Just need to get this off my chest.
This week I booked a hire car - one way rental from Chester to Somerset.
My expectations are set that on most one way hires you get the worst car they have as its an opportunity to get it out of the local fleet, but this week Europcar exceeded themselves.
They managed to find me a Fiat 500L (apparently it's equivalent to an Astra / Golf?) Only 18 months old and 24K on the clock......
It came in a lovely shade of 70's pale brown with matching orange/brown interior. I do give Fiat some credit for trying to be a little different, but it wasn't to my taste
It was fitted with the asthmatic 1.3 multijet engine - no idea on output but would be surprised if it was more than 60 bhp. Has to be one of the worst cars they have given me (or at least its up there with the Ssangyong Turismo).
I can only describe it as driving a jelly - very little body control, the gearchange was like stirring porridge , painfully slow and I'm not convinced the front wheels were connected to the steering in anyway. What disappointed the most is that I always recall Fiats being quite good fun to drive. Take that away and what's left?
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A big hole in your pocket, 'cos they are frighteningly expensive for what they are.
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I had a hired one of those in Italy last year. It was bright red. Deeply uninspiring to drive but as on that occasion I needed a car which would double as a small van it was ok.
There's a hotel outside Milan I use regularly and the owner and some of his staff have become friends over the years. The manager used to work in a London hotel.
One morning I got out to the car to find that they had printed off and gently stuck on post office livery on it and a cut out picture of Postman Pat's cat on one of the back windows looking like it was peering out.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 21 Nov 15 at 10:41
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I had a Fiat 500x over the weekend as a hire car.
Mine was the diesel (no idea what cc but was comfortably rapid), but otherwise pretty horrid. 1st 3rd and 5th were woolly (2, 4 and 6th slotted in nicely, oddly). Steering was electric and vague, but it was the ride and brakes that drove me mad.
Suspension was far too firm, and the brakes were just horrible. Wooden, and with lots of travel before anything happened, the resistance didn't seem to correlate with stopping power. Coupled with a fairly high brake pedal, I have never driven a car that was so hard to drive smoothly.
Coupled with pretty miserable snow performance, and a weirdly high boot floor, would not recommend it at all.
Last edited by: Statistical Outlier on Mon 23 Nov 15 at 17:09
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Wow - first time in four years. Welcome back, SO! Somehow I'd got the idea that you'd morphed into Idle Chatterer, but the evidence suggests you're two different people - so, erm, congratulations to you both.
}:---)
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Yeah, erm, I've been quite busy. And am now less so. So, umm, hello!
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500X - It's a rebodied & rebadged Jeep Renegade.
Polishing turds..................
Last edited by: Falkirk Bairn on Mon 23 Nov 15 at 17:22
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I can confirm they don't even appear to have bothered putting glitter on it.
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Smart 2 door car has a following - they tried a 4 door ( a rebadged Mitsubishi) trading on the popularity of the initial Smart - abject failure!!
Fiat 500 has a following, especially in the UK. They have tried a 500L 5 door trading on the looks & popularity of the initial of 500 - failure!! Large numbers in initial day rent cars - Very slow sales - huge stocks built up but Fiat seem to be hanging around hoping for a change of fortune - probably be better having a fire sale @ 40/50% off pre reg models and try something else.
Who says History does not repeat itself!
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There's no accounting for tastes. The 500L is almost in the Multipla league for chronic ugliness, so slow sales are no surprise - but so is the Mini Countryman which looks rather like the 500L, and that apparently sells strongly.
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I doubt Smart was where Fiat was looking; more likely the ever-increasing range of ever-larger Mini derivatives that fill the spaces in my town not already taken by XC90s and Evoques.
But the Minis have the backing of the large-car expertise of BMW; Fiat and large cars, anyone?
That said, my sales colleague picked me up at Luxembourg airport in a Belgian-rented Countryman. I was surprised at how cheap it felt inside.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Mon 23 Nov 15 at 18:04
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The collections guy turned up today. I was at work, so Mrs B duly handed over the keys.
"Was everything OK, and did you enjoy the car madam"
It wasn't mine, it was for my partner
"Oh, OK. Was he happy with it?"
No, said it was one of the worst hire cars he has had
"Not surprised, we hate these, in fact we argue over who has to go and pick them up"
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I saw the same transaction taking place in our close recently, except the female was handing the keys back on her own behalf. I couldn't hear what was being said, but body language suggested the dialogue was identical.
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I had a 500x as a hire care and I thought it was great.
And the 500L is comfortably the biggest seller in its segment in Europe...
left-lane.com/car-sales-europe/car-sales-segments/page/2/
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We have a 'normal' 500 and love it, to the extent that we were considering a 500L when grandchildren finally put in an appearance. However, I may be looking elsewhere after reading this!
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>> Test one first!
Of course, we will. I'd be leaning more towards the 500X anyway as I think that the L makes the Multipla look attractive!
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I much prefer the 500x looks wise, though apparently the 500L is a more practical car.
As mentioned the 500x I had on hire I really enjoyed. It was a 1.6 multijet diesel, had lots of kit and was nice to drive. Boot wise it was only the size of a normal hatchback (around 350 litres) but decently shaped
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>> Test one first!
Good luck with that, if our recent experience with FIAT dealers is anything to go by.
Mrs DP was in the market for either an Abarth 500C or a Cooper S convertible back in August. We abandoned the idea of the Abarth simply as a result of being unable to find a dealer who could offer us a test drive. A Twin Air might be an impressive car, but it's not a suitable substitute.
It raised wider questions too around how well a dealer that can't be bothered pre-sale is going to support you post-sale if you have issues.
Went to a MINI Centre, and the experience couldn't have been any more different. Knowledgeable, helpful sales guy struck a really nice balance between being helpful and over-eager. Offered us a test drive there and then, had a car closer to the spec we wanted transferred in within 3 days, which we came back and drove the next weekend. We loved it, haggled a bit, and ordered a car which, as it was in factory stock, we drove home 8 days later. A pleasant, easy experience, just as it should be.
The customer experience is no less important than the product.
Last edited by: DP on Tue 24 Nov 15 at 08:22
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From this thread it is easy to spot the LEC and autobhan stormer drivers. :-)
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My mother has a 500L. Had it about 2 years now. It replaced a Multipla, which itself replaced an earlier Multipla. She loved the Mulits, is slightly less enamoured of the 500L, but still likes it well enough. Her grandchildren love the thing, always look forward to going out with Nanna in it. I think they like the view and seating height compared to our 2 normal estate cars. It always amazes me how huge it is when parked next to my SAAB 9-5 and Mazda 6. Those are supposed to be full sized family cars but the 500L dwarves them.
Someone upthread doubts FIAT's ability to make good larger cars, well, I disagree. The Marea was a very good and under-rated car (I had one), as was the most recent Croma, and their new generation of crossover thingies seem to be Jeep based, and Jeep do have some experience in the matter, so why shouldn't they be good enough?
I do wish FIAT still made a large saloon/estate car, I liked my Marea and my Regata before it, and the Tempras I drove in the early 90s. Their poor reputation for larger cars stems from the rust issue which bedevilled them until the 90s. Seen a rusty FIAT lately? Me neither. Mercs on the other hand............
Wouldn't mind a FIAT Freemont if they sold them here, I looked at one in France this summer and it was very nice inside, way better appointed than the Dodge Journey on which it was based, much better seats and interior materials. And a 2.0 diesel VW engine. Oh, hang on..............
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Seen a rusty FIAT lately? Me neither. Mercs on the other hand....
Seen an old Fiat lately?
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Oh yes. Bloke round my way drives a tatty, T-reg (suffix) Strada, believe it or not. Lots of old Puntos rattling round the less salubrious estates of Reading.
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>> Seen a rusty FIAT lately? Me neither.
As reported in my 'stick/twist' thread the 2010/10 Qubo I looked at on Saturday had what looked like rust at front of offside cill. There was paint damage in the area and it could have been result of that damage or poor repair but not encouraging.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 24 Nov 15 at 10:19
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>> Croma, and their new generation of crossover thingies seem to be Jeep based, and Jeep
>> do have some experience in the matter, so why shouldn't they be good enough?
And there is the rub, Jeep have a shed load of experience of making unreliable cars. Even in the states.
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I dunno so much. A Cherokee is hardly my kind of car, but nonetheless robust and reliable I believe. If I needed an off roader, I'd certainly consider one.
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robust and reliable? you'd consider one? wells that a death knell, Mr "Renaults are ok really"
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FIAT - Hateful Car - Roger.
