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:

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  Fiat 500 Lounge - 2012 Fiat 500
  By 1259alisa - February 6 - 2:40 pm

  Bought my Fiat 500 Lounge loaded -4 months ago and love it! Everything is very easy to read/use. Lots of attention to details like digital mileage read out mpg,love the heated seats, Sirrus radio free first year, nice leather, Great turn ratio, easy to park, drive. Good recovery on wet freeway roads-experienced this! No problems, 4 years maintenance of everything, 8K oil changes. Gettting 31mpg average. Smooth ride for such a small car, quiet unless you open moonroof. Downsides:need tinting (Texas!)sun shade not solid, hard to get into backseat. Need "Sport" button for quick acceleration. 23,400K Great customer service. Very happy with purchase. Blows the competition on away!

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  Exceeds expectations and is fun. - 2012 Fiat 500
  By igofishingalot - August 28 - 2:33 pm

  Fuel mileage is much better than the 38mpg highway posted on the sticker. An average of 41mpg was observed during a nice 40 mile long curvy and hilly back road drive mostly at 45mph in 4th gear with the top open. The car is a joy to travel in. It has plenty of room and comfort for 4. At 65mph with the top full open and windows closed, it is quiet enough to have normal conversations between all 4 occupants. Very quiet ride with top open or closed. Top can be operated with push button control while driving under 50mph. Car is fun enough to make our mid teen age kids still want to go with us. Back seats are roomy and comfortable for picky an long legged kids 58" tall.

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  Wow--Exceeded all expectations - 2012 Fiat 500
  By eidnas - June 24 - 2:05 pm

  We have the 500 Lounge the retro interior is great. Very comfortable seats. The sport driving option changes the entire driving dynamic on curving & hilly back roads. For a small wheel base car, the ride, handle and power is superior. It is surprisingly very stably at freeway speeds.

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  Texas 500 - 2012 Fiat 500
  By toaot500 - June 23 - 10:00 pm

  I ve had my car for about a month and I am enamored with it! It drives like a much sportier and expensive car you feel the bumps but only slightly most of it is absorbed. I cant tell you how much I love the way the interior looks like it came from a Maserati. I ve had alot of cars in the past but this one is actually my favorite so far. It may not be the fastest on the road but you never get the impression that its not. I was going for the Sport model because I liked the wheels and the body kit but the differences, between it and the Pop are minimal in performance (Ive test driven both in a manual). Both have a sport button like the Mini that make the small 1.4l come alive. GAS SAVER!

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  Makes me smile - 2012 Fiat 500
  By fiatscooter - June 9 - 10:13 pm

  Just bought my sport last Saturday and I am very happy with the purchase. It has style and is tons of fun to drive. My commute seems to have been shortened. I definitely would recommend this car to anyone looking for an inexpensive and fuel efficient alternative in the usa. Great job Fiat!

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  Zippity Doo Dah! - 2012 Fiat 500
  By drmac_uk_us - April 22 - 12:46 pm

  OK, I had a Honda S2000: twitchy, fun, a tad evil. BUT the SO did not fit, the ride was rougher than roller skates on cobblestones, and a boring commute didnt warrant keeping it. (sigh.) - The 500-Sport (manual, natch) is zippy, fun, and a real kick to drive. Its comfortable, and Mr. 62" CAN fit into the pax seat. (0-60 in lots of seconds is OK in FUN seconds) Theres a lot of down-shifting (even at highway speeds), it tends to jack-rabbit from stop, and Ive not pushed the traction in rain. But it gets me to work with a smile. - Free for 36K miles, the free road-service is better than AAA premium. Nice sunroof, and the Bose rocks.

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  Great car - 2012 Fiat 500
  By breinke - March 10 - 8:05 pm

  I just drove this car today, and I have never driven a manual. It felt very easy to drive and very comfortable. Although it doesnt have much power, I didnt feel like I was going to be run over by a big texas truck or not be able to keep up with traffic. I did not sit in the back, but It looked like it could do a good job of hauling people under six feet.

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  Fun, Cute but No Power - 2012 Fiat 500
  By edcg - March 3 - 4:45 pm

  Ive been waiting for this car to come to the US ever sense the positive review on TopGear. The US Spec Sport version version looks nice and is comfortable but lacks real oomph from the engine. This car is still on my short list BUT Im going to wait for the Abarth variant.

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  No not the tiny Fiat, the NEW Fiat with AWD! - 2016 Fiat 500x
  By Katrina Fernandez - November 23 - 12:22 am

  Pros: Very stylish! ( A cross between a Mini Cooper and a CRV) All Wheel Drive at a good starting price (around $24K) Easy to drive and easy to park Small, but not too small. Gas efficient Keyless entry and remote start Cons: Issues with the VIN#s, resulted in me having a hard time insuring the Car. It would have been nice if the dealership told me about this known issue before I drove off the lot!!! I was only able to find one insurer for my new car, which means I didnt get the best rate. I went back to the dealership and they provided me with a VIN # verification form- hopefully that does the trick. They slipped a piece of paper in my car, with information about the issue when I bought the car. Again, it would have been nice if they addressed the issue up front. I leased the car and the dealer didnt really go over what maintenance is covered under the warranty/lease. Where as we just leased a Toyota for my husband and they scheduled the first oil change in 6 months before we even left the dealership. Back seat is just large enough for passengers, but I imagine somebody 6 tall would have issues back there. Overall, Im very happy with the car so far.

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  great little/big car - 2014 Fiat 500L
  By Joseph Fiamoncini - June 22 - 2:20 pm

  Easy to park due to small size yet very roomy inside, peppy engine when paired with the manual transmission, good cargo space, fold down rear seats are not flat unless you use the cover from the storage area in the raised slot to better align the floor of the storage area with the folded seats, stadium style rear seats so that you can easily converse with rear passengers and they can see the road and front seat rider, handles well in corners, can be choppy on poor road surfaces, generally get 28-30 MPG on mixed city/highway driving, both I and my wife own 500L trekkings which together have a combined mileage of 59,000 miles, so far no breakdowns at all and only one recall for airbags, we also opted for the lifetime warranties on both cars, it does have some features that may have led early buyers to think it has gremlins, when making turns the fog light on that side turns on which is great in the dark on sharp turns as it lights up the shoulder of the road for you, when we first bought the car we thought that was a electrical problem but it turns put the dealer had only just learned that it was a feature (which can be disabled from the touch screen controls), the dealer had actually been replacing units in an effort to fix what was not a problem, the GPS needs updated maps which we were told was due to the maps themselves that were being supplied for the system this is not really a major problem for the vast majority of the time the maps have been dead on, the biggest problem has been the owners manual itself, the index was compiled for a different manual entirely as the referenced page numbers dont actually take you to the information that you are trying to look up, also the information in the manual is very weak in useful content, the brakes can be grabby and take experience with the vehicle to learn how to modulate them (they still catch me off guard once in a while) but when needed they seem to stop the car quickly and in a relatively short distance, the air conditioning works well but does affect the gas mileage, the car did get good IIHS crash ratings which was a factor in our decision to purchase them, all in all a competent and reliable vehicle thus far, my other car is a 2007 mazdaspeed 3 so I know about and use quick cars that can handle and brake well; @@@@@@@@ 4/29/2017,,update- we are over 90,000 miles between the two cars, no issues, premium gas will get a little more pep, might be useful here in Florida with heavy air conditioner use but I dont bother, however this does not equate to an increase in gas mileage, dont be afraid to drop down multiple gears on the stick shift to get moving quickly as the top 3 gears are all overdrive ratios, initial pullout needs some revs, wonder if a lighter fly wheel would allow a quicker spin up on the first 1500 RPMs, that is getting a little more technical, Hey, FIAT engineers are you listening. Gas mileage remains around 28, a majority of in town stop and go will drop that to 23-24 MPG. Car does need several thousand miles of break in to get best acceleration(noticeable difference), hmm sounds like a lot of older American iron block cars.