Sporting? Where is the sporting bit? (Fiat Seicento Sporting 3dr)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Fiat Seicento Sporting 3dr
Date:	03/04/04 (4043 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Economical, Cheap insurance

Disadvantages: Speed, Comfort, Looks

Quite frankly im lost.

Yes, for the last 2 months I have been rattling around in a Fiat Seicento Sporting and by now I know every small inch of the car. That is mainly because it is so small, I take up most of the room in it.

But while I have had a good run in the car, Im still lost as to where Fiat have cleverly hidden the "Sporting" part that its name suggests!!!

So let me explain why.

Firstly, it is dog slow. Sitting under the bonnet is a noisy and somewhat underpowered 1.1 litre engine. Saying that, what do you expect from an engine that would be more at home powering 2 wheeled transport rather than 4!
The engine is very noisy and at higher speeds, you can almost see it bouncing out from under the bonnet.

So listening to the noise, we can move inside the cabin. Bad soundproofing all round. The engine is so audible that conversation at high speeds is raised to shouting. Add to this the whistling Wind noise coming from the badly fitting doors and window seals and you have a convertible with a hard roof!
Space inside this car is at a premium. The seats are allegedly sports seats. Not sure what sort of sport you play in cars but these are about as good at holding you as a clumsy, grease covered man with no arms. Forget it. You are thrown around like a rag doll if you try and drive it hard.

The dashboard looks like something that has escaped from a 1960's mini. The rev counter in the middle is very retro.However, it is not needed. You can tell how many revs you are doing in it. Its always too many for the car to cope with and you can hear them loud enough!

For a Sporting model, there is no creature comforts. No CD Player. No ABS. No Air Con. Oh you do get fron fog lights and electric windows though!!! You also get central locking as standard but its not remote.

Get in the back seat, if you dare. Right now cut your legs off.....What? You dont want to? OK then, you might as

well get out and walk as there is no legroom in the rear.

OK, if you decided against cutting your legs off, please also do the following:

Sell your golf clubs
Sell your Pushchair or buggy
Never go food shopping ever again.

If you do all of the above you could just about live with the totally rediculous boot space in this car. Space is not a word to describe it. I suggest carrying a matchbox in your back pocket instead to carry things as it has more room.

Looking at it, well its pretty ugly. It borrows heavily from the cinquecento body styling of yesteryear. This means it looks like a cross between a 3 piece cut and shut vehicle with the middle section missing and Postman Pats Van. Unfortunately the one im driving is Red so it only needs the PAT 1 numberplate. But it is fully colour coded! It even has small but perfectly formed Alloys! They are a bugger to clean though as they have too many nooks and crannies!

So how does it drive?
Very slowly. Very Uncomfortably. Need I say more?
If you go around the corner, it leans worse than the famous tower in its homeland. Pisa has nothing on this car. Soft Suspension? do me a favour......
Apparently, I heard that someone else who borrowed the car once overtook someone while driving it. Im too scared to try this delicate manouvre myself for fear of my own life. Slow is not the word.

Now for the good points.
Its dirt cheap to insure making it an attractive proposition for students, new drivers or anyone with high insurance prices. Group 4 for the sporting model.
Its cheap as chips to fill up. £20 will give you 260 miles. £20 literally does fill it up too! Only a small fuel tank.

Servicing.
A very simple engine means you can service it yourself very cheaply. Fiat are not too expensive either.

Failures?
Since I have been driving it, It has needed a new exhaust system (£200) and a new set of shocks on the back as the
suspe
nsion collapsed on the rear right hand corner. (£140). All in 2 months on a 5 year old car with only 25,000 on the clock!


Would I buy one if I had the chance?
No. However I am thankful that work let me borrow it while mine was off the road.

Retail value?
Well I had it valued at under a grand (£950) and this car is a V reg (1999) so it is basically very cheap to buy.

Do yourself a favour. Dont buy one.

Summary: