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Hi All, I got to test drive one too, and it also just happen to be on Saturday as well. I had to drive the 140 miles up from San Diego to Fiat's Motor Village in LA. My wife and I made the trip despite the crazy weather, where it actually rained the whole trip up and down that day.
But actually got to drive the car that day, it was a fairly short test drive, perhaps about 10 minutes or so. And I was not able to drive it on the freeway either, as the freeway was basically a parking lot, it is LA and traffic was particularly bad that day. To make matters worse, the area had just had a sudden hail storm, which is pretty odd for So. Cal. in general.
Actual test drive feedback, the car which is pretty small inside was able to fit the dealer and myself both roughly 5'10" and my wife 5'2" in the back seat. First impressions are good, as we walked to the car in the rain. it was raining pretty hard, and we were pretty much in a rush to get in so we didn't have time to do a walk around. But once inside the car, it was pretty cozy but not tight at all. I was able to find a very comfortable seating position, even with my wife behind me, she had plenty of room in the back. My buddy has a Mini and my wife was comparing her time in the back, and she said that it felt roughly the same, which is good as the 500 is about 6" shorter in length.
The actual start up was nice, as the car jumped to life. Got my first real time look at the instrument panel and dash, and it is really nice, a nice bright optic orange look to it, which is easy on the eyes. Wanted my wife to take some video with her phone, but she too was pretty excited to be in the car so she forgot. I didn't have a lot of time to admire the little markers do their dance around the instrument panel. Seating is on the tall/high side, but I found a very comfortable driving position. The Shifter felt a bit high at first, but then felt natural after a couple of shifts. The side mirrors were easily adjusted and I had a nice view outside.
The actual drive was very nice, soaked up the bumpy LA roads very well. The car being very narrow was just a joy to drive around on the city streets, which is what it was intended to do. It whizzed around the stopped traffic no problem. I think it has a better ride then my wife's Honda Fit. Soaked up the bumpy road better, even though it has a shorter wheelbase. The wipers did a good job of wiping away the windshield and the rear wiper also does a good job. Well not much for the rear wiper to wipe away, as the view backwards is pretty limited in general. And you can really hear the rear wiper motor, we didn't have the radio on. I must say that the wiper controls and the turn signal stalk felt a bit loose or light, when compared to the Honda, but worked just fine.
The drive was very nice, I took it easy for the first couple of minutes, but after that I was really pushing the engine. Well as much as I could in pretty heavy LA city street driving in the rain. But got the car to about 4th gear just to run the gear a bit (50 mph). The shifts were pretty smooth, the actual shifter feel is nice but notchy, which for me is okay, as you know exactly what gear you are in. The heating/AC unit is also very nice, it was set to automatic 74 degrees. Not once did any of the windows fog up, and mind you there were three people in the car with some heavy rain outside. But then it was about 10 minutes, but I am sure I was breathing very heavily.
Acceleration is very quick for city driving, got to mingle with the traffic a bit. Steering is very responsive and accurate, as there was very little play in the wheel. When traffic was light, I was able to just do some fast lane changing and it was very fun to say the least. Visibility is great as we sit pretty high for such a small car. So I think I had a smile plastered across my face as I was driving. I just wish I could have gotten on the freeway to test out the acceleration, but that was just not possible. The clutch is a bit light for me, but I was told that this is typical of Italian cars. I drive a Saab and it has a much more heavy feel to it. For me the brake pedal was quite sensitive and the brakes grabbed very well. Those first couple minutes driving were very fun, as i must have pushed the pedal a bit to firmly, which sent us all doing the head bobbing thing with every stop.
At the end of it all, I was very impressed with the car and how it handled. I had some doubts as to really getting the car, but with this test drive, I would be very happy to drive this car everyday. It really was a joy to drive. Now if only San Diego will have an open Fiat Studio by the time the car gets delivered. I wouldn't mind the drive home from LA, but a local dealer would be better. Are you listening Fiat
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It was a little scary at first only because I wasn't familiar with the car and because I was a bit nervous.
