Fiat Cinquecento 0.9

My mum had one of these cars for 4 years. In this time she experienced the following:

*** Car refused to start when on a shopping trip, leaving her stranded..no once, not twice, not three times..but 6 times!
*** Gasket went on it.
*** Radiator died unexpectedly.
***Car radio died repeatedly for no apparent reason.
***Car footwell started leaking water, and even though I took out the drain thingy (a bit of plastic under the bonnet) and searched everywhere, the leaks just kept on coming!
***Petrol filling thing wouldn't allow the petrol cap to be tightened. This resulted in leaking petrol everywhere (including inside the car).
***Boot leaked water, meaning shopping or luggage would float on a particularly wet day.
***Nigglling electrical faults-battery lights went on and off, speedometer went up and down like a whores knickers for no reason.
***Lack of power on uphill descent or for going down the motorway-I can remember my mum overtaking tractors and feeling very ominous that I would be meeting my maker sooner rather than later...
****Exhaust fell off.
****Locks were very temporamental, the boot lock would seem to lock but it wouldn't actually lock.Also the door locks occasionally wouldn't open, and in winter the locks would completely freeze.If you eventually got in the car, you would have to hold the door whilst driving as it wouldn't close.
***Bodywork-Papier mache bodywork would have been better, every mark and scuff showed up.Even five years of careful driving, and the car looked like it had done time in Baghdad.The bodywork is thinner than Bruce Forsyth's hairdo, tinny and thin. You could literally tear the metal.

I think an accurate description would be a death trap on wheels.really bad engineering and bodywork, combined with very basic interior and uncomfortable driving position. Add to that a slow and sluggish engine and there you have it...the Cinquecento.
Good points would be fuel economy as it costs peanuts to fill, and does plenty to the gallon. As a city car it isn't too bad, and will go from A to B quite happily. The interior is nothing special, but again it is a cheap motor, basic, and you can't expect too much.If Fiat had came up with a better design, a more responsive engine, and a safer feeling car and combined this with build quality and reliability, this car would have been much better.It does not compare to a late 1990's Toyota Yaris n any way, shape or form.
I also never understood why Fiat did not fit a glovebox to this car-this means any valuables are on full public display, although the boot is so small this could double for a glovebox. People who enjoy driving will not enjoy this car.