I own a 1999 Fiat Seicento Sporting, and have owned this particular car now for 8 months, before it, i owned a cinquecento sporting for a year. and i am a member of the owners club, so this is my review of near 2 years of 'cento ownership and living with the car and its quirks.
first off, the size of the car, now it is very small, we all know that, but there is a surprising amount of space in the front. don't believe people who say you won't fit in it if you are over 5'5!! they are talking nonsense, i am 6ft 2 and have plenty room to spare. i just need to make sure i don't have any passengers sit behind me that are over 4ft tall!, so bare that in mind if you're looking at one, if you carry more than 2 passengers, its maybe not quite the car for you. if you dont have so many passengers to consider, then great!, how much luggage do you carry? if you need to move wardrobes, you'll need a bigger car!, though saying that, the boot space is actually alot larger than you would initially expect looking it from the outside, it will comfortably swallow a decent amount of shopping, if you need more space, the rear seat folds down. and seeing as the rear seat will be rarely used, this
is very useful, and creates a very decent loadbay indeed.
comfort wise, well, what can you expect? its a small, cheap car, and all things considered, its fairly good! especialy in sporting trim with its sports seats up front. the driving position takes a little getting used to, but theres a good range of movement in the seats to help you find a seating position to suit you. the seats are well padded and are comfortable over long distances. the car itself is fairly refined and totaly capable of completing 300 mile journeys on a rain lashed motorway without much complaint, however the gearing is a touch short for motorway use, especialy in the seicento sporting abarth, as it has slightly lower gear ratios to compensate for having 14" wheels rather than the standard 13" sporting alloys.
now for the fun part, driving the car!, in sporting trim, the 1.1 litre engine gives good performance for its size, and good economy to boot. acceleration is surprisingly good, and is easily capable of upsetting alot of larger cars, believe me, nothing beats the look of an astra driver when he see's a seicento outside pulling away from him off a roundabout!!, handling wise, the seicento is also good, it grips well, although the standard sporting setup does roll a bit too much to make it feel truly sporty, but the trade off is the ride quality for such a small car is good. the steering is pin sharp if a touch over-assisted by the standard electric power steering. there is a bit of understeer if you press on, but thats nothing that should effect the standard driving day to day. the gearbox is a touch long winded for a sporty little car, but the clutch (when maintained right) is very light indeed. the brakes offer good feel and reasonable stopping power. it really is alot of fun!!!
now, heres my suggestions on what to look out for, first thing to look out for is the clutch, press the pedal and if it doesnt feel light, walk away!, the clutch is a common area for issues, as the release bearing wears out long before the clutch itself does, causing the pedal to get heavy, eventualy, it will snap clutch cables and quadrants until the whole clutch itself is replaced, which aint cheap!, so its worth keeping an eye out for. next thing to test is the cooling fan, start it up, let the engine run and see if and how quickly it cuts in, if cuts in quickly, allow it time to stop, and see how long it takes to cut in again. if its quickly, check the coolant level, if theres none, walk away. its head gasket will either be gone or on its way out. the cento cooling sytem is famously temperamental to the owners clubs, they need properly maintained, or they will cause head gasket failure, which again., is not a cheap repair!. whilst under the bonnet, check oil levels and brake fluid levels as well as the coolant.
next up, the handbrake, this IS the weakest area of a cento by a mile, all handbrakes on them are poor. there is a design flaw and the rear adjusters sieze regularly on the rear drums, so if the handbrake pulls up far too far and the car isnt held by it, thats probably why!! its a simple enough repair, but again, its something you'd rather not do!
its worth asking when the petrol tank was replaced also, as these can rot, if theres any petrol smell, ask about it.
if alls good so far, theres very little else to check!, try all electrics, if they are good, check for any bumps, scrapes on the bumpers, if your happy with the condition, open the boot and lift the carpet, look for any signs of rust, especially around the rear seatbelt mounts, if its clear, all thats left is a test drive!!!, check all gears engage smoothly and dont jump out, if they do, the syncromesh is gone, and it needs a new gearbox. listen for any rumbles or knocks, and check the car goes and stops in a straight line.
if alls well and your happy, buy it!!!, you wont regret it!, i love my cento's, once youve driven them, its hard not to love them, they have so much character, and are the last of the "proper" fiats, some days they will infuriate you, but when they work, they are brilliant fun!, well maintained ones are very reliable, and they are getting rarer by the day, if you want a small car that is fun, nippy, easy to park, individual and is cheap to buy, there are none better.
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Hatchback - Front (FWD) - 5 Speed Manual Gearbox - 1910 cc - Max Speed: 118, 119 mph - 115 bhp - Diesel - Available Trims: Dynamic, Active AirCon, Active
Advantages: Fuel consumption, central locking, electric windows, low insurance group Disadvantages: Its small, but at the end of the day, it IS a small car.
ash_dm 08.06.2007 (08.06.2007)
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Review of Fiat Seicento 1.1
Advantages: Cheap, Looks ok with Abarth Kit on. good for parking Disadvantages: Death trap, not fast enough. Wiper speeds, really fast and really really fast!
VTR-t 19.10.2006 ·
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Review of Fiat Seicento 1.1
Dec 6th, 2008
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