Fiat 500 Sport 5MT Review

Ok, let's get one thing out of the way first: the Fiat 500, by American standards, is small. Very small, in fact.  The only shorter vehicle on sale here is the Smart ForTwo, which isn't actually a real car.  The US-spec 500 is 6 inches shorter than a standard Mini, 2.2 inches narrower, 3.2" taller, and the wheelbase is 6.5" shorter.  These dimensions are hard to wrap your head around for Americans; we're just not used to cars this small.  Which might be why the Smart has sold so poorly here (or because it tops out at 90mph, has the directional stability of a Chihuahua on Red Bull, has no cruise control, and takes 14.5 seconds to hit sixty.)  Just the sight of a car 6" shorter than a Mini Cooper - which many Americans consider to be "one of those tiny furrin' death traps" causes double, triple, and sometimes quadruple takes.  In a country where an Impala isn't considered "that large" of a car, a Fiat 500 stands out.

Thankfully, it also stands out because it looks so good.  Lots of thought went into the design of the Nuevo 500, which blends modern design characteristics with just enough retro touches for the references to the old Cinquecento to seem appropriate, but not obnoxious.  This is another one of those cars that must be seen in the flesh to be appreciated, the two dimensions of a photograph don't do any justice to the subtle fender flares, the perfection of the proportions, all those neat details that most makers (especially US makers) don't bother with any more.  Like the chrome "mustache" around the Fiat badge, the unbroken line running off the hood cut line all the way to the top of the tail lights, and the intricate wheel pattern (specific to the 500 Sport).  It's unusual for such a small, inexpensive car to be so artful - but the 500 is probably the only car in this class you can just sit and stare at.  It's magnificent.

Now, I look at cars from a design perspective.  I'm not really a sentimental kind of guy.  But the 500 test car that I had for a day garnered a pretty unanimous reaction from the female demographic: "It's so cute!"  Like Hello Kitty cute.  3 month old puppy cute.  A sack full of bunny rabbits cute.  If you're someone that doesn't enjoy having your car referred to as cute, you're gonna need to paint it flat black, slam it on coilovers, black out the tail lights, black out everything. I personally don't find "cute" to be a pejorative when describing a car, so I wasn't bothered, but the girl getting out of the Mini Cooper and running over the 500 (outside of a Starbucks, naturally) saying "It's so cute!" might bother some people.

But judging the 500 on it's diminutive size and relative cuteness alone would be missing the point.  The 500 is a commuter car, a tiny hatchback with good gas mileage, that competes with cars like the aforementioned Mini Cooper, as well as the Honda Fit (and to a certain extent, the CR-Z), the Toyota Yaris, the Ford Fiesta, the Mazda 2, and the Nissan Versa.  And among those, if you don't need a set of rear doors or a lot of room for rear passengers, nothing in this class comes close to the appeal of the 500.

The first reason, obviously, is the design.  This is premium-segment feel in a very small car.  The interior is a relatively lavish place to be, especially for a car with a starting price of $15,500.  My 500 Sport (5-speed) test car rang up the register at $18,630 with the Safety and Sound package as well as the Safety and Convenience package, plus some kick plates.  With that, you get all sorts of goodies in the interior: Sirius Satellite Radio, Fiat's Blue&Me Bluetooth integration setup (which played nice with my Samsung Galaxy S Android phone), automatic climate control, a 6-CD changer, steering wheel hand controls, and the rest of the basics (A/C, cruise, P/S, etc.)  For all the goodies the interior has, it's not a cluttered place to be - the layout is carefully designed so that everything falls naturally and quickly to hand.

The steering wheel is a chunky leather-wrapped three spoke unit that's just the right size and feel for this car, and the shifter (mounted on the center console) is a short reach from the wheel.  The hand controls on the wheel take some getting used to (I'm not quite sure why Fiat/Chrysler likes to put the buttons for volume and channel on the back of the wheel) but it's very natural once you're acclimated.  The Blue&Me setup is really neat: once your bluetooth phone is paired, it can do voice commands ("Call Pizza Hut!") as well as store your contacts, read your text messages to you, etc.

One thing I noticed about the interior, which may be bothersome to other really tall guys like me (6'2") is that the seating position in the 500 is very high.  I tried the seat height adjuster for a minute, figuring it was stuck, before realizing no - that's actually how far down the seat goes.  If you're over 6' tall you might run into head room issues with a sunroof-equipped 500 - I had no problems fitting in the test car, but a 500 in the showroom with a sunroof gave me some hair-to-headliner contact.  There's also a fixed glass roof available on the Lounge model which doesn't impede headroom, but it also doesn't open.  If you're shorter, this might not be an issue.

Fit and finish in the interior is really very good, especially at this price range - it's not as high-tech looking as the loaded Fiesta, but quality and panel gap is much better.  The US-spec 500 is assembled in the repurposed former PT Cruiser plant in Toluca, Mexico (thank you to TrueDelta owner Michael Karesh for point out this discrepancy) with the engines assembled by Chrysler LLC in Michigan.  For a first-year product in a new plant, assembly standards (panel gap, small details) are really quite good.  The speedometer and the tach are combined into one gauge with individual pointers on the same axis - unusual, but you get used to it.  The seats (at least in the Sport model) are very comfortable, with plenty of thigh and torso bolstering, but I have to admit that the headrests are an abomination - a hard little circle that juts forward at the top into your skull.  I would think about removing them - or at least modifying the mounts so they lean back more - if I owned the car.  Other than seat height and painful headrests, the interior is a comfortable place to spend time.  It's odd - with the tall stature and high seating position of the car, you find yourself almost at eye-level with people in Explorers and Tahoes, not Accords and Sentras.

Which brings us to the driving experience, and the reason I'm so in love with the 500.  I simply cannot think of another 100bhp car out there that's actually fun to drive.  Excuse me - that's 101bhp.  The engine is Fiat's FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotized Engine) 1.4L Multiair I4.  The interesting thing this car brings to the market - which, as far as I can tell is the first in a US production car - is the Multiair valve actuation system.  The system is fairly complex, but the benefits are numerous.  While the engine is based on the FIRE I4 that Fiat has been using since 1985, the cylinder head is much different.  There' a single overhead camshaft, which directly operates the exhaust valves like a conventional engine, but the intake lobes on the cam don't actuate lifters - they turn a hydraulic pump which supplies pressure to each cylinder's individual electronically controlled intake solenoid, each of which has two valves.  These solenoids can adjust valve lift and duration, timing, and even number of cycles per rpm.  The whole point is to decrease "pumping losses," a downside of traditional 4-cycle engines - since the Multair technology requires no throttle plate.  Frankly, Fiat is a lot better at explaining this than me:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IrPcmMHqHE

The results are interesting.  On a NVH scale, the 1.4L Multiair is quieter than most small-displacement I4's out there.  The spread of torque is drastically better, start-up is smoother, and obviously consumption and emissions levels are lower as well.  In terms of speed - well, it's a 1.4L 101bhp engine, so don't expect it to be a great drag racer.  But compared to it's rivals, the 500 feels significantly faster.  Compared to the Fiesta, which felt like it needed a rocket strapped to the back just to go, the 500 is practically a race car.  The first two gears aren't as long as the Fiesta's 5 speed box (which helps take off-from a light) while 5th is a little deeper, allowing it to cruise at lower RPM on the highway.  Thanks to the infinitely variable intake side, you can actually get some pull in 5th gear past 70mph, where the Fiesta would require one (and sometimes two) downshifts to go anywhere.  The numbers are comparable for the 500 and Fiesta (just under 11 seconds to sixty for the 500, just over 11 for the Fiesta in most tests) but in the real world the 500 feels more flexible and less overburdened.

Fuel economy will be a big reason a lot of people buy the 500, and it's not bad.  The 5-speed is EPA rated at 30 city and 38 highway, although the optional six-speed automatic takes a fairly big hit, returning 27 and 34 - only marginally better than my four-cylinder Accord.  This is honestly the type of car that if you're going to buy, you should do it right and get a manual.

The dash shifter is one of the few I've used that isn't obstructive and vague - linkage is very tight and accurate, and the throws are reasonably short.  Clutch feel is abundant, with a nice low pick-up and good weighting the way I prefer it.  the 1.4L motor makes a nice noise as it runs through the gears, and unlike a Fiesta or Fit you might actually find yourself speeding if you're not paying attention.  But it's really not the 500's motor that makes it fun to drive - it's the chassis.  And it's fantastic.  MINI, take note.

It might just be that I've never driven a car with this short of a wheelbase (again, besides the Smart ForTwo), but handling response is immediate.  The Sport model has stiffer, lower suspension than the Pop or Lounge models, as well as a bigger wheel/tire combo - 16" alloys with 195/45/16 tires mounted, compared to the other models 185/55/15's.  Engage the "Sport" mode (a button on the dash, to the left of the shifter) and steering weight increases from Toyota to BMW levels, and throw it into an on-ramp.  Just go ahead.  Don't let the high seating position, the cute exterior, or the tiny engine fool you - the 500 eats corners for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Understeer is minimal, and the ESC (stability control) system is very well programmed - it will brake the appropriate wheel to adjust the line when the front end washes out, rather than cutting power dramatically like, say, VW's ESP system.  Body roll is surprisingly absent, and the relatively long-travel suspension soaks up mid-corner bumps, jumps, and expansion joints with ease.  This is a car where the chassis easily outshines the available engine, and you can't help but feel that another 73 horsepower wouldn't hurt (keep reading!)  Special mention to the brakes - four-wheel discs with ABS/EBD for inspiring confidence, too.  So despite the lilliputian engine, driving a 500 Sport hard on a favorite back road will plaster a mile-wide smile on even the most jaded driver's face.  Sure did to me.

I can't help but imagine that these will be showing up at SCCA Solo Autocross events in droves - some sticky Hoosiers, lowering springs and fat sway bars would be about all you'd need - and the lack of a limited slip differential isn't an issue with only 101bhp.  This car is seriously fun to drive - let me not overstate this.

So yes, it's cute and it's a bucket of fun to drive, but what's a car this small like in the real world, which demands cargo space, passenger space, comfortable highway cruising, good A/C, etc?  Well, it may be small, but you can fit a lot of stuff in the back of a 500 if you fold the seats down.

For my other line of work, I do a little DJ'ing in my local area.  In the back of this 500 we've got two speaker stands, two karaoke books, a cable box and a gun case with microphones and a receiver, a small TV, a TV stand, a camera tripod, a backpack, a laptop case, and probably some other junk.  Yeah, you probably would want to take something else to IKEA, but you get the picture.  Rear seat space is probably best left to those shorter of stature, but you can fit humans back there in a pinch.  Would it make a good family car?  Probably not.  A good commuter car and grocery getter?  Absolutely!

The ride on the highway really depends on what surface you're on.  On smooth tarmac, it tracks straight and true - despite the low-profile tires and the super short wheelbase - but it does tend to weave a bit on concrete.  The A/C compressor has a less noticeable drag on the engine than my 2.4L Honda, which was surprising - I actually had it on and didn't notice.  It will hold a comfortable 80mph cruise on the highway just north of 3,000rpm, so it's not buzzing your ears off like a 5-speed Fit does.  All in all, it's a really pleasant commuter experience.  I would recommend hitting the "Sport" button pretty much immediately on start - the extra steering weight is appreciated anywhere but parallel parking - but otherwise it drives around like a real car, in comfort and refinement without feeling like it's struggling off the lights like the Fiesta.

Some notes about future derivatives of the 500 that you may want to keep in mind.  While we're only getting the 101bhp 1.4 Multiair this year, US Fiat dealers should be receiving a 500 Abarth early next year.  If you're a horsepower junky, you might want to wait for it.  The regular European-spec 500 Abarth packs a 140bhp turbocharged version of the 1.4L engine, but the one we're going to be getting - the Abarth "EsseEsse" (SS) delivers 160bhp from a small VGT turbocharger, and cuts about 3 seconds off the 0-60 time (from 10 and change down to 7.4)  There's no telling what the US-spec engine will put out yet, but it should be comparable.  In Europe it's backed by the same 5-speed manual, but it's possible the US Abarth will get a sequential gearbox - we'll have to wait and see.  There is also a 500 EV coming soon, which will carry a fairly high price tag for it's battery-powered goodness (somewhere around $45k) and be a limited-production sort of affair.  I personally would wait for the Abarth - I love turbo hatchbacks - but truth be told, most people would be happy with a regular 500 Sport.  For more info on the Abarth models, you can visit Abarth's European site here.

One last note - something I'd be remiss to omit.  The 500 is Fiat's first car sold in the US since 1982, when Fiat went out with a whisper not a bang with the Spider 2000 and X1/9, which weren't even badged as Fiats.  Many people of an older generation remember Fiat as "Fix It Again Tony," and they'll clear their throats and denounce it as junk without having ever seen or sat in one.  They're gonna miss out.  The whole world has moved on a lot in the last 29 years, Fiat included - developing class leading technology, attractive designs, viable business plans.  The 500 is a world-class product, probably the best in it's class, so don't miss out on it because of a sour taste left in your mouth by stories of your aunt's friend's 1977 128.  That's all I've got to say on that.

2011 Fiat 500 Sport

Base price: $15,500Price as tested: $18,630Options: Sport Package ($17,500 base), Safety and Convenience package ($650; Automatic Climate Control, Spare Tire, Alarm), Safety and Sound package ($350; Sirius Satellite Radio)

Body: 3 door HatchbackDrivetrain: Front-transverse front wheel driveAccomodations: 5 passengers

Engine: I4, iron block, aluminum head Displacement: 1,368ccAspiration: N/AFuel delivery: Port Fuel InjectionValvetrain: 16v, 1 exhaust cam, intake valves actuated via individual hydraulic solenoidsCompression ratio: 10.8:1Horsepower: 101bhp@6,000rpmTorque: 97lb-ft@4,250rpmRev limit: 6,600 rpm

0-60mph: 10.5 secondsTop speed: 113mph 1/4 Mile@ET: are you really going to drag race a 101bhp car?

EPA fuel mileage estimate: 30 city/ 38 highway (manual); 27 city/ 34 highway (automatic)Recommended fuel: 87 octaneFuel Tank Capacity: 10.5 gallonsTheoretical Range: 399 miles

Wheelbase: 90.6"Length: 139.6"Track (F/R): 55.6"/55.4"Width: 64.1"Height: 58.6"Curb weight: 2282lbs

Main Competitors: Honda Fit, Honda CR-Z, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, Nissan Versa, Mini Cooper, 2012 Scion iQ, VW Beetle Pros: Cuter than a Mini Cooper, great gas mileage, cool engine tech, amazing handling, well-equipped, fun to drive Cons: Cuter than a Mini Cooper, 101bhp, high seating position, torturous headrests, gas mileage could be better, Abarth isn't coming 'til next yearConclusion: So much fun, so few flaws - welcome back, Fiat!

Special thank you to Greg Eaton at Hendrick Fiat of Cary for the test drive and information.  Hendrick Fiat is the first Fiat dealer in NC, so if you want one, check out their website or give them a call at 888-375-5880.  And you do want one.  Yes you do.

Final side note: if you're wondering if America is really going to accept the 500, take a look at what Hendrick Fiat was detailing after a trade-in on a brand new 500 Prima - an immaculate, totally stock, 24k-mile 1987 Buick Grand National.  I feel like this says about everything. They had also taken this 1991 Alfa Romeo 164L 5-speed in on trade, which was for sale on their lot - just simply too damn cool