Fiat 500 advice and info?

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Originally Posted by airshifter

IMO very few people in the US market will even consider a car that small. The SMART sold ok for a couple of years and then sales tanked. People over here just want a larger car for the most part. Not to say that a 100 HP car can't make a decent commuter over here, but most people will pay the gas penalty for more size and/or more power.

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I tend to agree if we're talking about the US where you have larger distances to cover and cheaper fuel. Back in Australia I happily drove something which was probably only doing 20 or 30 mpg at most :)

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Originally Posted by ioan

Where do you put the kids if you need to fold the rear seat to put in the stroller?
I've no kids but few years back I used to keep company to a friend of mine when he was taking the kids for a days journey and believe me a Fiat 500 is useless for 2 adults and 2 kids plus some stuff.

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On a number of occasions, we took four adults their luggage from Sydney to Melbourne (830km) or Sydney to Brisbane (929km) to watch football and cricket matches.
A stroller though is a harder prospect to carry around, but you could probably manage it if you put some roof racks on the car.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Of course in that situation a city car really isn't practical. I'm sure you could jam a stroller in somewhere but it would just be silly.

I'm not against big cars at all :)

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I'm amazed at the amount of crap parents drag around these days. I keep reading on the Seat forum: "We're having our first baby, I'll need to get rid of my Leon and buy a Zafira/Picasso/Scenic!!". If a 5 door hatch that's basically a Golf isn't big enough for you, then I shudder to think how much junk you have.

When I was a baby my dad had the original Mini Clubman estate and I'm told it managed to get to a caravan site in Rhyl with three adults, a baby, highchair, pram and other associated baby stuff with room to spare!

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Originally Posted by Iain

I'm amazed at the amount of crap parents drag around these days. I keep reading on the Seat forum: "We're having our first baby, I'll need to get rid of my Leon and buy a Zafira/Picasso/Scenic!!". If a 5 door hatch that's basically a Golf isn't big enough for you, then I shudder to think how much junk you have.

When I was a baby my dad had the original Mini Clubman estate and I'm told it managed to get to a caravan site in Rhyl with three adults, a baby, highchair, pram and other associated baby stuff with room to spare!

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Exactly. But these days you look in the window of a mothercare store and there's just so much crap in there.

The thing that gets me is the poor planning that some people show. Why buy a Fiat 500 or a Leon or some car you feel will be too small to carry a child around in if you're thinking of having a child? If like Ioan you like to have space then get an Espace now rather than having to get an Espace but also pay the depreciation on a smaller car :mark:

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Originally Posted by airshifter

Not to say that a 100 HP car can't make a decent commuter over here, but most people will pay the gas penalty for more size and/or more power.

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The speed limit in US is 70-80 mph.
Any car with 100HP can do that easily, provided that the car is not a 2+ ton monstrosity.

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Originally Posted by Firstgear

I remember squeezing into the back (and I mean behind the back seat, under the rear window) of my parents Bug/Beetle with my younger sister. My older siblings shared the back seat.

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I remember when I was younger doing the same on our yearly trips from Spain to the UK. Except we had to first dig out a space in between all the tea, marmite, cadbury's, lego, lime juice, ribena, and everything else we stocked up on. When not in the dig-out, I used to squeeze in between the front seats to get a better view of the drive, obviously without a seat belt.
When I was a baby I was apparently put in a basket in the back of my dad's 1800S for the trips from Turkey to England. :p

The world has certainly moved on in the last 40 years or so. :crazy:

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Originally Posted by ioan

:eek:

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heck you can fit 19 people in a 5-seater car if you really try. :laugh:

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Originally Posted by donKey jote

I remember when I was younger doing the same on our yearly trips from Spain to the UK. Except we had to first dig out a space in between all the tea, marmite, cadbury's, lego, lime juice, ribena, and everything else we stocked up on. When not in the dig-out, I used to squeeze in between the front seats to get a better view of the drive, obviously without a seat belt.
When I was a baby I was apparently put in a basket in the back of my dad's 1800S for the trips from Turkey to England. :p

The world has certainly moved on in the last 40 years or so. :crazy:

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i dont remember owning no 1800S

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Originally Posted by odykas

The speed limit in US is 70-80 mph.
Any car with 100HP can do that easily, provided that the car is not a 2+ ton monstrosity.

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Around where I live speed limits are even lower. We don't even hit 65 MPH speed limits until we get 30 or so miles from here. And I do realize that a small 100 HP car is capable of doing these speeds for either a commuter or for longer trips. I've got a 100HP sedan that can easily take a couple of adults and kids on an all day trip, the limiting factor being trunk space.

But we don't take it on trips, we take the SUV which is larger, quieter, more powerful, safer, etc. In my case the largest single factor is safety. With all the larger vehicles on the road over here the chances of being flattened are much greater in the smaller car.

My point was that most in the US won't even consider a 100HP car, even if it was to be used only as a commuter.

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Originally Posted by Iain

I'm amazed at the amount of crap parents drag around these days. I keep reading on the Seat forum: "We're having our first baby, I'll need to get rid of my Leon and buy a Zafira/Picasso/Scenic!!". If a 5 door hatch that's basically a Golf isn't big enough for you, then I shudder to think how much junk you have.

When I was a baby my dad had the original Mini Clubman estate and I'm told it managed to get to a caravan site in Rhyl with three adults, a baby, highchair, pram and other associated baby stuff with room to spare!

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Most of my childhood my Dad had a Fiesta (about the size of the present day Ka) three door.

We went everywhere in that and on holidays all over the UK and France too. We even went to Scotland with me, Mum, Dad, Grandma and Aunty and we managed!