In a little perk of the job, I had a 2014 Fiat 500 to drive all weekend and drive it, I did. There were no strings attached. If I wanted to talk about it I was free to tell the truth. Frankly, I wouldn’t have taken the vehicle any other way.
I joked that I wouldn’t have to worry about parking it. I could just clip it to my keychain!
Then after driving it I realized it may be small but it’s smartly designed and pretty solid on the road. The trunk, although narrow, is tall and held six large, full reusable grocery bags just fine. (My 12-pack of Kleenex rode in the back seat.) I drove to visit my parents in the rain and it hugged the highway despite strong gusts of wind. My 6′ 4″ brother sat in the driver’s seat with no problem getting in or out. It’s deceptively roomy and comfortable.
I drive a 2005 medium-sized SUV so the tiny Fiat is a departure. But once you’re in it, you don’t feel like you’re missing anything. It’s great on gas, of course. From my googling it appears that the base price is in the high teens. I can’t decide whether I want to give up my dependable, albeit aging, X-Trial because it has always been there for me. And I don’t know how this little guy would fare in the winter. Also, I occasionally encounter deer on my drive in and although I’m keeping watch and haven’t yet had a close encounter, I’m fairly confident the X-Trail would keep me safer. The Fiat and a deer seem like more of a fair fight. But if the point of giving it to me for the weekend was to alter my perception of what the car is like to drive, mission accomplished. Thank you Fiat London!