Fiat 500 Incoming

[Londonscottish]

Sorry to disappoint, but that’s the standard air con. Climate has digital dials, like this:

View attachment 102836

Cheers,

Gaz

Meant to say: still a nice looking motor though. I like the interior.

Thanks for letting me know - I'm not particularly disappointed on that one.

But I'm itching to get my hands on it to find out if it actually does have DAB and a leccie sunroof and whether I can configure TomTom Live on it.

But, like my E500 purchase, it's a slow process. The service has now been done and it's been mostly prepped but they are insisting on a bit of paint correction tomorrow to get rid of some swirls. I really can't complain about that.

The transport's now been booked but then it disappears into some sort of black hole and nobody at the supplying dealer can see into the logistics.

Then at some point next week, probably, it'll surface in Milton Keynes.

I'll take a half day off, take the Mrs up there and we can wend our way home via a bit of M1 and a bit of cross country.

Can't wait.

 

[Londonscottish]

Five days since I ordered it. Five days to go.

 

[Londonscottish]

Sorry to disappoint, but that’s the standard air con. Climate has digital dials, like this:

View attachment 102836

Cheers,

Gaz

Meant to say: still a nice looking motor though. I like the interior.

The dealer confirmed it has the opening sunroof. I love buying cars with unlisted extras. Quite a rare option to boot. Wife v happy, I've earned brownie points without having had to do anything

 

[Londonscottish]

So it's been serviced & cleaned and it's had a machine polish.

It turns out that, as well as the electric sunroof, it's also got DAB - another nice surprise.

Annoyingly, though, it's still in Huddersfield!

The sales staff are super-friendly and want to help but are getting radio silence from the people in the delivery side of things.

Really frustrating. All I want to do is to book a slot to pick it up.

Surely they'll be able to get it to Milton Keynes by next weekend.

I know it's a first-world problem but been left dangling is driving me slightly nuts.

 

[Londonscottish]

10 days into the "delivery within 7 to 10 days" period and the bloody thing's still in Huddersfield. With no collection date.

FFS this is becoming very unfunny.

:-(

 

[Londonscottish]

Plan B; steeling myself for a 2 hour train to Manchester then a 40 minute hop to Huddersfield.

Heading into the eye of the Yorkshire Covid storm on a long train journey wasn't part of the plan but I suspect that I could be waiting for this car for a loooooong time.......

 

[C240Sport97]

They have decided to keep the car as it’s so fabulous

 

[Londonscottish]

They have decided to keep the car as it’s so fabulous

No; they are fabulous.

They are insisting I take a much faster train to Wakefield and then they'll pick me up from there. Much more convenient for me, much less convenient for them.

Lovely people, all of them.

Despite all the pain of trying to get a transporter booked, they are infectiously enthusiastic and helpful.

 

[C240Sport97]

Absolutely Fabulous

 

[Londonscottish]

Had a great drive home yesterday. I spent a bit of time at the dealer working out the infotainment then set off from Huddersfield for the 20 mile or so cross country run to the M1 (J37?).

First impressions were great. I had Talksport crystal clear on DAB plus directions from the (very good) built-in Tom Tom. I was also getting loads of what I now know to be speed camera warnings but was still getting to grips with the car and hope I didn't get nicked in one of the villages (I was staring at the instruments trying to work out why the car was beeping at me, not looking out for the forwarding-facing Yorkshire cameras....).

The lack of power was only noticeable of one or two of the steeper back roads and the hilariously slow way it tackled the slip road onto the motorway but after that it was just fine. It'll cruise all day long at motorway speeds. More to the point I found it incredibly comfortable and planted - I was expecting it to be bouncing around all over the place - quite the opposite.

I did another 20 miles or so then pulled over for something to eat just south of Sheffield. Read the manual a bit more to see if I'd missed anything then resumed the rest of the three hour drive home.

Got out fresh as you like, showed it to my delighted wife who immediately jumped in and drove us to Queen's Park where one of her best mates lives. I was turfed out and they went off for a spin. 10 minutes later various mums and daughter were cooing over it metallic teal blue paint and funky brown leather. It was a massive hit - LOL.

Much to my surprise, though, I really really enjoyed driving it. After reading all the road tests I was really expecting it to be far more compromised than it actually is. It's a great little package with a fantastic interior and some really cool tech. It's a great city car, it's the cheapest car I've ever insured and taxed and it's by far the most economical. AND, surprise, it can do big distances with ease.

 

[PaulXC]

Nice colour scheme - I've had loads of those as hire cars in France - usually done about 500 miles over a long weekend. Always quite enjoyed them to drive.

 

[Londonscottish]

Nice colour scheme - I've had loads of those as hire cars in France - usually done about 500 miles over a long weekend. Always quite enjoyed them to drive.

Thanks.

I was pleasantly surprised by how it drove. Most of the road tests of the facelift 500's say it's an old design and the suspension shows it up when compared to its more modern rivals.

I thought it was fine on the Yorkshire back roads. It's a bit rubbish on speed bumps but I think that's true for any recent supermini. And when you compare it to an R53 Mini, it's like a limo

And nothing wrong with the steering which is nicely weighted and direct and the brakes. In fact, all of the controls are pretty good. I hired a 500X in Italy a couple of years ago and I liked it for the same reasons. I know it's a totally different car underneath but it also drove well.

 

[Londonscottish]

I had a play with the infotainment connectivity as I fancied being able to stream music. I thought I'd have to use the Fiat Deezer app to do it. I spent a while creating a Uconnect account, downloading the app, creating accounts for Deezer & TuneIn and so on.

While I was playing I hit the Media button and, lo and behold, the system had synced with my Spotify app without me even asking it to - so it has Android auto.

So, in terms of media things it has that I wanted but weren't listed it turns out it has Android Auto, the live version of TomTom (with traffic warnings & speed camera alerts) and DAB radio. It also had Deezer (which is now redundant) and TuneIn Radio which I will use occasionally.

ETA is also got a car tracking app which is fun - it tells you where it's parked and shows various service-related things; fuel, battery, tyre pressures, any warnings, faults, recalls etc.

Result. For the first time in my life I have a properly connected car. I'm really glad I held out for this particular car as it must have been one of the very first to get this head unit.

 

[Londonscottish]

Update; a week in and my wife and I are still delighted with the little 500. Perfect for those endless short urban hops. Great place to sit. So much quieter and way more solid feeling than the old Clio. The HVAC is great too - freezing ac on hot days, windows and mirrors demisting in seconds on the cold ones.

In my book, one of the most underrated aspects of driving any car in a city is the turning circle. Getting in and out of spaces, ducking in and out of gaps becomes much harder in something with limited lock. Today my son forgot something on the school run so I did a three point turn in a very narrow street. It was so easy - the short wheelbase + a 9m turning circle made it a doddle.

Love the little thing.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

As Mister Jeremy Clarkson of West Cotswolds has pointed out many a time, we don't need "multipurpose" cars, we just need more cars.

I think this every time I thread my way past the skinny Mummies struggling painfully to park their humongous Range Rovers outside Kings Wimbledon to collect Brooklyn from School. A task which, like their morning Starbucks with the girls in the Village, would be much better achieved with a stylish supermini, using the Estate for half-term down at Salcombe and weekends "en famille."

Four vehicles is just about right. Or maybe five?

 

[Londonscottish]

As Mister Jeremy Clarkson of West Cotswolds has pointed out many a time, we don't need "multipurpose" cars, we just need more cars.

I think this every time I thread my way past the skinny Mummies struggling painfully to park their humongous Range Rovers outside Kings Wimbledon to collect Brooklyn from School. A task which, like their morning Starbucks with the girls in the Village, would be much better achieved with a stylish supermini, using the Estate for half-term down at Salcombe and weekends "en famille."

Four vehicles is just about right. Or maybe five?

My n+1 would be a classic coupe of some sort. But I'd also want a modern one for when it rains. N+2.....

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

My n+1 would be a classic coupe of some sort. But I'd also want a modern one for when it rains. N+2.....

There is no n+2, the correct equation is n=n+1, where n < s. There's always scope for another one, until the boss squeaks.

My brother in law spent ages researching and a sourcing ten year old Maranello 550 which he admired and drove just 2000 miles a year. He was adamant that it would be an "investment" as well as a pleasure. Sadly they bounced up in value, and then dropped back again. Looks pretty, though, and you can't take it with you.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

As Mister Jeremy Clarkson of West Cotswolds has pointed out many a time, we don't need "multipurpose" cars, we just need more cars.

I think this every time I thread my way past the skinny Mummies struggling painfully to park their humongous Range Rovers outside Kings Wimbledon to collect Brooklyn from School. A task which, like their morning Starbucks with the girls in the Village, would be much better achieved with a stylish supermini, using the Estate for half-term down at Salcombe and weekends "en famille."

Four vehicles is just about right. Or maybe five?

I suspect that the average family with children at Kings and a holiday home in Salcombe drive a Range Rover because they choose to drive a Range Rover, rather than out of the necessity to drive a "multipurpose" car.

Vive la difference.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I suspect that the average family with children at Kings and a holiday home in Salcombe drive a Range Rover because they choose to drive a Range Rover, rather than out of the necessity to drive a "multipurpose" car.

Vive la difference.

£50k a year on school fees does force some into awkward "economies," like only having a Range Rover and Dad's 911.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

£50k a year on school fees does force some into awkward "economies," like only having a Range Rover and Dad's 911.

Tough gig!