SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

Fiat launched its new 500C and MTA Sport variants recently. We flew down to the wine country for a fix of nostalgia.

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday March 31, 2010

Retro, but modern and practical

Call them “Topolino” (little mouse) or Cinquecento, Fiat’s rear-engined baby cars of 1957 to 1975 became popular in their time and legends forever. The engines have grown in size, with a choice of 1200- or 1400 cc units and they now reside in front, but the original cuteness lives on.

Today’s 500s are aimed at free thinkers of any age and both genders, people who need or want to downsize but see no need to settle for “boring”, people who want a “happy car” but insist on retaining convenience and safety, and pragmatic folk wanting a modern car that won’t break the bank after the service plan expires. They are also driven by some who could afford any car they like, but choose to own a little Fiat instead; think Elle Mc Pherson and Felipe Massa, for example.

Unveiled to the motoring press at functions in Stellenbosch recently, Fiat’s 500C cloth-top cabriolet and hard top MTA Sport versions top the current range of “500” models with generous standard specification levels, at a common launch price of R197 600.

The engine used is a 1 368 cc DOHC 16-valve unit that develops 73,5 kW at 6 000 rpm and 131 Nm of torque at 4 250 rpm. Quoted maximum speeds for both models is 182 km/h, while the MTA Sport is slightly quicker up to 100 km/h at 10,5 seconds vs. 11,0 for the cabriolet. Combined cycle fuel consumption is claimed to work out at 5,8 l/100 km for the Sport and 6,1 l/100 km for the open-air model.

The five-speed Dualogic gearbox that debuts in the 500 MTA (Manual Transmission Automated) represents the next generation of sequential, robotised automatic transmissions. It’s a smart system that automates clutch and gear engagement through electro-hydraulic actuators. Or to put it plainly, a clutchless manual ‘box with two modes - manual or automatic.

MTA ensures effective integration with the latest-generation ESP fitted to the Fiat 500, because the Hill-holder system is engaged automatically whenever the car meets pre-established gradient conditions, rendering a handbrake unnecessary during hill starts.

It also benefits fuel consumption, emissions and maintenance costs – a 3% reduction in fuel consumption (equivalent to 0.2 l/100km) is achievable compared to the same engine fitted with a manual gearbox.

Safety kit on both models includes seven airbags (two front, two window, two side and one knee bag). Naturally, these are standard across the entire range, even on the entry-level 1.2.  There is also ABS with electronic brake distribution (EBD), electronic stability program (ESP), anti slip regulation (ASR), the Hill Holder device that helps the driver with hill starts and hydraulic brake assistance (HBA) to help with emergency stops.

To ensure safety of driver and passengers, the 500 has a body designed according to the latest crash resistance criteria (this is the first super-compact car equipped with a front-end structure specifically designed to improve safety in head-on collisions, with a rigid cabin to protect the occupants and high-absorption zones on the outside.

Both front safety belts have dual pretensioners and load limiters (those in the rear are three-point belts). The front and rear seats are equipped with an anti-submarining system that stops the wearer from sliding underneath the seatbelt. Isofix attachments for child car seats are fitted as standard across the range. Five star EuroNCAP? Of course!

The 500 Cabriolet is trimmed to Lounge spec which means you get many extras over and above the 1.4 Pop that has air-conditioning, 7 airbags, electric windows and remote central locking all standard.

• Full passive safety package – ESP + ASR/MSR + HBA + Hill Holder
• Chrome kit – chrome trim inside and out (side window mouldings, chrome tailpipe, chrome inserts in bumpers and chrome crown on gearlever)
• 15” alloys
• Front fog lamps
• Body-coloured wing mirrors with electronic adjustment, defrosting function and exterior temperature sensor
• Sun visor with light and courtesy mirror
• Leather steering wheel with audio controls
• Leather gearknob
•  Front passenger seat with oddments compartment under the cushion
• Pocket in passenger seatback
• Blue&Me hands-free system with remote controls and USB port

The 500 MTA is trimmed to Sport spec which means that you get all of the above, but with one change: instead of the chrome kit, you get the sport kit which dispenses with some of the chrome trimmings and offers:

• Sport seats
• Sport specific interior colours and fabrics
• Rear spoiler
• Chrome tailpipe (same as Cabrio)
• Chrome insert in door sills

Service intervals: 30 000 km

Warranty: Three years 100 000 km including three years on paintwork, five years on rust anti-perforation and AA Fleetcare roadside assistance for 12 months.

Service plan: Five years / 90 000 km

For a review of the 500C cabriolet, 

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

Back to Home page