Overview & Reviews
Fiat is one of the earliest and grandest names in automobiles, dating from the establishment of Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino ("FIAT") in 1899. During the early years, its racing cars were the envy of every nation. Later on, the Fiat Topolino ("Little Mouse") was as famous as the Volkswagen KDF (subsequently known as the "Beetle") in the 1930s and '40s. The 1950s saw Fiat put much of Italy on wheels with the hugely popular 500, sparking the "Italian Miracle," a renaissance of European consumer products.
Sadly, the company's fortunes in the United States were mixed. Here, the Fiat 1500 won over a fair share of enthusiasts in the mid-'60s, and the early-'70s saw the Fiat 850 (Spider and Coupe) become popular among college students. Yet the Pininfarina-designed Fiat 124 sports car did the most to keep the Fiat image alive in America, as cars like the front-wheel-drive 128 and midengine X1/9 ultimately failed. Even Lancia, Fiat's premium brand, withered quickly after an introduction in the mid-'70s. Ultimately, Fiat's poor reputation for quality and its inability to cope with ever more stringent emissions regulations led the Italian company to pull out of the U.S. market altogether in 1984.
In 2000, General Motors acquired a stake in Fiat as part of a joint venture to create a new generation of small, affordable cars for Europe. GM's financial troubles led to the unraveling of this agreement in 2005, but Fiat had invested the GM money wisely in new air emissions technology. When the bankruptcy of Chrysler took place in 2008, Fiat saw an opportunity to return to the U.S. In 2009, Fiat acquired a controlling interest in Chrysler.
The Fiat 500, debuting for 2012, was the first of Fiat's new generation of cars to come stateside. Staying true to its lineage, the new 500 is very small, nimble and stylish. In addition to the 500 coupe, there are also the 500 convertible and hot-rod 500 Abarth to further tempt those looking for a small car with plenty of personality. More recently, Fiat has expanded its lineup with the fully electric 500e and the family-friendly, four-door 500L.
User Reviews:
Showing 1 through 10 of 263.00-
Ciao Bella - 2015 Fiat 500
By Bapa Fazio - December 1 - 1:56 pmInexpensive fun transportation. Replaced a 92 Miata with this and its as much fun to drive. Not a lot of pop in the pop but I smile every time I drive it. Lots of front seat room rear seats comfortable for kids only. Good manual transmission. Short turning radius. Small for city driving and rides better than expected on the freeway. I like the styling, not a typical boring low end car. Only have 3000 miles so I cant speak about reliability.
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2012 Fiat 500 pop - 2012 Fiat 500
By Kellster07 - September 2 - 6:08 pmI love my fiat its adorable inside and out and gets me where I want to go. Due to the wide trunk we are actually able to fit a lot in the back of my fiat with the back seats down including our lawn mower. I have had to replace my windshield several times due to rocks hitting the windshield while driving in highways due to fiat being so low to ground. I also think the windshield glass is not strong as the rocks were not too big and I was far from the trucks. Another issue I had was my hubcabs continuously fall off, I paid for two and then decided to stop paying for them and have had one missing for 9 months now as I refuse to pay for another. The clock in my car is always wrong, small detail yes but annoying, as I have fixed it to the correct time a dozen times and it weirdly keeps going back to 7 minutes behind schedule. The inside of the car is very hard to clean including the steering wheel and dashboard due to the texture and different finishes. It either doesnt clean it at all or leaves streaks, I have tried a bunch of different cleaning products at this point. The ride is beyond bumpy, my friends who have ridden in the car have stated that it feels like they are on a carnival ride. The back seats are not comfortable at all and not full side seats, so if you want that dont get a fiat. The front seat surprisingly has a lot of leg room per my husband. The car is easy to drive and park and gets great gas mileage. I have people asking me about my car and peering in the window all the time. Its an adorable car and fun to drive but definitely has it drawbacks.
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Getting Costly to Own. - 2012 Fiat 500
By Michael Willsey - July 25 - 1:58 pm3 Vent knobs came off under warranty. Driver arm rest came apart under warranty but the first repair disabled the seats ability to move forward by pulling on seat back release handle and it took them several months and 4 returns for repair until they figured it out. The original battery suddenly went dead with no warning just past warranty leaving us stranded and in need of a road side service call and new battery. Most costly was main computer malfunction at 62,000 miles out of warranty at a cost of over $700.00 and still making payments on original car loan and this major problem, the problems was the headlights would not turn off, not even with switched to off nor by shutting off car, had to unplug headlights. The new computer is warrantied for just one year. At the same time as the computer going out the service department stated the steering was in need of repair at a cost of nearly $300, at this time I have yet to repair the steering and am driving it as is since the service person said it wouldnt keep me from safe driving.
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Great little car - 2015 Fiat 500
By powell4665 - June 29 - 3:32 pmI was looking at another car in the used car section of the Fiat dealer. I liked the way the Fiat looked so decided to give it a drive. Turned out I really liked this cute little car. So bought it that day. Red with automatic transmission. I can see where some of the interior parts will likely not hold up well, but for the money and styling, I think its a great deal. I dont really drive a lot anymore and this is really perfect for me. Comfortable, peppy, and fun to look at.
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Fiat 500L = Fun Italian Ride - 2015 Fiat 500L
By demingboys - June 6 - 3:59 pmThis little Italian charmer has been quite a refreshing joy to drive over the last few weeks. The performance of the multi-air turbo is phenomenal and unexpected. For its size, the 500L is nimble and handles more like a sports car than the Fiat self-described "Urban Utility Vehicle." I highly recommend the Trekking version of this vehicle. It is a better designed model than the others offered and more rugged in appearance.
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2013 Abarth manual - highest fun/$ - 2013 Fiat 500
By paul_abarth - March 23 - 11:47 amYou have to try it.. you may love or hate it - but it really is a fun car for enthusiast drivers. Great value, provided you dont pay the MSRP (I got mine (with 3 year tire insurance - which I already used once for a repair) for 19K US$ + tax with end of year discounts of 6K.) Was considering other small/light fun cars such as the Mini/Mazda Mx5/BRZ-FRS, but for similar performance/features it would be 10K more, anyway, I just kind of fell in love with it after a test drive. With the 17-inch wheels and P-zero tires this light weight car feels fast and nimble, not always stable on the edge. Provided you keep it in the mid-rev range the torque is strong and turbo lag is not an issue.
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Great fun, jury still out on reliability - 2014 Fiat 500L
By Seema Sonnad - March 16 - 9:37 amIve had the car for 9.5 months now. I love the style, the roominess, the visibility and how much fun it is to drive. It took a bit to get used to the transmission (manual, a little odd in first gear), but now it is great. It did have a recall to repair a computer issue causing the battery to die when parked in the cold for more than 48 hours with no start, but hopefully that is resolved. Some minor electrical things are a little quirky, but no big deal. I had my VW golf prior to this for 15 years with no major issues (it had early recalls for an oxygen sensor chip so was not perfect), so reliability is my only real concern with the Fiat.
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Great value but some issues - 2012 Fiat 500
By Kristina Colpitts - March 12 - 9:28 pmI love the retro look and feel, the interior is gorgeous but there are a few issues with my 3 yr old 50,000KM 500C. I bought it 3 years old and a few days ago Ive started to hear some creaking noises on the passenger side and back, sounds almost like the plastic on the doors is not put together tightly... I cant figure out what it is exactly but its SUPER annoying.
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Nifty and fun, nice extras - 2015 Fiat 500L
By Joanne Straub - February 22 - 11:18 pmI always start with the negatives I note. First would be the fabric. Im simply not fond of it, it reminds me of heavy duty panty hose and seems to pick up dirt easily. The center armrest is very high and awkwardly placed. There is so much width the door armrest isnt really reachable, either. That said... I love driving this car. After years of soccer mom-mobiles, I wanted something small, easy to maneuver and park, better on gas, and fun. However, we have two large dogs and stepkids on weekends. This is a perfect blend for us. Room for five without needing a shoehorn, and not like driving a Sherman tank.
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Great niche car...think before you buy - 2013 Fiat 500
By holmgren - January 16 - 4:21 pmUp front Ill say that I love this car and it is great for my needs. But this is absolutely a niche vehicle that is lots of fun as a run-about but gives up a lot in utility/flexibility. There is no way I would have bought this as an only car in the household--something like a GTI would make way more sense or a Focus ST if you wanted more edginess. That said, I felt the Abarth had way more character, was more fun, and was more unique for a hot hatch. It feels a more raw and simple than the competition--which I like. It gets me to work every day, puts a smile on my face when I drive it, gets good gas mileage, and for short trips fits a family of three and groceries for a couple of days.
