“It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!” singer/songwriter Dolly Parton once remarked. And then there’s this – Fiat’s ‘repositioned’ but otherwise unchanged 500. Now from $14,000 driveaway, it’s the least expensive way to look classy on four wheels.
Wow – $14K for the reintroduced base 1.2 Pop. AWOL since 2009, last time it cost $10K more.
So, what’s happened? Now in charge of importing its own wares to Oz, Fiat is determined to flick the fringe for mainstream, so it’s plonked the entry 500 against the Volkswagen Up and Holden Barina Spark down in the new-car bargain-basement arena.
So how does the versatile 1.2 Pop cut it in the new-car creche? Looking super sassy in off-white Bakelite-like trim, contrasting with glossy body-coloured dash bits, the alluring cabin artfully melds old-school elegance with modern functionality.
It just feels vintage. Today’s supermini amenities – seven airbags, air-con, CD/MP3/USB audio, Bluetooth telephony, power windows, telescopic wheel with remote controls for media and trip-computer activation – are all present and easily accessible.
While the 500 features only four seats and limited cargo capacity within its dinky derriere, there’s more interior space than the 3.5-metre length suggests – although choosing the optional sunroof does hinder headroom. Which may be problematic, since the seats are set too high.
Furthermore, fat windscreen pillars can magically make whole cars vanish when negotiating roundabouts; the ‘glovebox’ is just a tray beneath a tilting front passenger-seat cushion; the rear backrest isn’t split; and missing overhead grab handles is a Euro austerity measure too far.
But seeing as the Fiat’s mass is a laughable 865kg, the ancient 51kW/102Nm 1.2-litre four-cylinder single-cam ‘Fire’ four-cylinder engine is more of a slogger than a slug, thanks to handy low-down torque and suitable gear ratios.
Together with a smooth five-speed manual shifter, they make the 500 feel feistier than the feeble figures suggest, and even maintain the pace at freeway speeds.
Unfortunately, the Fiat’s electric steering isn’t kart-like, but the numb helm is at least reactive, and offers a super-light dumb mode for effort-free, round-town twirling. Similarly, riding on 175/65R14 rubber, the Pop’s front-drive chassis provides some degree of cushy pliancy and composure, but the 500 lacks the alacrity and poise of the accomplished Up.
Still, nothing for $14K is as enchanting inside or out. Oozing propriety and charm, the 1.2 Pop feels truest to the 1957-’75 Nuova Cinquecento original in concept and execution.
What is it? Well it’s cheap, it’s small and it’s Italian – everyone meet the ‘new’ Fiat Punto. But when we say ‘new’, we actually mean old. Yes it’s got a different, sporty front-bar and rear-light cluster, but underneath this Punto is almost identical to the one last sold in Australia until the end of 2010.
So if it’s old, why bring it out? Well Fiat is on a mission to expand its Aussie range, which at the moment consists solely of the 500. Both the Punto and the Panda are hitting our shores this year, with Fiat hoping for a sharp spike in sales. So is the Punto any good? Well it’s certainly not fast, with a small, uninspiring 57kW 1.4-litre petrol powering the whole range. But there are positives, starting with its price.
How much? Fiat has priced the Punto aggressively, with its $16,000 drive away price for the base Pop, making it one of the cheapest Euro-made cars available. Offered in three trim levels, Pop, Easy ($19,300) and Lounge ($21,800), standard equipment for the Pop includes 15-inch wheels, cloth seats, Bluetooth, electric front windows, radio/CD/MP3 player and 5 star ANCAP safety rating.
Inside plastics are hard, but visibility is a strong point as is headroom and space – at least in the front. Slot into the back and anyone with legs thicker than a 10-year-old’s will struggle on long journeys.
Performance With a small 1.4-litre 57kW/115Nm petrol the only engine offered, performance is far from blistering. Mashing the accelerator seems only to increase noise, not forward movement, with the little Punto hitting 0-100km/h in 13.2 seconds. Fuel consumption is good, though, quoted at 5.4-litres, as is the Pop’s manual gearbox. The mid-spec ‘Easy’ and range topping ‘Lounge’ models are only available with Fiat’s five-speed Dualogic robotised semi-automatic which we didn’t sample.
The verdict Despite its aging design, there’s much to like about the Punto. Its price, for one, is a strong point, as is its adjustable power-steering system (deliberately light at low speeds) and interior finish, despite the hard plastics.
So while facing some ferocious competition in the small-city segment, the Punto offers a well-priced alternative for those seeking something different, and Italian, in a market dominated by offerings from Japan and Germany.
Later this morning, Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese will join Holden boss Mark Reuss in Canberra for a major road safety announcement – compulsory stability control on all cars and 4WDs by 2011.
Our Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) already recognises the technology, awarding five stars to vehicles equipped with ESP in entry level cars. Recently, the new Honda Jazz and Kia Soul only managed four stars, despite earning a full five-star rating in the European equivalent (NCAP) testing. The European Jazz and Soul models get full electronic stability and traction control (ESP, TC), but the safety program is not yet available across the Jazz range here, and cannot be optioned on the base Kia Soul.This will all have to change by 2011.The Victorian Government set the ball rolling two weeks ago, announcing its intentions to amend its road safety legislation to make stability control mandatory for all new passenger vehicles under 4.5 tonnes.As a new Australian Design Rule (ADR), it would mean almost a third of the country’s current new vehicles would either have to be sold with the cost option as standard, or be fitted with the program, and a price rise for the technology would be in inevitable. This could hurt an already struggling car industry, particularly in the small car segment where stability control is still rare across the range.Latest figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) today reveal that almost seven out of every 10 new passenger vehicles sold in 2009 have been fitted with ESP (65.6 percent, up 12.1 percent on last year).The decision is no real surprise to us here at Wheels – cars must have ESP to be eligible for our annual Car of the Year awards from 2010.
Parallel parking is apparently a big deal for freshly minted drivers – and even those who have been around the block a few times – in the southern Californian city of San Diego.
“The ability to park along a curb [kerb] cars lined bumper to bumper, has become something of a lost art in Southern California and across the nation,” the San Diego Union-Tribune quotes traffic experts as saying in a front page story this week.The story goes on to offer the observation by a transportation consultant that motorists parallel park with the greatest reluctance and when they do, they park by feel.That’s good news for smash repairers but not so good for car owners with a sense of pride in their vehicles.The Union-Tribune goes on to report that San Diego driving instructors have noted that parallel parking strikes fear into the minds of their learners who need to know the technique in order to pass their licence test.For the learners, and often also their hapless, inadequate parents, new technology in the shape of cars that can parallel park by themselves, can’t come fast enough.Already available in some premium cars such as Lexus, which pioneered the gizmo, and the VW Tiguan is leading the way for more affordable cars to implement the technology.But for those who can’t wait or can’t afford such clever-dick cars, the San Diego Union-Tribune helpfully includes a diagram to show awkward drivers how to best park their vehicle legally within half a metre of the kerb.What do readers think? Is parallel parking all that hard or is there something hazy in the air in Southern Cal?A tip from Wheels: use the mirror effect of shop windows to help you position your vehicle into a tight space between two other parked cars.
Subaru Tecnica International – better known as the bright pink letters spelling STI – has given itself a rather indulgent 20th birthday present.
Fuji Heavy Industries and Subaru has built an STI Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, to display its 20 year history of motorsport endeavours.The museum is split up into three different areas: the ‘Car Exhibition’ area featuring STI production and racing models, the ‘STI Concept’ area, and an ‘STI History’ area.Road cars as well as race cars, such as the rare two-door bug-eye and Colin McRae’s 1993 Legacy RS, are on display: the latter standing alongside the newly-launched JDM Legacy.The STI Gallery is located in the Mitaka district of Tokyo, which is also the same locale as the head office of Fuji Heavy Industries.
The latest of the annual Initial Quality Study by J. D. Power & Associates in the US suggests vehicle quality is continuing to improve and that Toyota is still the brand to catch but that some European and domestic brands are getting better.
Lexus, Porsche and Cadillac performed the best in the study.Compared to 2008, the study, which grades carmakers on the number of problems per 100 vehicles, found that the industry average for all vehicles was 108 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 118 in 2008. That’s an overall improvement of about 8 per cent.There was more good news. Early adopters will be pleased to hear that the Power study also found that the initial quality for newly introduced and redesigned models, which historically have had more problems than the industry average, improved in 2009.All-new and redesigned vehicles produced an the average was 114 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 128 in 2008.The Toyota Motor Corporation ranked the highest in 10 of 18 categories, the most of any brand. Battling Ford topped four categories, while GM, Honda and Nissan topped two categories.
We know the C3 is getting on in its life cycle, but a receding hairline?
The balding Frenchman has been re-booted and revised for 2010 with new engines, equipment levels, and that receding windscreen from the Picasso people mover, dubbed ‘Zenith’ by the carmaker.The big news is the engine range, which includes a three-cylinder HDi 90 DPFS diesel claiming 99 g/km CO2 emissions, stop-start tech, and five- and six-speed ‘electronic’ gearboxes.The exterior has been pulled in and flattened, doing away with the bubbly roundness of the previous design and bringing it in line with current car fashion. Chrome highlights, revised lights, and a new palette also update the look.Inside, the car features iPod and Bluetooth connectivity , along with an in-car nav and surround sound stereo, the latter being optional.The new C3 is due here in about a year, and launches in Europe in November.
New York City is a rare metropolis in the United States – it is not designed for the motor vehicle.
The excellent network of underground trains and on-the surface buses sweeps over and under Manhattan and nearby Brooklyn, New Jersey and the Bronx as efficiently and as affordable as one could imagine.So efficient and frequent is public transport that no one need worry about car ownership although plenty like to have their own car anyway, especially those on the ritzy uptown areas, and, perhaps surprisingly, those in Harlem (they seem to lean towards big domestic products).But, scan any streetscape on Manhattan and the dominant moving colour is yellow. Cans are cheap and convenient.Not so long ago the ubiquitous cabs were almost 100 per cent Ford Crown Victorias, the long and lumbering model that also serves the NY Police Department well.But in 2007, the mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans to transform the city’s 13,000 yellow cab fleet from the creaky Crown Vics to an all-hybrid line-up. He wanted cleaner air and 30mpg taxi fleet average by 2009.The city reached agreement with Nissan, Ford and GM to supply hybrid vehicles for taxi use.Hybrids had been creeping into taxi fleets anyway but the mayor merely hastened the switch to a greener cab line-up…or so he thoughtBut the attempt to force an all-hybrid fleet on NYC operators went awry when a Fed judge last year put the deal on hold after some taxi businesses sued, claiming many hybrid vehicles were not big enough for big American backsides, or durable enough for the mean streets.Even so, the eight-cylinder Crown Vics are slowly on the way out. Increasingly, hybrids are infiltrating. And some diesels. The Ford Escape, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry, Toyota Highlander – hybrids all – and the Toyota Sienna people mover (running on LPG), are making inroads. Diesels are led by the VW Jetta.The drivers seem to like the new eco cabs too even though they have to be careful not to accept fares from the lard-arsed end of the American commuter market.The broad choices among more fuel-efficient downsized cabs in NYC may come in handy in Australia in the future if and when the Falcon and Commodore head for the great parking lot in the sky.Meanwhile, uptown types continue to rely on chauffeur-driven Mercs, older Lincoln Town Cars, and a bevy of big black SUVs. Some things never change.What is obvious in The Big Apple is the lack of Nanny State interference.About the only hint of bureaucratic involvement are speed signs and the occasional warning that excessively using the horn will hurt your hip pocket. Motorcyclists and cyclists don’t necessarily wear helmets.Seat belts appear to be optional. Walk/Don’t Walk signs for the walking class are little more than advisory. You cross when you think it’s prudent, and even then drivers are more likely to courteously pause to let you make the footpath safely.Cops look on benignly while pedestrians use vehicular traffic as slaloms…About the only authoritarian sign seen outside of regular speed limits was a warning that using the horn could make a serious impact on the wallet.Buses pick up and set down where they can, and that’s not always at the kerb…er curb.People obviously cling to the right to do damage to themselves.That one-man band, the Pedestrian Council, would be apoplectic at the scene.Maybe he should relocate to the Bronx and work himself into a lather.But it’s not all great. Parking is a lottery and expensive.And despite the proliferation of coffee shops across Manhattan, the quality is dreadful and the price high for Brown Water.Postscript. In Boston, a few hours drive north of NYC, drivers text and scream into mobile phones with impunity. Seat belts hang idle.I asked a patrolman about the laws relating to cell phone use and seat belts. He said it is permissible to use the phone while driving. And seat belts are supposed to be worn but the fine is just $25 and in any case he said he had to pull over a motorist for a more serious offence. Only then could he book him for the failure to belt up.“Massachusetts is a very liberal state,” he observed.Too liberal.
A year after its coupe debut, the stunning street-legal version of the race-only Zonda R has gone topless.
Five of the limited edition Roadster versions (hence the name Cinque) are set for release later this year at the paltry sum of AU$2.15 million.The Roadster is no pretty bench-sitter, jumping in the game at the same weight as its Coupe cousin at a mere 1210kg (and 20kg less than the lightweight R racecar), and powering to 100km/h in 3.4secs thanks to the 505kW Merc AMG-derived V12.Yes, please.
Chrysler has revealed that its much adored Dodge Viper sports car will be around for a year or two yet.
Chrysler previously announced that the Viper business would be sold off, making the niche sports car yet another victim of the economic malaise.But the company has had a change of heart following its marriage with Fiat, and the booming V10-engined Viper, the base model of which is priced at around US$90,000, will continue in production into 2010 and beyond.
Production was scheduled to shut down at the end of this year, but Chrysler will now continue building the high-powered sports car indefinitely.That’s the good news. The bad news is, that after eight years, it’s time for Chrysler to find some money to give the Viper a spruce up.
