Fiat Cinquecento - what's the verdict?

Lorrs33

I saw this car and I really want to buy it, I'm 19 and it'd be my first. Any opinions?

Tipsy Mac

I would get something else, nearly anything else

Jimbo

No No No No No

Stephen

Do you mean Cinquecento as in the boxy yoke from the 90s or the new 500? I quite like the new 500.

chris85

Would stay away, no power steering which is a pain to drive without. no real comforts. They are a real struggle to drive

Since you are learning maybe try a Punto instead, they are simple and easy to drive. I think they are a good learner car.

It all depends how much you have to spend! Spend a little more and it will be worth it in the ling run

mike65

The old model had the 903cc engine from the 127 if I remember rightly. Ah that brings back (bad) memories.

Mike.

Fast_Mover

'Cinquecento a c*nt to get into'..lol, I know an old woman who had one and called it this.

Back on topic..Oh dear lord, no! Get ANYTHING else!

Wouldn't consider than safe tbh..imagine the damage if you had an accident in one of those yolks even at a reasonable kph

ninty9er

Looked, but didn't buy as my first car, didn't feel at all safe or grounded. they're for city and suburban driving only (i.e 60km/h and under)

Jimbo

Is that the official Fianna Fáil stance on the car?

Saruman

A 19 year old saw this car and really wants to buy it? It just defies logic, and everything we know about teenagers! Especially since Lorrs sounds like a guy.

Unless.... http://www.fiatforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12871&d=1143454533

Yaris body kit ?

Jimbo

Exactly. Why not a 1.1l glanza-replica with the fake dump valve, etc.?

woop

pedals are real close toghether, least of youre worries really

if you crash you die

ninty9er

jimbo78 wrote: »

Is that the official Fianna Fáil stance on the car?

As there isn't an Ard-Fheis anytime soon I'd have to refer it to the Ardchomhairle, and since at least one of the 106 members probably has one it could be difficult to reach a verdict ;)

but it would be my personal opinion on the car

Jimbo

They can be made look cool though :rolleyes::

Saruman

In fairness... i have seen some of the sporting models in yellow and they can actually move on a motorway. I have been overtaken by them while i was doing 130kph.

Max_Damage

chris85 wrote: »

no power steering which is a pain

For Christ sake, it's not a bus he's driving. How did people manage without power steering many years ago? :rolleyes:

As for the car itself, I'd go for something else. Pressing the brake pedal, you'll probably end up pressing the accelerator and clutch at the same time. And as for crash safety...

Fast_Mover

and there's no chance of it taking up two spaces either!!:D

cantdecide

NO NO NO NO..... NO

Budget and rough outline of your usage please (ie, 10km round trip to college, or 50km commute, social life etc etc.)

eringobragh

Most points have been made, crash asafety ,pedals ,etc

But at the end of the day, ITS A FIAT..run for the hills. Get something Jap or German.

L1011

eringobragh wrote: »

But at the end of the day, ITS A FIAT..run for the hills. Get something Jap or German.

Nothing wrong with bigger Fiats. Any bigger Fiat.

I wouldn't touch a Cinquecento with a bargepole, and I drive its eventual replacement (Panda)....

Recon

Fast_Mover wrote: »

Wouldn't consider than safe tbh..imagine the damage if you had an accident in one of those yolks even at a reasonable kph

I friend of mine had one of these and was in a crash around 5 years ago. Since he had to sit so close to the steering wheel (small car, and he's 6'4) he smashed his ribs. And they're still ****ed.

E92

jimbo78 wrote: »

They can be made look cool though :rolleyes::

I hope you're taking the piss because that thing is hideous looking. The Cinquncento is a sh1te looking car as it is without this being done to it!

And OP if you want your back seat passengers to live don't even consider it. I'd rather not sit in a cars' crumple zones thank you very much!

Ask doctors in A&E what they call these cars!

Jimbo

E92 wrote: »

I hope you're taking the piss because that thing is hideous looking. The Cinquncento is a sh1te looking car as it is without this being done to it!

And OP if you want your back seat passengers to live don't even consider it. I'd rather not sit in a cars' crumple zones thank you very much!

Of course I'm taking the piss, thats what the rolley-eyes signify...

E92

jimbo78 wrote: »

Of course I'm taking the piss, thats what the rolley-eyes signify...

Didn't see it when I made my previous post, my apologies!

Jimbo

Ill let it go this time cause your from Cork

BostonB

In know they are rubbish, and when I drove one once I found the pedals too close together. But for some reason I think they are a good laugh. I prefer the original boxy one to the later one. Not not much safety in one which would put me off buying one now. I doesn't handle all that well. You could get something like a Zetec Fiesta that would be far better in every way.

OP why the Cinq?
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/ajwebster/car.html

L1011

"the later one"? There's *only* the original boxy one; the replacement was the (bigger) Seicento and the replacement to that was the (bigger and available much, much, much faster) Panda.

BostonB

By the later one I meant the Seicento. The same engines (mostly), chassis and general dimensions as the Cinquncento so its hardly a completely different model despite the name.

eob

Depends on what you're priorities are. Most of the boards folk, no offence, know about as much about cars as I know about folk music.

The downside with the Cinq is the poor crash protection. I suspect that it's actually pretty heavily based on the outgoing Uno but you'll have to research it for me.

However, I've driven pretty much everything at this stage, from GrpA WRC spec Celica's to Ferrari F360's and the Cinquecento Sporting is right up there on my list of memorable drives. It also has the advantage of returning 55MPG if you're gentle and the handling is right up there with the great 80's hot hatchbacks like the 205 GTi and Mk1 Golf GTi.

Unreliability wise.. they can suffer from head gasket failure but it's actually quite rare. Parts are cheap. Supremely cheap (Again, that Uno DNA ) and it's from an era where it's easy to fix itself.

There's some feedback from drivers here:
http://www.octane.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=8804&highlight=cinquecento

BostonB

Can't say the one I drove was anything like any of the 80's hot hatchbacks I've driven/owned. Under steered and rolled a lot, not much power. Was fun chucking something so small around but that was it. A guy at work had one and he had a lot trouble with it, and parts were expensive. That was 5yrs or so ago. Maybe these days its different.

There was a previous thread on these
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055121138