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
If you guys and gals have any questions pls write it as a comment and i will surely post a reply.
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Cars & Bikes in India 
How much in American $ is “Rs. 17,00,000” ? Did they mean 17,000,000? What do 15 to 20 kmpl translate into miles-per-gallon?
The talk about the Fiat/Chrysler partnership has me very interested in finally owning (here in the U.S.) one of the cars I grew up loving as a boy when my family lived in Italy. I know it will take time, but the 500 seems worth waiting for.
As you read the 500 is a very nice and nimble car.
Rs.17,00,000 is its coat here in India it includes a custom duty of 120%.
So, it should cost you approximately $15000(excluding Import duty, if any and road tax)
4 Liters=1 Gallon and 1.6 Kilometer=1 Mile, hence the 500 would give you an average of around 35 Miles per gallon.
But these are mere calculation and approximations.
The 500 will deliver all the pleasures that you deserve, so just go for it.
And do inform me about its price and other details after you buy one.
The Editor
Sash
What engine would you recommend?
If you wish to buy one here in India there are two variants Lounge and Sports, engine is the same just some features here and there.
Cool site, love the info.
Thank you very much!!!!
I am visiting this website because I drove the Fiat 500 in Italy as a rental, and loved it so much I will buy one when (the local Chryaler/Fiat dealership tells me) they arrive naxt spring (I live in Canada). It is indeed a small car – the small rear seat is usuable but no doubt cramped (we did not use it in our travels – rather we foklded it down so that we could carry our luggage). It is a real blast to drive. The speed limit on the Italian Auto Stradas is 130 KMH (about 82 mph) which the car handled with power to spare.
I figured we were getting roughly 40 mpg (25 km/l). Some neat things in the vehicle (assuming they are in the export version) are the instrumentation, which has the spedometer on the outer rim of the large circular “spedometer” pod), the revs inside that, and the center has programmable info such as range (over 800 km. – 500 miles – on a full tank) etc. The car also had – believe it or not – a Microsoft Windows plug in the center console (I’m not sure what it does). The headroom is great (about 7″ above my head) and, small car or not, you are sitting quite high – for excellenf visibility.
Funny thing – I used to live in India, but just about fell over at 17,000,000 rupees. To th uninitiated, it’s about 50 to the American dollar.
Thanks for visiting, I hope you like the review. Yeah, the speedo looks really cool. The Microsoft Windows plug in the center console is something I haven’t heard off, because it isn’t available in the Indian version of this car, but yeah i do believe you. The cost of the 500 is Rs.17,00,000 i.e Seventeen lakhs or 1.7million rupees, and not 17 million rupees, as you stated in the comment above.
Just reviewed the Fiat 500 in Malaysia. It costs RM135,000 ($40,000 USD) in Malaysia after crazy import taxes.
Nimble, extremely good handling. Mute steering at low speeds; 5 speed automated manual clutch is best left at ‘Manual’; the ‘Auto’ mode shifts like a 15 year old riving school student.
Build quality is awesome, climate control, 7 airbags, 5-Star N-cap, decent fuel economy, nice seats, annoying tyre roar, very good stereo sound system, and comes with Microsoft’s Blue&Me in-car bluetooth, entertainment system.
Blue&Me allows you to plug and play all sorts of USB enabled players. (Note* iPhone 3G/3Gs can’t yet). It also allows you to download Fiat’s ‘EcoDrive’ software, install it into the car and your pc/Mac; and then the software can teach you how to achieve greater fuel efficiency after analyzing your driving habits. Giving much better FC to the car. (After all, its not what you drive, its how you drive)
Blue&Me also allows you to access your phone, phonebook, via Voice Control; it’ll actually read out your SMSes, so you need not check your phone and dent the 500’s pretty face. (Provided their English, in proper grammar and spelling of course)
All in all a nifty, cute, stylish, chic, good looking car. Driving it around is as if you’re bringing this really beautiful and sexy girl around town with you – Feeling proud with a good sense of achievement.
100% feel good factor. 80% driving enjoyment, 60% for comfort, 50% for highway/expressway driving comfort (mostly due to noisy tires)
Regards,
Wheels Weekly
Wooww…cool
The car or the review?
Any news when the 500 will be sold in the USA?
I don’t think the Fiat 500 would be successful here in the US. We have too much competition here with affordable compact cars not to mention the Smart Car.