Fiat Cinquecento - what's the verdict?

woop

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.

I havent drove it mate but if it was anything like the 205 gti, golf gti there would be a lot more talk of how good it was, well there should be unless its some sort of fiat drivers secret

I would like to hear if anybody else thinks its as good as these cos if so, its a bargain

I see thy are going quite cheap so a bit of a poke about i one might be in order

eob

BostonB wrote: »

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

Perhaps you drove the standard version and not the Sporting? The standard version is easily beaten (as a pure A-B transport proposition) by something like a Mk2 Starlet (that's the one with the square headlights for the office boys) but the Sporting is in a different league entirely.

There's a bit of a craze on at the moment for guys with more expensive roadcars to buy up Cinquecento Sportings for something to turn to when a VW Passat TDi is sucking their will to live and they need some steering feedback and the ability to induce oversteer at will

Secondly, I'd put it right up there with the Mk1 Golf GTi 8V. Most of the motoring columnist said the same thing, in fact, I have a hazy recollection that CAR published something I wrote on the subject and then turned it into a feature the following month.

BostonB

I've only ever driven the Cinq sporting. Never an unmodified Mrk1 GTI though so I couldn't compare the two.

Masada

their a great little car!., they go like a Go-Kart and are great fun to drive.,
but im afraid thats it really, as a day to day car it wouldnt be very useful, they squash like as if they were made from coke cans and the pedals as others have said, are way to close together., the last time i was driving one i was wearing work boots and i couldnt brake without reving at the same time.,

DublinWriter

E92 wrote: »

The Cinquncento is a sh1te looking car as it is without this being done to it!

I've seen a couple of heavily 'customised' Cinquncentos on the NCR.

Passers-by actually pointed and laughed.

When I was in Germany I couldn't get over the number of FIATs I saw on the roads, but then again Germans do have a wee masochistic streak.

I never saw any on the Autobahns, probably because they would have ended up being a hood-ornament for a BMW 7-Series.

Myself? I'd avoid buying any FIAT (Fix-It-Again-Tomorrow).

Lorrs33

Saruman wrote: »

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 ?

I'm a girl, thank you

grasscutter

Recon wrote: »

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.

sorry to hear about your friend.
My missus overturned one a couple of years and walked away from it without hardly a scratch (prob doing around 40-50 mph ). The car body crumpled a good bit but stayed intact around her and the worst injuries were caused by the seat belt. I am 6'7 so thank god I wasnt in the car because I would have been f**cked

pete4130

I've driven the Sciecento. It is small, it is tight, the pedals are close together. Remember it IS a small car, designed for the city from getting from A to B and not for coverig serious miles all the time fully loaded with people. If what you need is a cheap car with no frills and lower running costs then it could tick all the boxes for you. I'd definitly recommend the Sport version with the P/S and if they have a bit more poke in them if you are considering getting one.

galwaytt

well I bought a new one in 96 - a yellow one - and it still ranks as one of the best cars I ever bought.

It never broke down, but did have a crappy handbrake, and it was a hoot to drive. Whoever said it's for 'up to 60 kph' doesn't know what they're talking about. I got 140kph out of mine flat out on a motorway with a good wind up.

Cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to fix - if necessary.

Quality of paint was no worse than anything else, and it didn't need PAS - the car is too small.

If I came across a minter, I'd buy one again. Dammit, if I came across my old one and it was reasonable, I'd buy that one again!

When I sold it, I got more than I owed on finance for it, so for me it was, a win-win car.

What's not to like?

BostonB

galwaytt wrote: »

...
What's not to like?

Dying...

Max_Damage

BostonB wrote: »

Dying...

Don't crash then!

BostonB

Max_Damage wrote: »

Don't crash then!

Keep the day job.

groupb

The sporting was rated highly by most mags of the time. I think our adversion to fiats is an Irish thing. We must be the only country on the planet that has people that want to own starlets / glanzas. If I cared about my image I'd much rather be seen in a sporting than a nuns car with spoilers.

Nightwish

One of my friends was given one for his 19th birthday by his parents. The problem was he is 6 foot 2. It was horrible for him to get in and out of. He had the problem with the pedals being too close together too. Also he had loads of problems with it. The gearbox had to be replaced after 6 months, the handbrake went and had horrible suspension.

L1011

Nightwish wrote: »

The gearbox had to be replaced after 6 months

Sure that wasn't due to being driven by a 19 year old learner?

Gearbox on that era of Fiat was HORRIFIC admittedly

LuckyStar

OP I think you should get a Punto instead, they are bigger.

dereko1969

are you all not talking about the old cinquecento? there is a new one coming out which isn't available here yet. i think it's great looking, the only problem will be the cost and availability
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6268522.stm

L1011

We're talking about the *only* "Cinquecento", the new one is called the 500, all numerals, no words...

There was a previous 500 also but its a bit hard to mix them up!

craichoe

Great for city driving and parking though, almost as small as a smart car !

cantdecide

Nightwish wrote: »

The problem was he is 6 foot 2. It was horrible for him to get in and out of. He had the problem with the pedals being too close together

Why won't they just seperate the bloody pedals. It's baffling.

My uncle had a friend who was almost 7' tall (no joke, he was local bouncer) and my uncle had a little yellow cinquecento sporting about 10 years ago. He was seen on at least one occasion with the passenger's head sticking out of the sunroof.

Slane 2003 (or 04? the year all teh good bandsplayed- QOTSA etc) following a friend home in his missus' cinq. 40mph all the way to cork in case he broke down. Partly cos it's a POS, partly cos of a bad fog. I still remember his reg. no.- I'll never forget staring at it all the way home.

bitemybanger

they are abosolute death traps, not to mantion thier FIAT

F-fix
I-it
A-again
T-tomorrow

Lorrs33

Ok, I think you've swayed me. My brother's friend might be selling me his Micra, and my mam had two of those so I know they're great cars. No objections?

L1011

bitemybanger wrote: »

they are abosolute death traps, not to mantion thier FIAT

F-fix
I-it
A-again
T-tomorrow

True for the era of car we're talking about.

Entirely untrue for anything on an 03 plate or later.

klaus23

Wonderful thread, complete with the usual load of barstool regurgitation by people who have never driven said car, but repeat everything that daddy's friends cite as fact. I - unlike most other posters - owned two of these, both Sportings, and there was a Seicento Abarth in our family for a short while as well. If your idea of fun in a car depends on badge snobbery or engine size, look away now.

They are fantastic little town cars, cost peanuts, are comparatively quick and can be made a little faster by a straight swop with the 1.2 engine from the Mk1 Punto 60. I would recommend one in a heartbeat, because in terms of fun there is very little to equal it. Look out for breaking clutch cable assemblys (due to plastic brackets), rotten cooling systems, trashed syncromesh, crash damage and make sure you get your red key.

Of all the cars I've owned (several Mk2 Golf GTi's, including a present 16v, 205 XS, 205 GTi 1.9, Lancia Thema Turbo, Rover Metro GTi, E30 318iS) and driven, the two Cinq Sportings are what I miss most. That, and their ability to cope with opposite lock slides at any speed.

Buy it.

3ps

I bought a new Sporting (yellow) in 1997. I loved the car.

But I wouldn't do it again, purely on safety grounds.

unkel

Nice post, klaus

At 6'2 I found a cinquecento very uncomfortable to fit into. That said, I've heard of bigger blokes who had no such problems. And as the OP is a girl, she probably fits just fine

cantdecide

klaus23 wrote: »

Wonderful thread, complete with the usual load of barstool regurgitation by people who have never driven said car, but repeat everything that daddy's friends cite as fact. I - unlike most other posters - owned two of these, both Sportings, and there was a Seicento Abarth in our family for a short while as well. If your idea of fun in a car depends on badge snobbery or engine size, look away now.

They are fantastic little town cars, cost peanuts, are comparatively quick and can be made a little faster by a straight swop with the 1.2 engine from the Mk1 Punto 60. I would recommend one in a heartbeat, because in terms of fun there is very little to equal it. Look out for breaking clutch cable assemblys (due to plastic brackets), rotten cooling systems, trashed syncromesh, crash damage and make sure you get your red key.

Of all the cars I've owned (several Mk2 Golf GTi's, including a present 16v, 205 XS, 205 GTi 1.9, Lancia Thema Turbo, Rover Metro GTi, E30 318iS) and driven, the two Cinq Sportings are what I miss most. That, and their ability to cope with opposite lock slides at any speed.

Buy it.

There are precious few people who actually have the correct set of requirements to buy cars like these. Ditto the micra and the majority of city cars.

If you're a car nut that wants one specifically, which I'm sure you are, fine but the OP shouldn't automatically assume that the smallest possible hatch is the most suitable car with respect to comfort, safety, usage etc. etc. etc. She could be doing a 50 mle commute in this for all we know.

If it never, ever needs to leave the cities they were intended for, then you are 100% right, it's practical enough for this purpouse. Since the OP doesn't seem like a car nut who wants excitement, Italian Job style and we know nothing about her usage (which I'm sure will rule it out also) she should probably give it a miss.

OP if you're still out there can you please give us some idea of your usage ie, annual mileage, distances, road qualities, night use, maybe you're particularly tall (or round!) etc. etc.

LegacyUser

Unless your a girl ----NO--- they don't call it a Cuntogetinto for nothing


its usually young wans or auld wans that drive em So GET SUM1 TO CHECK THE CLUTCH - TIMING BELT AND OIL - bound to have been abused


I drove one home before for a friend who was too drunk - and i swear the wind nearly took the thing - Really Really Unsafe

*** Don't Forget ***

If you buy it and crash, it'll be your last car aswell - you can dent the things just by leaning on it - think about it

cantdecide

Flesh Gordon wrote: »

Unless your a girl ----NO---

I don't believe in this 'car for a girl' stuff. It's either a good car or it's not and in this case, more often than not, not:p.