Faults:

Rear door handle stuck solid and could not open. Not good on an estate car which is used. The part cost about 30 pounds and a spring had seized inside.

Then the drivers door handle snapped on the front part This was a big job to replace as most of the inner door had to come off. Aparently both are known faults by fiat.

The centre console between the drivers seats compartment doesn't shut. The plastic piece snapped and keeps on springing up.

General Comments:

Damn nice comfy ride and a big enough boot to move most items.

The diesel engine can move when it wants and it handle's pretty well for an estate.

Have towed a caravan and a trailer tent with no problems what-so-ever.

Faults:

Drivers door made load clicking noise when opening and closing. This turned out to be just a loose part.

Needed new tires after 24,000 miles.

General Comments:

Decent sized boot with drop down tailgate.

Comfy drive.

Quick for a diesel and good miles to the gallon.

Good amount of electric toys.

Faults:

Handbrake warning light worked occasionally.

Brake-pad warning light never worked.

Window strip at bottom of rear window prevented driver's door from opening when warm.

Stereo broke.

One rear speaker broke.

Trim rattles.

Rust on 3 patches of roof which Fiat agreed to repair.

Remote control key always showed as having low battery even with new ones.

Power steering rack leaked and was replaced.

Paint very soft and scratched easily.

General Comments:

Long after Fiats reputation for rust disappeared, I found 3 large rust spots on my roof, one the size of a 5p coin. Fiat agreed to carry out the repair on a car just over 2 years old. Unfortunately by this time I had lost faith in the car and feared for its longevity.

To drive its hard to imagine it costs so little for an example so young. Mine was just 8 months old with 11000 on the odometer. Cost?... a meagre £7000 with 2 yrs warranty.

A lovely engine and excellent handling packaged in a relatively good looking body.

Brakes are only adequate and poor fuel consumption, unless you drive extremely gently.

I previously owned a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting which in 18 months required only a speedometer cable.

The interior space is limited, but the boot is large.

If you find a good one you'll love it. If you don't, you either put up with minor electrical and trim gremlins or your local dealer will be on first name terms.

Faults:

Driver's side front window (electric) stopped working about 2 months after buying the car (fortunately the window was up). The dealer took 16 weeks to get the spares to fix it.

At about 17.000 Km, the car developed a noise in the front suspension which the dealer has not been able to fix. The noise consists of a thud, from the front left part of the car when letting off the accelerator abruptly while accelerating quickly or going up a hill. The noise has gotten worse with time. It is not noticeable if the car is driven at VERY smoothly.

General Comments:

The car has good acceleration and a reasonable top speed (205 Km/h), but I expected more judging from the power and the weight (manufacturer's specs).

The gas consumption is unacceptably high for the performance and the size of the car. I find it difficult to get more than 9Km to the liter even on the highway at relatively slow speeds (140 Km/h).

The Alfa was of roughly the same power and of the same engine capacity, but used much less gas and was quicker all around.

I'm 1,85 mt. in height and the car is a bit cramped, again compared to the Alfa.

It is not a bad car, but after the Alfa it was a let down.

Faults:

A squeaking sound came from the back seats.

General Comments:

There's enough seating for the passengers in the front, but not at the back.

It has more space in the baggage area than needed.

It responds quick to the drivers actions.

The steering-wheel also responds quick to the drivers actions.