http://journal-newspapers.com/index.php/in-this-issue/autos/item/43-the-2012-fiat-500#sigProGalleria2e3fcd3432
The 2012 Fiat 500 is the type of car I love: small, zippy, interactive and fun to drive. The price tag of $17,500 helps, too.
Maybe I just like pretending I’m in Italy, where the Fiat originated. Now a Chrysler product, the Fiat 500 is manufactured in Mexico for the North American market, but I can still imagine driving it through the vineyards of Tuscany.
My friends also liked the Fiat 500. During the week that I drove this vehicle, I had more comments than usual. “Are you driving that adorable car out there?” was the normal response when they looked on the parking lot.
Though I described the Fiat 500 as “a pregnant roller skate” to one of my colleagues, I was not being derogatory. The car is adorably tiny, which is one of the things I love about it. It is so small that when my family of four needed to travel about 50 miles round-trip for a post-holiday gathering, I suggested we take our sedan. They disagreed, so my two teenage boys climbed into the backseat of the two-door Fiat hatchback, my husband sat in the passenger bucket seat next to me, and we put our large bag of gifts in the trunk.
I was amazed at the lack of complaints as we drove. Everyone had enough legroom and felt comfortable. The Fiat provides plenty of elbow room and the seats are spacious for the average-sized person.
When we came home with twice the amount of gifts that we brought, including a large suitcase and even larger bag, plus two smaller bags and a plant, it all fit. Without backseat passengers, we could have folded down the rear seats, which have a 50/50 split, and fit plenty of luggage and gear for weeks of travel.
The five-speed with overdrive automatic is really fun to maneuver, adding to the sports car feel of the drive. The gears easily engage and the transitions are smooth. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather, and there are other leather touches throughout the interior, but the seats are cloth and the dash and gearshift are chrome.
The steering wheel has audio and cruise control built in, and the audio is also available for passengers in a central console. The instruments are large and bold, adding to a sporty look. These include a tire pressure monitor, voice-activated controls for Bluetooth, a digital clock, a tachometer, an exterior temperature gauge, and a trip computer.
Though definitely an economy car, the Fiat 500 has memory adjustments for the driver seat, automatic windows and mirror adjustments, and several entertainment options, including a USB port, auxiliary audio input jack, CD player, MP3/WMA player, and front iPod auxiliary audio input jack. It comes with a Bose Energy Efficient Series AM/FM radio with six speakers.
Safety features include an anti-theft engine immobilizer and power door locks operated via a key, remotely or with an internal switch. The Fiat 500 also has multi-stage deployment air bags, three-point seatbelts, LATCH, front active head restraints, crumple zones, a rollover sensor, automatic locking retractors and side guard door beams.
The base sticker price for the 2012 Fiat 500 is a mere $17,500. With an average fuel consumption of 30 MPG for city driving and 38 MPG for freeway, the Fiat 500 Sport Hatchback can travel nearly 350 miles on one tank of gas. Driving it takes a lot less effort than making the trek on a pair of roller skates and it’s a heck of a lot more fun.
