Iq V Fiat 500

[marcandsebe]

I have owned a iQ3 for a couple of months now and my wife decided to buy a Fiat 500c. I drove it for the 1st time yesterday and here is my observation of the 2 vehicles.

My wife picked up a 59 plate metallic Red softtop yesterday and when she pulled up and parked it alongside my 1.3 iQ3, I was quite envious. It looked wonderful, even up against my iQ. We went out for a drive and called in to to fill it up. The fuel cap was taken off ok, but when my wife tried to put it back on, it was impossible. My wife called the garage at the pump and was quickly told off. I had a go and could not do it either. I went on the web with my iPhone and found out quickly that you must not press too hard while putting it back on. No such problem with the iQ.

We drove down to the Queen Elizebeth Country Park by the A3 and I was impressed by the ride. We only had the roof back before hitting any motorways. I must admit, I liked it very much. On the way back my wife said I could drive. My 1st thought was that the wheels need balancing, but once I was moving along at a reasonable pace, it felt much better. I must admit though, that the ride was just as good in the iQ, if not better. I hit 60 mph and it felf fast. The iQ felt much better at this speed. For me the best cruising speed was 60, when I got to 70 and over, it felt too fast and uncomfortable. Not so in the iQ. That could hit well over 70 and cruise easily at 70 and above. I drove part of the way and then called into Ask at Petersfield for a bite to eat and then drove back in the dark to London. 60 mph definitely felt the right cruising speed for me. The things I did not like was the single round dashboard binnacle. There was just too much information to look at, so I much prefer the iQ dash.

Another thing, with the door closed, you could only get your hand into the front of the door storage bin. The seat was too close to the side with your hand being wedged if trying to pick something out. The car also had a lot of rattles that could easily be heard at 60 and above. Again the iQ has no such problem. The 500c only has 6000 miles on the clock, so would not expect this.

All the switches and steering wheel controls were backlit, including the powered roof switches above the rear view mirror. This was very nice, but quite bright. Maybe they can be dimmed.

Specs for the 2 vehicles.

Fiat 500c

Metallic Red

1.2 litre

5 speed manual

Half leather

Climate control

Powered Black convertible roof

Electric adjustable door mirrors

Electric windows

59 plate 2009 model

Toyota iQ3

Metallic Grey

1.3 litre

Automatic

Full leather

Climate control

Navigation

Electric adjustable and retractable door mirrors

Electric windows

60 plate 2011 model

My conclusion. I like the 500c, but much prefer the iQ3 and by a big way. Just my point of view though.

[jeffp]

I had wondered if I made the right decision going for an iQ². I went from "no, I'm not going to buy a new car" to "it's being delivered in three weeks" in about 6 days. I didn't even try a Fiat 500. Not sure why though. I like the looks of the New 500 which echo the old 500 I learnt to drive in so well, but I feel that it will have lost that small car feeling.

The iQ has proved to be pretty much everything I anticipated, and now that it's started running in and I'm getting to know it better I'm enjoying the car even more. The recent rain has added a certain piquancy to roundabouts, I have to admit that while it's been dry I've going round them faster than I used to in previous cars

Regards,

Jeff.

[marcandsebe]

I had wondered if I made the right decision going for an iQ². I went from "no, I'm not going to buy a new car" to "it's being delivered in three weeks" in about 6 days. I didn't even try a Fiat 500. Not sure why though. I like the looks of the New 500 which echo the old 500 I learnt to drive in so well, but I feel that it will have lost that small car feeling.

The iQ has proved to be pretty much everything I anticipated, and now that it's started running in and I'm getting to know it better I'm enjoying the car even more. The recent rain has added a certain piquancy to roundabouts, I have to admit that while it's been dry I've going round them faster than I used to in previous cars

Regards,

Jeff.

Don't get me wrong, the Fiat 500c is a nice drive. It just felt under powered. I would imagine it comparable to the 1.0 litre iQ1 & iQ2. The handling felt very good. The Abarth must be a scary beast indeed and good fun to drive.

The Fiat is not as wide as my iQ, so the front passengers sit closer together and I feel access to the door storage bins are a bad design. As mentioned earlier, I don't like the single speedometer and rev counter configuration. I felf I was taking my eyes off the road to find out information I required. I just really enjoy the iQ more.

[jalapeno]

funnily enough I tried a 500 before I got my iQ2

in the driving stakes I think the iQ far superior - better ride, steering, handling and refinement.

Much better screwed together, but the 500 in some guises arguably looks nicer, the iQ being more interesting looking.

Glad I tried the 500 and the twin -air is certainly an interesting proposition and has a lovely engine note.

Overall the iQ just felt more sophisticated and a better urban (and extra urban) driving tool

my 2 pence!

[marcandsebe]

funnily enough I tried a 500 before I got my iQ2

in the driving stakes I think the iQ far superior - better ride, steering, handling and refinement.

Much better screwed together, but the 500 in some guises arguably looks nicer, the iQ being more interesting looking.

Glad I tried the 500 and the twin -air is certainly an interesting proposition and has a lovely engine note.

Overall the iQ just felt more sophisticated and a better urban (and extra urban) driving tool

my 2 pence!

Yes my wife's 500c looks very nice, but have to agree that the iQ is put together far better. The manual gearbox on the Fiat is very good, although I prefer the auto on the iQ3. It can cruise at higher speeds better too, especially the iQ3.

[chezwot]

I also looked at the Fiat 500 as, like my iQ, it was the only other small car available in Portugal with automatic transmission but, unlike the auto box in the Fiat, the iQ will hold the car on a hill. Before buying any car I always consult Parkers reviews, especially the owners reviews and the iQ scored 5 stars from every owner. The other reason for choosing the iQ was that it appeared to be much better built than the Fiat and more importantly, especially driving in Portugal, it has a Euro NCAP 5 star rating and 9 airbags. We went from a Mercedes CLK320 and frankly, the only difference we notice are that it costs a third of the price in fuel to run and it is so easy to park, ride quality and noise levels are as good as the Merc - wish we had bought one earlier!

[AndrewMW]

Similar story here, having decided to stop having gas guzzling cars, I have been doing the rounds looking at small cars (12 test drives in a month so far) and have finally stopped looking after visiting Toyota. The hunt for an IQ is not going well.... but thats another story

I found the Fiat 500 build quality less to my liking, lots of marks on the interior trims at 500 miles(even allowing for a tester car I wasn't impressed), and once I had specced one up to my liking the price was astronomical for a small car which didnt help my impression.

[kennyboy]

similar story i was looking for a fiat 500 and saw one in toyota garage i had only see the iq on the toyota advert for new range... instantly fell for iq bought it that day and am aware fiat has the history but i hope the iq will evolve to be a bigger and more profilic icon .... it beats the fiat in all catogorys for me. i have had two iqs now iq2 and iq3 both have qualities that define each.. i am waiting to see in next few years what this little car embraces to change it has a fantastic grounding for greater things . just look at the mini

[marcandsebe]

Yes have to agree after posting this a few months back I have driven my wife's 500c quite a number of times now, but when I get back into my iQ3, I know I made the right choice. It's surprising how much you can get into it as well. I drove up to North Wales to pick up a 13' inflatable kayak in it. I actually camped out over night, so the iQ3 had a 2 man tent, double inflatable air bed and sleeping bags. My 9 year old son also brought his guitar. The campsite owners were amazed.

[kennyboy]

what i would like too see now is a range of accessaries that are affordable for the iq.. similar to what citreon are doing with new range to individualize you iq ... i call mine little budda.. i like the efforts people have used with wheels but a range of body or decal for toyota would be nice.. what you think folks