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2012 FIAT 500

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2012 FIAT 500 Review

By Jason Allan, KBB.com Editor

KBB Expert Rating: 7.3

Do you like sipping espressos at sidewalk cafés while chatting above the erratic screams of passing motor scooters? If you answered yes, oui or si, Fiat has a car for you and is bringing it to the States. The Italian automaker is returning to the U.S. after a 27-year absence – a move facilitated by its new relationship with Chrysler – this time as the small-car brand under the Chrysler umbrella. On one hand, it's easy to call the Fiat 500 an Italian Mini Cooper: They're both small cars with big personalities, they both have storied pasts dating back to the late 1950s and neither has been a true player in the U.S. market until their most recent incarnations. But take a quick spin in each, and a peek at their window stickers, and you'll see just how different they are.

You'll Like This Car If...

Combining European style and heritage with a starting price of $16,000, the 2012 Fiat 500 bridges the gap between the sportier, pricier Mini Cooper and the more pedestrian Toyota Yaris. If you like the big personality of the Mini Cooper but would gladly sacrifice some performance for a more comfortable highway ride and a lower price, you'll find the Fiat 500 worth a look.

You May Not Like This Car If...

If you're not smitten by the style of the 2012 Fiat 500, you can get more car for your money in something like a 2011 Honda Fit, 2011 Ford Fiesta or 2011 Mazda2, all of which offer more doors, more room and more power.

KBB Expert Ratings

Overall Rating

7.3
Driving Dynamics

7.0
Comfort & Convenience

7.3
Design: Interior & Exterior

7.8
Value

6.7
Safety

N/A

How It Ranks

#1

out of 9

Fuel Economy

#7

out of 9

Horsepower

View all rankings

Consumer Rating

4.2 out of 5

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consumer ratings

What's Significant About This Car?

More affordable than a Mini Cooper and more gregarious than a Toyota Yaris, the 2012 Fiat 500 offers a new mix of economy and style.

Driving the 500

Driving Impressions Whereas the Mini Cooper is an undersized action hero - as in The Italian Job – the Fiat 500 is more likely to land a part in a festival-favorite romantic...

comedy. The Fiat is definitely fun, just not in a sideways, airborne, car-chase kind of way. A big part of the appeal is in how it combines the advantages of a tiny car with comfortable accommodations and a relatively smooth highway ride. The steering, brake and shift controls all have a quality feel, and the optional six-speed automatic surprised us with its responsiveness. In fact, given the car's unhurried nature and the fact that its manual transmission offers one fewer gear, the automatic will be the preferred choice for many drivers. The 2012 Fiat 500 is tiny and quirky until you drive it. Then, it's tiny, quirky and respectable.

Favorite Features

Six-speed Automatic Transmission
Small four-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions have never mixed as well as chocolate and peanut butter, but the 2012 Fiat 500's 101-horsepower engine and six-speed automatic complement each other very nicely.

eco:Drive
Plug a USB memory stick into the Fiat 500's glovebox-mounted USB port and the car will upload onto it a variety of trip details including carbon dioxide emissions information. Plug the memory stick into your computer and you'll get personalized tips on how to improve your driving efficiency. In the long run it will prove more novel than useful to most drivers, but it's a cool idea nonetheless.

2012 FIAT 500 Details

Dashboard, center console, gear shifter view photo

Interior

The 2012 Fiat 500 is roomier up front than you might expect, and just as tight in back as it looks. If you plan on transporting more than two adults on a regular basis, we'd point you toward one of the 500's four-door competitors. The interior style lives up to the promise of the quirky but fashionable exterior, and we found the materials, build quality and seat comfort impressive for a car with a $16,000 starting price. The optional Bose audio system sounds just okay – better than the base system, presumably – and we couldn't navigate via artist or song title while using the USB interface; we just skipped to the next song.

Exterior

The 2012 Fiat 500 is a modern interpretation of the tiny, rear-engine original that first went on sale in Europe in 1957. While the new model is almost two feet longer than the original, it's still seven inches shorter than today's Mini Cooper. The 2012 Fiat 500 is available in three distinct trim levels – Pop, Sport and Lounge – all of which are easily distinguishable by unique wheels and fascias. The sloping rear end is a big part of the car's personality, but doesn't do much for rear head room.

Notable Equipment

Standard Equipment

At its $16,000 starting price the 2012 Fiat 500 Pop includes air conditioning, power locks/windows/mirrors, AM/FM/CD/MP3/Aux audio system, cruise control, 15-inch covered steel wheels and a five-speed manual transmission. Standard safety features include seven airbags, electronic stability control and seemingly all the other advancements we're seeing on new cars in this price range and beyond.

Optional Equipment

A fully loaded 2012 Fiat 500 Lounge includes a six-speed automatic transmission, leather seats, heated front seats, power sunroof, rear parking sensors, dash-mounted TomTom portable navigation system, Bluetooth hands-free communication, Bose audio system, auto climate control and USB/iPod connectivity. The 2012 Fiat 500 Sport is differentiated by a sport-tuned suspension, 16-inch wheels and a variety of aesthetic touches including red brake calipers and a subtle rear spoiler.

Under the Hood

The front-wheel-drive 2012 Fiat 500 is motivated by a small but sophisticated 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that pumps out 101 horsepower. Fiat says regular unleaded is okay, but recommends 91-octane premium fuel. We like the automatic transmission and its extra gear, but it results in about a 10 percent reduction in fuel economy.

1.4-liter four-cylinder
101 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm
98 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 30/38 mpg (manual), 27/34 mpg (auto)

Pricing Notes

The 2012 Fiat 500 starts at a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $16,000 and will climb past $25,000 when fully loaded. The 2011 Mini Cooper has a starting sticker price of $20,100 and can top $30,000 - further demonstrating the differences between the two. The 2011 Ford Fiesta Hatchback ranges from about $16,000 to $21,000. We expect the 2012 Fiat 500 to be a hot commodity for the foreseeable future and for Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to reflect real-world transaction prices close to MSRP.

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2012 FIAT 500 Consumer Reviews

Overall Rating

4.2

Out of 5

Based on 33 Ratings for the 2012 FIAT 500 models.

Review this car

Value

4.5/5

Quality

4.2/5
Reliability

4.3/5

Performance

4.2/5
Comfort

4.2/5

Styling

4.4/5

Rental Car

By AudiC on Sunday, February 19, 2012

I don't own this car

5 4.0

overall rating 4 of 5rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Reliability: 5/5
Quality: 4/5
Performance: 5/5
Styling: 5/5
Comfort: 4/5

Pros: "Fun to drive!"

Cons: "Small back seat"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"I rented this car for a road trip, since it would get better gas mileage than my vehicle. I loved driving this car!! It was fun and sporty! Made a couple people look since it had the pep to get up and go! Only pain was small backseat, but we had plenty of room for what was needed! Would rent this car again, would purchase if I didn't have snow in the winters. I fear it would get stuck too easily. :("

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Very nice car, with exceptional features.

By JTofSD (SD) on Tuesday, February 07, 2012

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 1,300

5 5.0

overall rating 5 of 5rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Reliability: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Performance: 5/5
Styling: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5

Pros: "Value! Fits tall drivers. Solidly built quality."

Cons: "Small back seat."

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"I looked at a lot of cars before I bought the 2012 Fiat 500 Pop. I tried the Kia Rio, the Hyundai Accent, the VW Beetle and Golf, the Mini Cooper, the Ford Fiesta, The Honda Civic, and the Mazda2. The Fiat 500 was better than any of those cars, at least for me. I am 6' 3" tall and seating was very important to me. The Fiat has better headroom, and more comfortable leg room than the other cars. The Fiat also sits higher than the others, and the doors are taller and wider, so that makes getting in and out much easier. Great visibility! The back seat is tiny on the Fiat 500, so it only for children and small adults, or for storage. I bought the basic Fiat 500 Pop with the only option the automatic transmission. The car comes with air conditioning, power windows/lock/keyless entry, and lots of other higher end stuff. The Fiat 500 Pop has plenty of power, and the automatic is very smooth in shifting. The handing is excellent, and turning is a joy. The car does well on interstates, and does NOT feel like a small car when driving. Fuel economy has been as good, or a bit better than the rating. My combined city highway driving is averaging about 32 mpg. The hatch opens wide, and the rear seats do fold down. They do not fold all the way flat and level with the rear, so that is not as good of a storage as say in the older 2 door Hyundai Accent (sadly, they do not make the 2 door Accent anymore). But still the Fiat 500 has more storage than you would expect. The dash is easy to use and read, and has the body color across the dash. It is a pretty car both inside and out. The most common thing people say to me is, "what a cute car." The Fiat 500 has many color options that competitors just do not offer, especially in base models. Mine is rame (copper) but there are like 14 color options. Overall the price of a Fiat 500 is a great value on a solid and well designed car."

11 people out of 11 found this review helpful

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