2017 Fiat 500 Pros vs Cons

The 2017 Fiat 500 features Italian styling and excellent gas mileage. Even in the subcompact category it stands out as one of the best options that is not a hybrid or electric car for efficiency.

The Fiat 500 comes in three trim categories; Pop, Lounge and the performance inspired Abarth. All three are quick and compact making them an excellent choice for city driving.

Whats New for 2017

Fiat has done away with previous trim levels for 2017 and made upgrading to features regardless of trim level a nice perk. Buyers will not be limited to options based solely on the basic trim level that they choose.

Ten Reasons You May Like the 2017 Fiat 500 – The Pros

1. Fuel Economy

If you can handle driving a subcompact, the Fiat 500 offers top of class fuel economy. The base engine gets 31 mpg in town and 38 mpg on the highway. If you upgrade to the turbocharged version in the Abarth, you will still get a satisfying 28 city and 33 highway. The Abarth's engine offers a peppy 160 h.p. which is quite an upgrade from the standard offering with 100 h.p.

2. Cargo Space

With the seats up, the 2017 Fiat 500 offers 9.0 cubic feet of storage space. However, with the split folding rear and passenger seats, the car becomes much more capable of handling cargo. Folding down the rear seats ups cargo space to 30.2 cubic feet, and folding down the front seat adds the ability to haul long objects.

3. Infotainment Center Comes Standard

The 2017 Fiat 500 offers a very attractive standard Infotainment system. The Fiat 500 comes with a five inch color touch screen. The Fiat Uconnect integration system is very capable and equipped with Bluetooth, hands free calling and voice commands. The Fiat 500 also offers a standard Alpine premium audio system.

4. Customization Options

There are a wide variety of exterior color options on the Fiat 500. You get your choice of 15 exterior color options and there are three exterior appearance packages available.

5. Sporty Upgrades

Along with the optional turbocharged engine, the Sport Package offers a more athletic exterior and upgrades like aluminum wheels and fog lamps. The 2017 Fiat 500 also offers an optional rear spoiler.

6. High Safety Rating

The Fiat 500 gets a four star rating for overall safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Part of the reason the 2017 Fiat 500 is such a safe car is the seven airbags and steel safety frame that are integrated into the car.

7. Warranty

The Fiat 500 comes with a generous four year or 50,000 mile warranty. Fiat offers a generous warranty to make sure that you are confident that the 2017 Fiat 500 will be reliable for years after purchase.

8. Available Safety Features

Standard safety features in the 2017 Fiat 500 include Electronic Stability Control that reduces speed when the car starts to lose control. The Fiat 500 also comes with brake assist and front seat reactive head restraints. Optional for 2017 is the ParkSense rear collision and parking alert.

9. Standard and Optional Features

The Fiat 500 offers great standard features like power drivers seat, remote keyless entry and heated mirrors. You can upgrade to include ParkSense technology, navigation, premium audio system and heated and leather trimmed seats.

10. Interior Design and Quality

The 2017 Fiat 500 offers a European style interior with quality materials. Fiat offers nine interior colors and a leather wrapped steering wheel. When you pair that with the five inch color touch screen and digital powered instrument cluster, you get a winning design.

Reasons You May Not Like the 2017 Fiat 500 – The Cons

1. Base Model Lacks Acceleration

While the 2017 Fiat 500 may be one of the best cars for city driving, it does lack power and a true road presence on the highway. If a buyer is not just using the Fiat 500 to dart in and out of intersections and squeeze into tight parking spaces, they will want to upgrade to the turbocharged engine.

2. Predicted Reliability

The Fiat 500 falls behind its competitors in predicted reliability. Though Fiat backs the 500 with a generous warranty, it is not regarded as a highly reliable car. JD Power rates the 2017 Fiat 500 at two out of five stars in predicted reliability.

3. Safety Features are Limited

The Fiat 500 may be a safe car, but optional features like lane keep assist or front collision warning are noticeably missing. The 2017 Fiat 500 will be a harder sell to buyers based on the fact that it does not offer a backup camera.

How it stacks up to the competition

The subcompact car category features quality competitors like the MINI Cooper and the Volkswagen Beetle. Though the Fiat 500 offers some pretty appealing features, it doesn't really make the top of the list for best subcompacts.

It has the makings of a quality subcompact, but MINI Cooper has a more exciting to drive product with a fun interior. The category also features multiple hybrid and electric cars that are more efficient.

Conclusion

The Fiat 500 has an iconic Italian design and offers a lot of freedom when building to suit a person's tastes. It offers many exterior and interior color options and the whole array of optional features is available at pretty much any trim level.

As a sporty city driver, the Fiat 500 makes a good case for someone looking to buy. It can also be upgraded to a more capable turbocharged engine.

While the subcompact category has a lot of options to choose from, the 2017 Fiat 500 stands out as a quirky and stylish option.