General Men in Fiat 500s
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General Men in Fiat 500s
Interesting, worth a drive for the hell of it
I'm REALLY glad that I got a chance to testdrive a demonstrator. Part of me wishes that we'd bought one instead of the 500, but then I think about the fuel economy and how long we'll own the car, as well as the cheap tax and I see why we bought the 500
I'm REALLY glad that I got a chance to testdrive a demonstrator. Part of me wishes that we'd bought one instead of the 500, but then I think about the fuel economy and how long we'll own the car, as well as the cheap tax and I see why we bought the 500
but think how cool the 100HP would look at the side of the road, while you walked to the petrol station
:devil:
My 500 didn't look very cool when it ran out of petrol in the snow last November. Luckily it's not quite white so it was slightly visible
Interesting, worth a drive for the hell of it
suspension on the Panda 100HP isnt great either, in fact get on the wrong road and it might just pogo you into the scenery
a 500 1.4 on the right suspension is better
Well that's because there's sod all travel in the rear suspension but the Panda just seems to handle far better even than the 1.4 500's I testdrove a few timessuspension on the Panda 100HP isnt great either, in fact get on the wrong road and it might just pogo you into the scenery
a 500 1.4 on the right suspension is better
You're right though, right suspension and a 500 will be better, no doubt about that.
I regularly drive my wife's 'girly coloured' CCCAB 500 and have never noticed any road rage or bad feeling directed towards me. My wife however says that she definitely gets better treatment from other road users when driving the 500 than either my current or previous more 'manly' cars - a Volvo XC60 or SAAB 9-5.
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oncepastthepost
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Its incredible how much one's personality shines through with the choice of car and one's driving style.
A cousin of mine won't be seen dead in anything less than his Range Rover Sport HSE with extreme tints (the half shade ones that are silver at the top and black at the bottom) - but then he is the epitome of peen-ar*e. I found it amazing the reaction of people to whom I said I was getting a 500 (for the OH of course). All the usual "it's a girl's car", "it's too small", "blah blah..." - so I went and bought one
A cousin of mine won't be seen dead in anything less than his Range Rover Sport HSE with extreme tints (the half shade ones that are silver at the top and black at the bottom) - but then he is the epitome of peen-ar*e. I found it amazing the reaction of people to whom I said I was getting a 500 (for the OH of course). All the usual "it's a girl's car", "it's too small", "blah blah..." - so I went and bought one
I did get that reaction from a lot of friends, especially in the owners club for the Corrado...
But there are very few arguments to be made really when the only arguments people have is that "you look gay" or "it's a girls car" - as soon as you point out the facts about the car or apply LOGIC (economical, cheap to tax, new & under warranty, adequate for 99% of the driving I do) then the arguments run out of steam.
I don't care if some tool in a Range Rover Sport thinks that I look out of place in my car. If someone thinks the measure of the man is in the car he drives, then they're lacking in substance, and are not people who's opinions I even remotely care about.. to be honest I just feel sorry for them.
But there are very few arguments to be made really when the only arguments people have is that "you look gay" or "it's a girls car" - as soon as you point out the facts about the car or apply LOGIC (economical, cheap to tax, new & under warranty, adequate for 99% of the driving I do) then the arguments run out of steam.
I don't care if some tool in a Range Rover Sport thinks that I look out of place in my car. If someone thinks the measure of the man is in the car he drives, then they're lacking in substance, and are not people who's opinions I even remotely care about.. to be honest I just feel sorry for them.
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Funnily enough a good friend's wife went into the local Range Rover dealership wanting to buy a RR sport. She is rather posh and well-to-do. The dealer flatly told her she couldn't buy a Sport as it was inappropriate for her - it had to be either a proper RR or a Disco.
Well maybe he was just being helpful. Sport's are 100% Chelsea tractor, RR's and Disco's less so. A RR on non 30 inch wheels without tints and full cock pack actually look quite nice.
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Actually I think she DID appreciate the advice - she didn't want to look too much like a drug dealer. She got a full fat RR in a sort of gun metal colour with standard size alloys and no tints. Looks a lot more like it is for transporting the horse box than heroin.
If I had loads of money and a long driveway which for some reason necessitated a 4wd with ground clearance then a full fat RR with standard wheels and no tints it would be. RR's are classy cars like that, but as soon as you tint the windows and put big tyres on then you've just just barry'ed it in a most costly manner.
Its very interesting reading Hammond's article and just as interesting reading the responses on here too.
Of the TopGear trio I find Hammond more than slightly irritating, to say the least. If he had TopGear homework I'd expect it to be marked "Tries too hard" Clarkson's a gigantic buffoon but I do find his love of motoring very infectious. May I like because he is so English, if that makes any sense?
Anyways - having owned a few 500's now its interesting this notion of bullying when in a small Italian motor. I can honestly say that it has never been the case. I suspect I look very much out-of-place in my 500 being broadly built with 0 cropped hair and stubble. Grant mitchell anyone?
On the other hand my partners previous car (Grande Punto) seemed to attract every ***** on the road. Infact I probably only enjoyed a handful of journeys in that car in the two years we owned it. It just seemed to provoke other road users, and it was no sports car - just an eleganza Dualogic.
I find drivers more courteous to me in the 500, if anything.
I just hope the Punto experience doesn't happen when my Sporting takes the place of the current Cinq?!
Steve
Of the TopGear trio I find Hammond more than slightly irritating, to say the least. If he had TopGear homework I'd expect it to be marked "Tries too hard"
Clarkson's a gigantic buffoon but I do find his love of motoring very infectious. May I like because he is so English, if that makes any sense? Anyways - having owned a few 500's now its interesting this notion of bullying when in a small Italian motor. I can honestly say that it has never been the case. I suspect I look very much out-of-place in my 500 being broadly built with 0 cropped hair and stubble. Grant mitchell anyone?
On the other hand my partners previous car (Grande Punto) seemed to attract every ***** on the road. Infact I probably only enjoyed a handful of journeys in that car in the two years we owned it. It just seemed to provoke other road users, and it was no sports car - just an eleganza Dualogic.
I find drivers more courteous to me in the 500, if anything.
I just hope the Punto experience doesn't happen when my Sporting takes the place of the current Cinq?!
Steve
suspension on the Panda 100HP isnt great either, in fact get on the wrong road and it might just pogo you into the scenery
You think that's bad, my car got ever so slightly sideways at a roundabout in the wet last week after hitting a bump! It's cos it's Japanese, innit? DORIFTO!
Scared the hell out of me for a second, until I remembered it was a FWD car.
