere between 15kmpl-20kmpl. The people buying this car, which is not at all value for money, would use their Heart while buying it and not their Brains. They would buy this car when they already have a bigger and more expensive, these people are just looking for an nimble, urban runabout.
Original Fiat 500