Is the Fiat 500 good for families?
The Fiat 500 is undoubtedly one of the coolest little cars you'll see on our roads. With its true-to-the-original retro styling, it's a top choice for trendy urbanites who believe you shouldn't have to skimp on style just because you're driving a small car.
The stylish Fiat 500 is known as a 'supermini', and as the name suggests, it's quite compact — however, in European markets it is widely used by modern, nuclear families. Could you make it work as a family car in SA?
Fiat 500 pricing in SA: Relatively affordable to downright pricey...
Despite being this trendy and rich in features, the Fiat 500 has remained relatively affordable, but be advised that there is a significant jump in price between the entry-level model and the rest of the line-up. There are five models on sale in SA, ranging from R205 900 for the Fiat 500 TwinAir Pop to R310 900 for the Fiat 500C TwinAir Star. In-between, you will also find the Fiat 500 TwinAir Rockstar at R250 900, the Fiat 500 TwinAir Star at R260 900, and the Fiat 500C TwinAir Rockstar at R300 900.
There is only one (tiny) engine, but it's quite potent
All of our local models make do with Fiat's turbocharged, 0.9-litre 2-cylinder engine which is good for 63 kW and 145 Nm, and rather nippy too, given the excellent power-to-weight ratio. It's a fun-to-drive little car that has decent acceleration. Top speed is 173 km/h and it takes 11 seconds to reach 100 km/h. Fuel consumption for the entry-level manual model is between 4 and 6 litres per 100 km, depending on how and where you drive it.
Space and child-friendliness
The Fiat 500 is a three-door car and seats only four persons, but two primary school children should be fine on the back seat on longer journeys. Even adults of up to 1.8 metres tall should be comfortable enough, but not for extended time periods.
There are ISOFIX child seat anchorage points in the rear and hopefully the child seat can stay where it is once installed. A rear-facing seat will only work if the front passenger and driver are not too tall, as it will force them into an uncomfortable seating position. A front-facing child seat, however, will be quite doable. Just bear in mind that having no rear doors will certainly complicate things if you should have to remove and insert the seat regularly, and if you have a bad back, we recommend that you rather opt for a five-door car with a bit of ground clearance, like the Fiat 500X. At least the Fiat 500's rear bench can be folded down to make more room in the boot, which holds 185 litres with the seats upright. This is not much, especially if you want to go away on weekends, but should suffice for the daily slog to school and back. (See the Rockstar model below.)
Safety
The Fiat 500 is one of the safest small cars in SA and every model comes with ABS, EBD, brake assist, hill-start assist, traction and stability control, and 7 airbags. The Fiat 500 has a 3-star EuroNCAP safety rating, but this is mainly due to its size and weight.
Verdict
The Fiat 500 is a great little city runabout, but personally, I would wait for my kids to be out of their car seats and strollers before buying one. However, if you have a child that's old enough for a booster seat (or older), and don't require a stroller or much boot space, the Fiat 500 is a family-friendly little car. Used Fiat 500s can be picked up relatively cheaply and you'll never grow tired of its cool and characterful interior. For more information and to check out the spec sheet, please download the latest Fiat 500 brochure here.
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