We're in the Fiat booth at the 2011 New York International Auto Show and, despite having seen Fiat booths at a few other domestic shows, it's still slightly surreal. We're surrounded by at least 10 examples of the all-new 2012 Fiat 500 — the only Fiat on sale in the U.S. at the moment — when a local TV news reporter comes over and things get even stranger.
"I need to do a feature on the new Fiat," she says to the booth guy. "Excellent. The 2012 Fiat 500 is right over here."
"No. The new one. It's got an exciting, exotic name...." she counters. "Ah, yes, of course, the 2012 Fiat Cinquecento! Right this way..."
The Fiat 500 or the Fiat Cinquecento, however you pronounce it: Fiat's back in America and we just bought one for a Long-Term Road Test.
What We Bought
Two of the main concessions made by Fiat on the U.S. version of the 500 were a driver's armrest and an automatic transmission. We'll happily take the armrest, but no way were we getting an automatic transmission with a car — and engine — this small. Fiat, however, had us covered; it wasn't even offering automatics on the first round of shipments. This made our transmission decision much easier. Five-speed manual it is.
The first real step was to decide which model we wanted: Pop ($16,000), Sport ($18,000) or Lounge ($20,000). Lounge was out right away. This is Inside Line, not Inside Chaise; we're not buying anything with Lounge in the name for the fleet. So it was Pop or Sport. Sport comes with a firmer suspension, 16-inch wheels wrapped in 195/45R16 rubber, retuned steering, a roof spoiler, foglamps, cloth/vinyl sport seats and slightly different styling. They had us at "retuned steering." Done. Sport.
Next up was options. We got the sunroof ($850) and the Safety and Sound package ($350). The latter includes Sirius Satellite Radio and an alarm. Other options included heated seats and a dash-mounted nav system, but we decided to pass to keep the price reasonable.
Next was color: Magrath voted for Verde Oliva (green olive), claiming we didn't have any brand-new green cars. Takahashi wanted Blanco to match the rest of our fleet and Riswick wanted Mocha Latte, or he wanted a mocha latte, we're still not sure. The boss, however, wanted red — it's sporty, Italian and goes with the brakes. So we got red with a black-over-gray interior.
There are no options for the engine. Want a 2012 Fiat 500? You get a 1.4-liter MultiAir four-cylinder that churns out 101 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 98 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. A hundred-and-one hp doesn't sound like a lot, and in a 2,400-pound car, it, well, isn't.
There was no negotiating to be done. We paid sticker and left the dealership $19,200 ($21,451 with TTL) lighter in exchange for our 2012 Fiat 500 Sport.
Why We Bought It
Inside Line makes it a point to buy (or get from the manufacturer) new, significant models for our long-term fleet whenever they come around. If there's a new 3 Series, consider it on the list. New Toyota Camry? You know we're there. New Honda Odyssey? We're on it. So when there's a new brand in the USA we want to be first in line.
Unfortunately, at least 500 dedicated Fiat fans beat us to the punch. When we went to place our order for the Fiat 500, we found out that we weren't even close to getting a Prima Edizione, the special edition allocated to die-hard Fiat fans. Fair enough: we don't need a special badge. Right now, the "Fiat" badge is special enough.
In our Full Test of the 500 we said, "...we can tell you that the Fiat 500 has flavor, inside and out, more than just about anything else in the small-car class."
So it's got flavor and it's priced right. But so did the Smart Fortwo, and we all remember how that went. Will the Fiat end up in the same boat, or does this little car have what it takes to bring Fiat back to the U.S. in style?
Follow along on our Long-Term Road Test Blog for the next 12 months as we put 20,000 miles on the Fiat 500 Sport.
Current Odometer: 2010
Best Fuel Economy: 33.7
Worst Fuel Economy: 25.4
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 28.7
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Add A Comment »
garthsez says:
06:51 PM, 04/24/2012
Premium fuel recommended. What happens if you only use regular? Engine problems? Poor gas mileage? Why would Fiat engineer a car that needed premium at todays fuel prices? I would REALLY like to have a light green one with white interior, but PREMIUM fuel?
justdude says:
03:44 PM, 07/15/2011
First off let me say I really want one or two of these little cars...... Really bad....... Then I read this:
Fait the Italian maker of the beloved 500 city car, will launch a trim TwinAir edition of the vehicle in the U.K. this summer that will get 57 miles per gallon and top out at 108 miles per hour. The new line is expected to start at about £11,500 ($18,800 U.S.) and will be powered by Fiat's tiny and efficient 0.9-liter two-cylinder "MultiAir" engine. Zero to sixty?
Well, not so impressive: Fiat says the TwinAir line dashes to 60 miles per hour in under 11 seconds, but last we checked that was a pretty abysmal number. Still, the TwinAir is a cute commuter: a piano black roof, satin chrome grille, chrome-tipped exhaust, rear spoiler, and black alloys are all on offer in addition to features like start-top technology, brake assist and hill holding, a leather steering wheel, electric mirrors, and fog lights.
I really dont give hoot about 0-60 time if I am getting 50+ mpg.
The diesel, 1.3 Multijet ( read about it here, http://www.thempg.co.uk/mpg_fiat_500_13_multijet_75_hp-285.html would be great.
How long do we have to wait for the really good versions of this car? I for one will not buy until one or the other of these 50+ mpg models are here.
coolbreezesd says:
09:40 AM, 05/29/2011
I have owned my Fiat 500 Sport for 2 months now. I have to say that I'm really enjoying it. I came out of a Chrysler 300 SRT8, yes, I know a big change. I wanted to give a small car a shot as I spend most of my time in urban driving. I was quite anxious about having just ove 100hp, but am happy to say this car is peppy. I don't have any problems keeping up with the 80+mph traffic is So. Cal. I am particularly pleased with the Sport Button on the dash. It really modifies the shifting patterns nicely for freeway driving making for quick downshift with my auto tran. I don't put it in Sport mode when in the city as I find the normal mode to be better for typical stop and go traffic. The Bose Sound system is very good and love the blue tooth connectivity with my iPhone. Overall I'm very, very please with my first Fiat. My only gripe would be that my knee rubs up against the center stack and that particular piece of plastic is hard. I know some have said that headroom is lacking, but I did get the sunroof and am 5' 11" and have no problem with headroom. As far as mileage, I'm in the low 30's right now, but if I drove it for eco results I'd hope to do a little better. It's small without being too small. I feel good about driving less metal around town, it's like my own personal transportation pod.
thegamper says:
08:31 AM, 05/09/2011
I apologize in advance for not reading the whole article as I am not particularly interested in the car. But the one thing that hit me right in the forehead was the fuel economy. Average over thirty mpg isnt horrible by any means, but I guess I just expected this little pint sized Italian could do much better. Fuel economy is after all one of the consolation prizes of owning such a diminutive runabout. It looks cool definitely, but I would like the fuel economy in addition plz if I am to be driving something with go-cart dimensions and 2300lbs curb weight.
davesaddiction says:
05:29 AM, 05/05/2011
Nineteen large for this little thing?!
They're obviously not looking to sell many of them. This one will be for people with more money than sense, looking for a little stylish, "greener" car to drive around town while their Range Rover and CLS550 are safe in the garage.
chris500 says:
08:31 PM, 05/04/2011
To each his own, but I'll defer to the experts opinions:
"WORLD CAR DESIGN OF THE YEAR", "EUROPEAN CAR OF 2008", "BEST CARS OF 2009" - AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT , "CITY CAR OF THE YEAR" - BBC TOP GEAR, "BEST SMALL CAR OF THE YEAR" - FIFTH GEAR, "BEST COMPACT CAR" - JAPAN, "TOP AUTO 2008"- GERMANY , "CAR MAGAZINE CAR OF THE YEAR" - UK, "EURO CAR BODY 2007", "CAR DESIGN OF THE YEAR 2007" - UK, etc., etc.
PS. There are over 60 of these awards and growing...
nycstickdriver says:
08:12 PM, 05/04/2011
wow look at all that wheel gap... it's been ruined with the "american" tuned suspension. I've seen a ton of these things in europe and I don't recall seeing ginormous wheel gaps like that. Kills the look of the car.
juan_mx says:
07:21 AM, 05/04/2011
@chris500
"it is a aimed at people that appreciate design"
not really, it looks a lot like the original 500, that is very ugly, but italians love it because it is part of their history.
The New Bettle and the Mini designers did much better in terms of keeping their cars retro but making them modern.
When the MiTo arrives, we will see what is italian design.
chris500 says:
06:33 AM, 05/04/2011
A couple of points here:
The Fiat 500 does not require premium fuel, it is recommended. The car is not for everyone, it is a aimed at people that appreciate design, like cool things and aren't bothered by spending an extra $2 on a tank of premium.
If you want an econo-box, this isn't the car. Get a Yaris, Versa, Hyundai, etc., but don't expect people to wave, take pictures and give you the thumbs up driving one of those.
civilag says:
09:27 PM, 05/03/2011
I'm definitely interested in reading about this! But consider buying one? Uh, probably not.