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2013 Fiat 500 Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: It's a fun economical car with an amazing engine by steven.haas

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Introduction

I obviously liked the styling of the 500 and when I heard and felt that 1.4L turbo multiair engine I was hooked.

Reviewed: 2013 Fiat 500

2dr Hatch turbocharged 160hp 1.4L I4 5-speed manual FWD

Why the 2013 Fiat 500?

Powertrain performance

Love, love, love the sound of the 1.4 L turbo engine. The factory exhaust makes me grin every time I drive the car. It can seem a bit noisy when starting up in the morning (don't annoy the neighbors) but every drive to the store is an event in this car. The engine is torquey, smooth, and plenty powerful for anything I have thrown at it, including some agressive mountain road driving.

Fuel economy

On a longer freeway trip, I averaged about 35 mpg. In most mixed driving (my daily commute is very short, only about 2 miles) I average about 27 mpg. Not bad, especially considering I tend to, um, make the most of that exhaust note.

Quietness

This isn't a quiet car, but that exhaust actually quiets down nicely at freeway speeds with no annoying drone. Road and wind noise is quite subdued as well. I think this car is actually quieter on the freeway than my Mazda5.

Audio & nav systems

The Bluetooth phone integration (for calls) has been more reliable and easier to use than my other cars. The USB integration for iPhones pretty much sucks, though. I don't have the nav system (which I now understand gives you more options for controlling a USB device) so I can basically just scroll through the songs in my iPhone library in alphabetical order by title or do a random shuffle. I apparently have no way to select a specific title or artist and when the phone is plugged into the USB the screen is no longer usable to select music. One may find it easier to just use the aux jack for that. The placement of the USB plug in the glovebox is also not quite ideal. I use my phone for navigation from time to time so I run t

Why Not the 2013 Fiat 500?

Ride smoothness

Sort of a nitpicky thing for a car like this, but the ride is pretty jittery and harsh over broken pavement. It handles amazingly on back roads, though. I didn't buy it for the highway ride, the wheelbase is short and the suspension firm. I also have the smaller standard 16" Abarth wheels and tires, so not sure if mine is actually better than it would have been with the 17's. In any case, I have no fault with the handling or roadholding with the 16" all season tires. The 17's seemed like overkill.

Conclusion

The obvious, if you need a larger car or take really long road trips this might not be the car for you.

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