Faults:

Leather seats have split due to dryness.

Paint clear coat is de-laminating from age.

Normal wear for a twenty year old car.

Mostly just good service and fun driving.

Interior plastics appear cheap, but have held up perfectly. Similar to German plastics of the day.

German Bosch electronics and fuel injection on the later cars were a true gift from above for reliability. Many parts in common with a VW Rabbit/Golf.

General Comments:

This is a car that's way ahead of it's time.

Efficiency is top priority. Aerodynamic, light, quick while maintaining fantastic fuel economy, nimble, simple and bulletproof with minimal service.

Plenty of room for two, but you have to be limber to fit.

A true driver's car, it is designed for real life on a real person's salary. Not a Ferrari, but better because you can really drive it everyday and laugh all the way to the bank.

Parts are plentiful and cheap, and service is simple.

This is a car that is a permanent addition to my collection, right next to my 65 Mustang Fastback, and Porsche Boxster. It's a true sportscar that emulates the great mid-engine Italian super cars, EXCEPT that it's reliable, easy to maintain, cheap to insure, and general fun to own for daily driving.

My only regret is that FIAT no longer imports to USA. If this car were available new, I would own one.

Those that complain about power output deficiency should take solice in the nearly 40 mpg fuel economy on a well maintained car.

Faults:

Coolant transfer tubes rotten out. This wouldn't be so bad, but the floor ahd to be cut to facilitate replacement tubes. When they rotten out, it didn't take long for the engine damage to occur.

There was only one cooling fan on some models. I fixed this by going the local boneyard and getting another fan. Fiat did provide wires and mounts, so this was an easy fix.

As with all X's, rust is an issue, but on my 4th X. I figured out to strip the body of all paint, repair what needed and the I used cold galvanizing compound, primed and paint. Problem solved.

The electrical system is weak, particularly, the ground points. Keep them clean and there will be no problems.

As with all point type vehicles, there was always a need to adjust, clean, etc.

Parts availabity. Items like hoses, belts, points, brakes... not a problem. But, brake hoses and other oddities like that have to be custom made.

I entered the 90000 miles as I have had seven of these forgotten gems and I couldn't even guess the mileage, coming or going.

General Comments:

Overall, I would say this the best bang for buck sports car.

Handling is outrageous. Even roller-coaters are no match for this little car. Turn the steering wheel, and the car is right there responding to your every input. This comes from a very simple rack and pinion steering system. It has very few moving aprts and those that do move, you can depend on.

Once you got a few bugs worked out, you will not find a more reliable car that is so much fun to drive. The car is old, yes, but the design is very modern. The first car to try duplicating the X is Pontiac's Fiero. This was a P.O.S. right from the start and destined to fail. The Toyota came out with the MR2. A very good good, but still it is not an "X".

Many parts are available for the X to boost performance. The car needs a bit of a boost, but otherwise, is a GREAT car.

Faults:

Valve cover gasket leaked.

Slave cylinder for the clutch leaked.

RUST. This is endemic to Fiats.

Otherwise no other problems during the four years I owned the car.

General Comments:

The car was marketed by Fiat under the "Bertone" name. I think Fiat unjustly had a reputation for poor reliability in U.S. During the four years I had the car the total repairs came to under a couple hundred bucks. Very reliable! Never left me stranded.

I loved this car and still miss it. Seating was actually quite comfortable (I'm 6'). Handling was wonderful and while not super powerful, the engine was quite willing. And of course, the targa top comes off quite easily and stows in the front trunk. I would choose this setup any day over a convertible--much more secure.

The X 1/9 was a cool car. Too bad Fiat let it die.