Faults:

Nothing - but I've only had it a week.

General Comments:

I don't actually own one. I rented one for a week, and since the car is so new in the US, I wanted to share my reactions to the car.

The 3 trim levels start with the basic 'Pop'; middle level is the Sport, with Lounge at the top, with leather interior, upgraded sound, etc. I'm not sure which I had, but it had the alloy wheels and the Bose sound system, but without leather seats.

The interior is quite comfortable for a small car. Even though it's small, I'm 5'11" and was able to sit comfortably in the back seat, even with the front seat adjusted near the back setting. The car is quiet even at 70 on the freeway, thanks to a 6-speed transmission. The transmission I tested was the automatic, with the driver's option to decide when to shift. While I've always driven stick shifts, the automatic with speed control seemed to work well with this car. It allows you to downshift easily, so you can slow the car that way rather than use the brakes.

The model I tested came with an optional Bose sound system. It sounded very good in the small interior, but I couldn't tell a lot of difference between this and the basic sound system I listened to in the showroom.

The front seats are comfortable, and there was plenty of room. When you sit in it, you feel everything at your fingertips. The car is very nicely designed this way.

The car seems very solidly built, such as when you close the door, there is no hollow sound, but instead the solid sound that speaks of a well-built car.

The Fiat 500 has outstanding cornering ability. There is a 'sport' button that you can push that tightens up the suspension. You can really tell a difference when you activate the sport mode. I made a few sharp U-turns (in safe areas) and the car can really maneuver - and it's a lot of fun to drive.

In my opinion, the power (about 100hp) is sufficient, but a bit more torque would be welcome. To get it to go, you have to wind it up quite a bit - I believe the redline on the tach was around 6500 rpm. Even so, it is relatively quiet for all that - I recall in the literature that Fiat used an advanced damping system to reduce engine vibration and noise, and in my opinion they succeeded.