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When my girlfriend declared she was going to by a Fiat I have to say I
wasn't too encouraging. Remember the Panda? Italy's best selling car I think but not the most inspiring car. Deck chairs for seat etc.
I have to admit that the car is pretty cute. The car in question is the MIA ... Read review
Advantages: Cheap to run, Looks Cute, Good in town Disadvantages: Unweildy drive, rubbish on motorway
...was going to by a Fiat I have to say I
wasn't too encouraging. Remember the Panda? Italy's best selling car I think but not the most inspiring car. Deck chairs for seat etc.
I have to admit that the car is pretty cute. The car in question is the MIA version which was bought new for £5995. It's second bottom of the range so doesn't have body coloured bumpers or mirrors or any of that stuff but still looks good even nearly 3 years ... ...no real problems in the 30,000 miles that it has covered. The only thing which went wrong was the handbrake mechanism rusted through. A local brake, tyre and exhaust specialist who will remain nameless fixed it, charged a fortune and made a royal arse of it. It has now been fixed by someone who know what they
are doing and it works fine.
The performance of the car however leaves something to be desired. The
little 900cc ... more
Alright, I have to admit that this isn't actually my car. It's my girlfriends but I've driven it enough to express an opinion. The car is a 1999 Seicento Mia, 900cc.
When my girlfriend declared she was going to by a Fiat I have to say I wasn't too encouraging. Remember the Panda? Italy's best selling car I think but not the most inspiring car. Deck chairs for seat etc.
I have to admit that the car is pretty cute. The car in question is the MIA version which was bought new for £5995. It's second bottom of the range so doesn't have body coloured bumpers or mirrors or any of that stuff but still looks good even nearly 3 years on.
To my surprise there has been no real problems in the 30,000 miles that it has covered. The only thing which went wrong was the handbrake mechanism rusted through. A local brake, tyre and exhaust specialist who will remain nameless fixed it, charged a fortune and made a royal arse of it. It has now been fixed by someone who know what they are doing and it works fine.
The performance of the car however leaves something to be desired. The little 900cc engine only produces 39bhp which propels the car to 60 in a non frantic 18 seconds. This kind of lack of performance I last encountered in a 1980, 1.3 Ford cortina. What I mean by this is that there are no physical indications that you are accelerating other than the Speedo moving now and again.
The car is actually not that bad in 1st and 2nd gear as it's obviously been designed for nipping around town. The problems comes in 3rd gear where it just runs out of power.
This lack of performance leads you to develop a particular driving style of horsing the car as hard as you can. With no rev counter this results in red lining most gear changes and causing the car to burn a bit of oil. In return for the lack of performance you do get upwards of 50mpg around town but the economy does suffer when the car is running at high speeds although it can only do 87mph.
Inside the car is almost tardis like in it's dimensions. There is plenty of head room and leg room in the front. To be honest there is as much room in the front of Seicento as in my Rover 600.
The interior is cheerful and pretty well screwed together with and cute circular console on the drivers side which kind of reminds me of the old Mini 1000's. There are no toys but it does come with a good Sony stereo and a drivers airbag which isn't bad for a car costing less that £6000. There a loads of cubby holes, shelves and hiding places. The boot is big enough for a set of golf clubs and although there isn't much room in the back seats for adults it's fine for kids.
The driving experience is a little odd due to the roller-skate like proportions of the car. It's tall and narrow which makes it a bit unwieldy around corners with major over steer when pushed. It's also a bit intimidating on the motorway due to it's lack of overtaking ability and tendency to loose power on hills. It also tends to get pushed around a bit by the back draft from bigger lorry's. In town (which to be fair is it's natural environment) it's different. It can nip through tight spaces and get into car parking spaces only suitable for motorbikes.
The car in question could be improved by power steering but I believe all new Seicentos now come with power steering and the 1.1i engine which would probably iron out a lot of my niggles.
Advantages: Small and nippy around town Disadvantages: Not good for motorway driving
...I have looked on the Fiat website and there is no real fault with car, so maybe I was unfortunate.
Safety
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This car didn't do particually well in the safety tests but it does contain a drivers airbag.
Versions
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899cc
1.1 Sporting
Overall
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I love my first car. Its small with hidden capacities! I will be sad when I have to replace it...
For more info on Fiat go to www.fiat.co.uk ...
redballoon 02.03.2004 (16.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat Seicento 0.9
Advantages: Good space for the size of car Disadvantages: HANDLING
Car: Fiat Seicento 900
For: Good space for the size
Against: HANDLING!
Value: Not bad, as this car depreciates slowly and is cheaper than most rivals to start with.
Costs: Very low as the insurance is only group 1 and the car should give around 45mpg in day-to-day usage.
Reliability: Should be pretty good as the engine is taken from the old cinquecento which was reliable. As long as the car is regularly serviced there should not be too many ... ...as the cinquecento. If you go round a corner even slightly quickly there is more body roll than a sumo wrestler falling down a hill! The chassis is not too bad but the suspension is far too soggy for a car that is almost taller than it is wide. Best used in town really.
Performance: The 900 is definitely underpowered with only 39bhp on tap. Not much to write about performance really.
Comfort and Practicality: There is good space inside a car of ...
RogerBVH 29.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Seicento 0.9
Advantages: A good all round runabout or first car Disadvantages: Not really suitable as a family car
...a second hand 1999 registered Fiat Seicento SX with 17000 miles on the clock-colour Metallic Morocco Red. Being a widower I needed a reliable small car, mainly for local driving.
It has served me well with the usual wear and tear replacements of such things as exhaust, tyres etc. It has proved to be, in my opinion, quite a robust car. In fact 4 years ago I drove to Scotland, a distance of over 300 miles of motorway driving and amazingly it's 989cc ... ...70 plus miles per hour subject to traffic conditions.
Sun-roof, central locking, electric windows are plus items as is Insurance Group 1 and petrol economy-essential these days.
Mainly used locally and short runs of about 100 miles, enough to take me from A to B it has proved a very economical car.
The boot is small and I would not consider it suitable for a family of more than one child. One other criticism is that the pedals a rather close together. ...
Lewis87 17.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Seicento 0.9
Advantages: Easy to Park Disadvantages: Not very Fast
...drive. Luckily with the fiat seicento i found all of these qualities and for a first car it was excellent.
It is not too fast which is its only drawback but it is fine to go onto motorways with and has alot of space. Electric locks and windows are a bonus and the standard sound system is very good.
Technical features are as follows courtesy of http://www.carsfromitaly.com/fiat/index.html;
Driveline - Transverse engine at front with front wheel ... ...@ 5500rpm
1108cc sohc 4 cylinder with 54bhp @ 5500rpm
Suspension - Front; MacPherson strut with telescopic dampers and coil springs Rear; semi-trailing arms with telescopic dampers and coil springs
Wheelbase; 2200mm
Track (front/rear); 1288mm/1280mm
Brakes - front; discs, diameter 240mm
Rear; drums, diameter 185mm
Handbrake operating on the rear via a cable Servo assistance
Dual circuit hydraulics
Bosch 5.3.4-channel ABS optional/standard ...
katygriff 29.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Seicento 0.9
Advantages: Cheap, Fun and Funky Disadvantages: Underpowerd, Mini Sized
Every different car suits different people. If you are after a beautifully crafted car, then don't by the Seicento. If you are after a sporty drive, don't buy the Seicento.
The Seicento offers very cheap, and pretty reliable motoring, averaging around 50mpg, and in the lowest tax bracket for road tax in the UK, it's the perfect choice for the school run, supermarket shopping, and driving in the city.
If you need to drive on motorways, or accross ... ...but it can handle the occasional journies though.
Equipment levels are basic, but then again your not paying the earth for this car. Electric windows are available on the "Sporting" models, as is a sunroof. Excellent cd radio's are provided on Seicento though, which is a nice feature.
A good car, theats fun and funky, although a little small and slow as well. An excellent first car, if bought second hand they can be found for as little as £1000 ...
ChrisAllsopp 01.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Fiat Seicento 0.9
