ULP
18-01-2008, 09:08 AM
Not driven, but seen and crawled-over.
We arrived at my sister-in-laws before she got home from work, so we had a quick nosey down to the Fiat dealer in Paderborn (location pre-set into the Tom Tom ;) ).
My first sight of a red 500 in the showroom nearly led me to crash the 116i into some parked Stilo's and Lancia thingies. It looks so good in the flesh I could eat it all-in-one time and time again. Once I'd managed to get into the showroom it was definately a kid in a sweetshop moment. However, onto more useful information...
The car is clearly bigger than the original 500; you'll not be surprised to find the dimensions are close to Panda-sized. The overall shape, massing and proportions are, for a small car, perfect. From each and every angle the car looks fresh, inviting and cute yet not at all feminine - I read a letter in Febuary's CAR from some berk saying the 500 will never be bought by men. Imagine having so little security about who you are to ponder such things.
In the showroom there were two German-spec cars, a basic Pop and the better-equipped Sport. A quick perusal of the specification sheets indicates the Pop had alloys, air con and split rear seats over the standard specification. One thing of serious note is the softening of the pound now means that UK 500's are the same price as left-hookers...
The interior is excellent - there is no other word for it. What it misses in the last tenth of quality from the MINI it more than makes up for in genuine excellent design; the dashboard inserts remind you of the Coupe (and original painted-dash 500), the seats are comfy and stylish while the layout of instruments is intuative yet stylish; a success of form and function. Any weakness? Yip, the door cards are not so nice; the handles have been well-design (and feel good) but the rest of the door trim just looks a bit of a let down; 100% forgiveable below £10K but a specced-up Lounge or Sport approaching £12K will not stand the test so-well against the opposition.
Although LHD, the footrest is there for the RHD conversion (a chip out of the dashboard a-la Panda) and I suspect the driving position will be similar, although there appeared to be a little extra rearward travel. The drivers seat height was non-adjustable on the Pop (it will be in the UK) which meant the driving position was not perfect for me as the wheel only adjusts for height - no matter, the height adjustable seat in the Sport model was fine. Marie at 5'3" can fit behind me so as a MINI-competitor it outdoes that car with ease.
The Sport had a part-leather interior; unlike the hideous stuff you can get in the Grande Punto Sporting, this actually feels and looks like leather rather than recycled bin-liners.
Having just bought another smart, we are not in the market to replace either car for another four years - however, this thing is just stunning and will make a perfect car for anybody who...well...likes small cars. Which would be my choice? Well, I'd have a white 1.2 Lounge with climate, leather gear**** and a few other bits at still under £10K.
The 1.2 Pop
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3883.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3885.jpg
The interior this nice on the basic one? Eat your gonads, MINI.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3888.jpg
We arrived at my sister-in-laws before she got home from work, so we had a quick nosey down to the Fiat dealer in Paderborn (location pre-set into the Tom Tom ;) ).
My first sight of a red 500 in the showroom nearly led me to crash the 116i into some parked Stilo's and Lancia thingies. It looks so good in the flesh I could eat it all-in-one time and time again. Once I'd managed to get into the showroom it was definately a kid in a sweetshop moment. However, onto more useful information...
The car is clearly bigger than the original 500; you'll not be surprised to find the dimensions are close to Panda-sized. The overall shape, massing and proportions are, for a small car, perfect. From each and every angle the car looks fresh, inviting and cute yet not at all feminine - I read a letter in Febuary's CAR from some berk saying the 500 will never be bought by men. Imagine having so little security about who you are to ponder such things.
In the showroom there were two German-spec cars, a basic Pop and the better-equipped Sport. A quick perusal of the specification sheets indicates the Pop had alloys, air con and split rear seats over the standard specification. One thing of serious note is the softening of the pound now means that UK 500's are the same price as left-hookers...
The interior is excellent - there is no other word for it. What it misses in the last tenth of quality from the MINI it more than makes up for in genuine excellent design; the dashboard inserts remind you of the Coupe (and original painted-dash 500), the seats are comfy and stylish while the layout of instruments is intuative yet stylish; a success of form and function. Any weakness? Yip, the door cards are not so nice; the handles have been well-design (and feel good) but the rest of the door trim just looks a bit of a let down; 100% forgiveable below £10K but a specced-up Lounge or Sport approaching £12K will not stand the test so-well against the opposition.
Although LHD, the footrest is there for the RHD conversion (a chip out of the dashboard a-la Panda) and I suspect the driving position will be similar, although there appeared to be a little extra rearward travel. The drivers seat height was non-adjustable on the Pop (it will be in the UK) which meant the driving position was not perfect for me as the wheel only adjusts for height - no matter, the height adjustable seat in the Sport model was fine. Marie at 5'3" can fit behind me so as a MINI-competitor it outdoes that car with ease.
The Sport had a part-leather interior; unlike the hideous stuff you can get in the Grande Punto Sporting, this actually feels and looks like leather rather than recycled bin-liners.
Having just bought another smart, we are not in the market to replace either car for another four years - however, this thing is just stunning and will make a perfect car for anybody who...well...likes small cars. Which would be my choice? Well, I'd have a white 1.2 Lounge with climate, leather gear**** and a few other bits at still under £10K.
The 1.2 Pop
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3883.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3885.jpg
The interior this nice on the basic one? Eat your gonads, MINI.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/christodd1/IMG_3888.jpg