In this day and age, with all cars having achieved such a high level of basic development and refinement, it’s somewhere between shocking and refreshing to drive a car that is truly sub-par, at least in its drive train. It’s sort of like a time trip back to the eighties, and since we’re mostly all about the cars of the past, ending up with a Fiat 500L as a rental should have been a blast from the past. That is, if one really wants to relive the buzzy, jerky, turbo-laggy experience of driving a 1989 Dodge Caravan/Voyager Turbo 2.2L four, but at least that had the softening influence of an actual torque converter. With the Fiat’s six automated mechanical gears, the drive train’s simultaneous hunt for boost and a different gear creates constant turmoil; a bi-polar personality that quickly becomes tedious.
Too bad, because the 500L has some redeeming features.
Before we get to the 500L’s sins, let’s look at its virtues. And it does have a goodly number of them; in fact, this is the kind of vehicle that rather appeals strongly to me, given that its basic package is a somewhat larger version of my xBox. The Kia Soul is probably its most direct competitor, along with the fading xB and Nissan Cube.
I like to settle into a fast, low and swoopy car for a serious drive, but for around town, I prefer boxy automotive things, tall boy wagons and such. An upright seating position, unconstrained legs, good visibility, lots of flexible seating and cargo room, and easy parking; the 500L has all of these, and then some.
All of which makes it quite a suitable Popemobile, as Pope Francis showed on his recent trip to the US. I’m going to assume his 500L had the Aisin 6-speed automatic and not the “Euro” twin-clutch 6-speed automated manual, like mine, as it wouldn’t be right to subject him to the 500L’s biggest sin. Absolution alone won’t fix what’s wrong under the hood here.
The 500L’s interior design is cheerful and perky, mostly in a good way. There’s lots of contrasting colors and textures, and it never feels dull or predictable. But already here, there’s a problem: the center arm rest is absurdly high, making it almost useless. And the front seats are a bit modest in their support and dimensions.
The view out the front, with its colonnade of pillars, reminded me of certain airplane cockpits. Visibility is good, once one gets used to the different configuration of glass and pillars. It reminds one a bit of the “dustbuster” GM vans of yore, although the windshield is not so steeply sloped.
Personal space is very generous, and being tall, that’s what I really like about these kind of cars. The lack of a console makes for a very unconstrained feeling around the legs, and the massive headroom and vertical windows does the same for the upper body. Ingress/egress is of course very easy, and makes cars like this perfect for around-town errands and such.
The back seat is roomy too, with lots of legroom. It slides, to optimize either leg room or cargo room. I’m guessing it was pushed forward here, but my 92 year-old mom had little trouble getting in and out. And the bigger of her two walkers easily fit in the cargo area. All in all, it’s a great package. But since it’s also an automobile, and not a stationary lounge, we need to consider how it actually moves under its own power.
The Fiat 500L, whose name makes no sense to me, since it is a totally different car from the retro-500, is powered by the same 1.4 L Multi-Air turbo four, making 160 hp and 184 lb.ft. of torque. The standard transmission in most of the models is a six-speed manual, and that would be the way to go, presumably, to have some control over the unruly little engine that has two modes: sluggish and explosive.
That may be fun and games in the lightweight 500, but the 500L weighs some 3300 lbs, and with a pope or just some of the faithful aboard, its highly non-linear personality becomes quickly very tedious, especially since its personality is magnified by the twin-clutch automatic. Pull out into traffic, initially with a modest application of throttle, and then call for a bit more to fit into the existing pace, and the transmission bolts down a gear or two, and the engine finds its turbo boost all at the same instant, causing embarrassing wheel spin or at least a big jerk. Sorry Mom!
I tried hard to like this car, and on the initial drive to my Mom’s from the Baltimore airport, where Nextcar gave me this instead of the Cruze or Focus I was expecting, I thought I just needed a bit of getting-to-know you time with this temperamental Italian. Actually, the 500L is Serbian, built in the former Zastava plant in Kragujevac, where the Yugo was once built. But we won’t hold that against it.
What’s interesting though is that the European versions have totally different engine/transmission options, as well as this long-wheelbase 7-passenger “Living” version. The base engine is the little 875 cc Twin-Air Turbo, which may sound a bit tiny for this car, but it has 105hp and a stout torque curve. With the six speed manual, it probably works well enough for the kind of situations the 500L typically finds itself in: as a family runabout, often in small-town and rural settings, where its roominess is a big plus. Sort of a modern-day 600 Multipla. Speaking of, this car should have been bestowed that name.
The 1.4 gas four is available in Europe, but in NA 95 and 120 hp versions. And of course there’s the diesels, in 95 (1.3 L) and 120 hp (1.6L) versions. Those undoubtedly are the big sellers, and with a six-speed manual, would undoubtedly make for a very different experience than what my rental had, a combination never offered outside the American market.
This 1.4 turbo – automated six-speed combo got bad reviews from the get-go, which undoubtedly was the reason Fiat started offering the Aisin 6-speed torque-converter automatic, although it’s still not available on the base version. Back to the experience I had: Clicking/tapping sounds from the engine after a cold start; strange whirring and other noises from the transmission, less than smooth slow-speed maneuvering, and a shift program that was obviously EPA-friendly. With the lack of a torque converter, that meant that all-too often, the 500L was chugging along several gears too high, a situation it instantly over-compensated by even modest throttle applications. This is a car difficult to drive smoothly; sorry again, Mom!
The 500L’s ride is a bit jiggly and hardly sophisticated, but that’s about to be expected. Handling is also so-so; the 500L struggles to rectify its sporty looks and pretensions with the fact that ultimately its a small people-mover. Make that small, tall people mover.
The 500L has been a sales bust in the US. Fiat was hoping to get a boost from its exposure as Pope Francis’ car of choice, but if there is a boomlet, it will undoubtedly be short-lived. Fiat has shifted its efforts in pushing the 500x, a cross-over that sits on the same basic platform as the 500L, both derivations of the GM Fiat Small platform, originally a 2002 joint venture between Opel and Fiat that first saw the light of day in 2005 in the small version as the Fiat Grande Punto and has underpinned cars such as the Opel Corsa D, Alfa MiTo, Opel Adam. The LWB version spawned the Fiat Linea, Opel Meriva B, Fiat Doblo, Ram ProMaster City. The Small Wide LWB version is what underpins the 500L, and the 4×4 version of that platform is host to the 500X and the Jeep Renegade, and will host the 2016 Jeep Compass.
The cheapest US version of the 500X (Pop; $20,000) has the 160 hp 1.4 Multi-Air four too, but apparently only with the six-speed manual. The “Euro” six-speed twin-clutch is noticably missing, as Fiat seems to have amended for that jerky little sin. All of the higher-trim versions of the 500X have the 2.4 Tiger Shark four and the nine-speed automatic, a box that has had a bit of a rough start too.
My trip to Baltimore was brief but lovely, but the drive up to Havre deGrace for a niece’s wedding with my mother, sister and daughter was marred a bit by iffy directions and the the 500L’s personality. The Camry and Impala I had the last two trips home were much more suitable for such an occasion, and they both got high marks. The Fiat was cheap ($28/day plus the usual add-ons), and I liked its commanding view and room, but its drive train sin was rather deadly. I wonder if the 500L is long for this (new) world.
Perhaps some enterprising technician will open a repair shop to deal with the 500L’s shortcomings. Call it the Fix It Again Sergio Company or F.I.A.S.C.O.
Genious, Gene.
Goes well with Fiasler.
Thanx, Joseph. It’s amazing what a second cup of coffee can do for one’s mental processes. 😉
Wow, that sounds really horrible to drive, I driven a few automated manual trucks quite a few actually and they didnt seem too bad its obvious from how they behave they arent torque converter autos, even the couple of DSG eqipped cars Ive driven were ok to drive both were turbo diesel Fords,
This sounds like just a bad pairing of motor and transmission though you’d think someone at Fiat would have discovered the problems before it went out to unsuspecting rental customers.
I once got a Fiat Idea as a rental in Greece, the last car they had, and it had the same automated manual box. After putting up with it initially, I soon switched to driving it in manual mode completely. Still not great, but at least it was a lot calmer to drive. I would take my foot of the gas while shifting, so the box wouldn’t have to scramble to keep up.
The stretched version with a 875cc turbo sounded interesting to me. With ever higher specific outputs, one wonders how small engines can get. One wonders with 2-2.5 horsepower per cubic inch easily possible now, if we might soon see 400cc small urban hatchbacks, Fiesta,500, Rio not kei’s. I suppose they would almost require CVTs.
Len’s Rio that we read about yesterday had a NA engine with 1.4 hp per cubic inch, in a car designed to sell at a value price. The game of how small an engine can get is not nearly over. I am sure it is possible to make a 200k mile engine even smaller, but it must present some technical challenges. I think BMW did some work finding that the ideal cylinder size is around 500 cc, does that mean 1 cylinder Minis eventually.
This is one aspect of moderns that I am finding fascinating. Thanks Paul for telling us about your rental.
John C,a very knowledgeable friend told me that the original Daihatsu Charade had the most efficient cylinder size, 3 cylinders,993cc,one cylinder size is 331cc.I wonder if that was correct?
I remember reading that years ago Roderick but not necessarily in relation to the Daihatsu, just from a theoretical point of view, perhaps when the F1 engines still had different cylinder numbers.
I dare say it has changed now with the low-friction technology in engines and oils, and lighter components such as pistons, so the ideal is probably larger. Going outside the purely technical, a lower parts count to save $$$ particularly for things like direct fuel injectors would have a significant influence.
…and it’s ugly. At least the standard 500 has some of the Nuova’s cuteness, but compare that profile with the Giardiniera and it just looks like Fiat were in a rush to get out a five door.
That’s been my biggest problem with the 500L–it’s hideous to look at. And for the record I like the styling of the 500 coupe, but the L is just bad.
Yep. They have so many shapes in their cupboard and they’re sticking with the 500. Madness.
Looks like a cane toad. Sounds like its gait is similar too.
Hehehe
In the UK, Fiat has pretty much become a single-model brand, with 500s littering every street, but little sign of Pandas or Puntos, and saloons disappeared from the market.
The strategy, of course, is to compete with Mini, and to stretch, inflate or rework a few styling cues while trying to cover as much of the baby-premium market as possible. This is clever, of course – I mean, turning Fiat into a premium brand. That’s smart. But the results can be a little odd – as with Mini, whose larger models now look like slightly shrunken Range Rover Evoques, and are larger than the old Austin Maxi. Nomenclature chaos!
I hired a 500 a couple of years ago, and it was a lot of fun to drive; have never tried one of the plus-size models though.
I haven’t heard many positive reviews of the current Fiat lineup in the U.S., and I trust your judgement which only confirms this.
Too bad you didn’t get a MINI 🙂 I think you would’ve been more impressed with its engine and transmission.
My wife just won a MINI in a competition. I’m really looking forward to us taking delivery.
My wife, a lifelong manual shifter, totally adores her Mini Cooper S.
I, too, had wondered if the free publicity the Fiat 500L had gotten from the pope riding in one would do anything for sales. Apparently, even the pope can’t overcome a poorly engineered drivetrain.
My local Fiat dealer had a 500L out front with a cardboard cutout of the Pope in it. Tacky, and didn’t sell any cars. Maybe if the car wasn’t butt-ugly…
They’d do better selling those cardboard cutouts of the Pope.
They probably would have been better off making a Popemobile-edition Wrangler Unlimited, white on white.
They are putting this drivetrain in Dodge Dart’s too.
When a car behaves like this, my first suspicion is that the driving experience comes in second to EPA fuel mileage targets or some other regulatory consideration. A small displacement turbo engine and a highly efficient transmission might be good things in the right application, but this is evidently not it. It would be interesting to know the engineering compromises that were made in order to bring you this car.
This engine/transmission combo is now mostly gone from the 500L lineup, replaced by the Aisin 6speed automatic except on the lowest trim model. My guess is that initially Fiat used the twin-clutch transmission because they build it and it was the cheap solution. But obviously it has backfired, and they had to quickly adapt the Aisin box and make it available too.
I should note to folks that this particular combination can now be easily avoided.
All FIAT’s can be easily avoided, in my book.
“Regulatory consideration” is a phrase which takes a lot of blame for what (by all accounts) is a badly engineered drivetrain in this iteration.
I also want to know who came up with those A-pillars and sliver windows. I have yet to see that catch on elsewhere. As a guy who rides motorcycles I value visibility in the “front quadrant”, and this looks distracting to see out of.
They must have been historically inspired. 1936 Panhard et Levassor Dynamic X76:
There are quite a few minvan/MPV’s that have the same window layout from the GM dustbusters to the Renault Espace and current Toyota Tarago and Citroen Picasso.
I agree with the idea that “…being a completely different car”, from the 2 door 500 that it should have gotten a different name…..like, maybe the 600? From traveling in Sicily in the 70s, I remember a car that looked vaguely like the 500s but with 4 doors, that was called the 600. But I think that it also had a larger engine to go with the (slightly) larger body.
Apparently, Fiat marketing is taking a page out of Minis ‘playbook” by emphasizing the 500 instead of the Fiat part of the name. The name 500L makes me think of LUXURY and not longer. But it does sort of work for the 500X.
These automated gearboxes seem to be having a lot of “teething” problems. Even CVTs seem to be a “hit or miss” thing with one company having okay CVTs while another has junk.
I think we are getting to the point where car engines last for 100,000 miles+ with no problems while transmissions are lucky to last 1/3 of that without trips to the dealer.
Good write-up, and I will research to see if a 500L with manual can be found in my area for a test drive.
Even a few years ago the transmission problems were becoming evident. When I was shopping for a small car in late 2011, both the Ford Focus and Hyundai Veloster were crossed off the list due to reliability/drivability concerns with their respective dual-clutch semi-automatics. I don’t think I’d be comfortable buying a car with a CVT for the same reasons you mentioned–hit or miss.
For whatever reason, whether it be keeping up with the next guy or EPA/economy concerns, the new generation of transmissions seem to have been rushed out the door too fast in more cases than not.
As I’m looking at trading in the xB next year, a 500L was one of my considerations. You’ve definitely put one hell of a dent in that line of thought. Admittedly, I’ll only be considering a manual transmission model, but you comments on the handling don’t help either since that’s one of the things I love about my mouse car.
The handling is ok, but then it rides better than the xB, which has a very harsh ride as a trade-off for its crisp handling. The 500L is a significantly bigger and heavier car, about 1000 lbs more than the gen1 xB.
I wouldn’t yet trust one of these for the really long haul.
It should have the 2.5L Tigershark.
This is a car I wanted to like but wouldn’t buy or recommend based solely on how Fiat hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory since its’ return. If it were made by Toyota I would probably have bought one by now.
Don’t even get me started on Fiat. At one time it was a best seller here in Austria (and all over Europe) but cars that, among other things, rusted too quickly have almost ruined it. In more recent times the quality problems have been overcome but then some arrogant big knob at the top decided on the current approach which completely disregards Fiat’s current standing which – other than the 500 – is akin to that of a low-rent brand like Dacia or Seat. Of course, the market does not bite. To me in order to turn itself around Fiat _must_ accept that, retreat by reducing prices and offering “normal” vehicles rather than “style” models, with nothing to bridge the gap to Alfa Romeo (also being moved too high up the scale with the Giulia).
Every time I see one of these on the road I can’t help but wonder what the person buying it was thinking. First off, it’s an ugly, mishappen amalgam of overdone design cues thrown at a box on wheels. Secondly, it’s a Fiat, in this country very well earning the title of Fix It Again Tony. While the 500 is cute and entertaining, reliability isn’t in the cards. A friend bought one six months ago. He is out of town quite a bit so the car sits in his garage for weeks at a time. I store my 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo next to his Fiat, and it also sits for weeks before being driven. The Fiat refuses to start every time it has sat unused for more than three days. The dealer told him its vapor lock due to the high summer temperatures here in Tucson. Vapor lock?!! On a new car? Please! It’s pretty bad when the 35 year old Chevy will start right up with a pump of the gas and a twist of the key, and a brand new Fiat with under 300 miles on it refuses to start.
Vapor lock? My dad’s ’52 Cadillac 62 sedan would develop vapor lock; nothing I’ve driven myself has ever had it–and that’s in well over 40 years of driving in Tucson. I thought that problem was solved long ago. Has Fiat rediscovered it and introduced it as a “feature”?
Not to mention the fact that vapor look is impossible on a fuel injected engine.
Particularly a cold fuel injected engine?
Yup. ICE cold. Service manager or WHOEVER floated that explanation certainly had some big brass ones.
If the car is garaged, all the more reason it should have no issues due to ambient temperature (<110°). And it does get hot in parts of Italy, doesn't it? Sounds like a manufacturing/assembly defect.
Per Gene's remark, Wiki says vapor lock is very unlikely with fuel-injection, but maybe Fiat "found a way."
I rented one of these for a jaunt around the Colorado Springs area and can back up Paul’s feelings…the turbocharged engine performed great at high altitude of course, but that transmission quickly became a nuisance on mountain roads. I was surprised at how quick it was on level ground, though.
Nice to read Paul’s first hand experience with a new Fiat. Explains the low sales and so so reviews. Flubbed It’s Automanual Transmission.
The Serbians that make these are paid $291 a month and they pay more for chicken than we do.
How would you compare the transmission behavior to that of the earlier smart fortwo? That also had a reputation for being herky-jerky.
I haven’t driven one but from what I’ve read repeatedly, and can hear when one accelerates, is that the Smart’s transmission shifted slowly, which caused annoyance, loss of momentum, and jerkiness.
The Fiat’s box shifts quickly, no problem there. The issue is the poor interface between the engine and transmission; they just don’t harmonize. The transmission upshifts too quickly, and then when one needs just a bit more power, the box downshifts two gears which spools up the engine into the high-boost zone, so that the transition becomes exaggerated and jerky. It’s just hard to find a middle ground between poky driving with slow rpm and too high a gear or…the opposite.
I forgot: the brakes were also very hard to modulate, and it was difficult to avoid an abrupt beginning to braking. I kept feeling like I was a brand new driver who didn’t know how to shift, control the throttle as well as the brakes.
Frankly, the worst possible car to use as a Popemobile, in terms of giving someone a smooth ride.
Yep, it certainly was.
That is typically why they shuttle around high profile people in luxury cars. Nice, smooth riding and depending on how they make them, as much or as little visibility and protection as desirable.
I don’t think any of the previous popes were any less humble because of the fancier cars they tended to ride in. I think it was their security details that chose them or they came as gifts in the earlier days.
The Pope’s Fiat hopefully was a manual transmission. No self respecting Italian secret service man would be caught dead driving an automatic. In Italy these are some of the best built cars in the world. World class engines & manual transmission. No nonsense marketing. Das Auto, my foot
And when it comes to looks, the 500L looks lake and Alfa 33 Stradale next to most asin cars for sale in north America. I drove by a Toyota dealership the other day and almost threw up, after seeing those disfigured anime faces Toyota calls car design. How do people by that crap. No wonder a man named Justin is our new Prime Minister
I don’t like cars made in Asia either although I have to say when my sister bought a new manual Subaru Forester in 2005 and after driving it on long distances,I was very impressed.Frank do you not like your new PM? Am just looking at a large black and white photo of my wealthy uncle chatting to Pierre Trudeau when he was PM.Australia’s recently deposed PM called Canada “Canadia”! The two worst cars I have driven are Toyota Corona Mk11 and the dreadful Morris/Leyland Marina,both were new cars.
I don’t see any redeeming features. The double “A” pillar is a deadly sin !
The 500 is OK and the 500X is maybe OK, but the “L” is a stretch too far.
It’s worth keeping in mind that the 500L is actually a development of the Fiat Sedici/Suzuki SX4 joint venture, which is where those extra quarter lights came from. I’m glad it wasn’t called the Multipla since the modern Fiat Multipla 2 row 6 seater is a more interesting an d better car that we sadly won’t see in the Americas.
I think the Multipla was sold in Mexico for a while. I saw one on the street in Santa Monica some years ago — I was astonished.
I’ve been considering one of these ever since we looked at them at the local car show. My wife really wanted (wants) a MINI, but I’ve heard lots of horror stories about them. We saw the 500L and really like the amount of room and the versatile interior you get.
The known problems with the DDCT transmission have been rectified with the addition of the Aisin 6 speed. I think the DDCT got a bad rep with buggy early versions and folks not understanding them. I think the idea for these transmissions was to be in style along with the Fords, Audis, VWs and other prestige cars that use some sort of DCT transmission. But they were advertised as ‘automatic’ transmissions and I think that folks didn’t know what to expect. The assumption is a torque converter trans when you say automatic, not a robotic manual transmission.
The issue with the sluggish/touchy gas pedal is rectified with an aftermarket tuner chip, it apparently smooths out the bad behavior of the electronic throttle. There are also issues with the sunroof’s interior shade and some with battery drainage issues. Apparently the battery can discharge if the car is not driven for several days. It’s not been fixed AFAIK, but the cheap fix is to keep a trickle charger on it.
Personally, I like the concept of the car, but I agree it should have been called something else. The 500L doesn’t really say anything to me, maybe 600 would have been a better idea. Not Multipla, though. I think after the Multipla of the 1990’s, few folks want to be seen in one. It might work here in the States, as no one here knows what those cars look like.
The idea of a turbocharged four door station wagon/minivan with a modicum of handling and a huge interior is right up my alley. I’ve said for years that some company needs to enter the North American market with some new small cars to establish a new paradigm in terms of space utilization and efficiency.
Too bad the DDCT essentially killed this car in the crib. Maybe if Fiat gets brave, they can bring over the 500 Living model (which I think would be more appropriate for the North American market), re-name it something NOT 500 and stick to the good powertrains, it may make an impression here.
Or an Abarth version. That would be nice…
Glad to hear you had a nice trip back home to our city by the Bay, Paul.
I have to agree with you in that the 500L’s name makes no sense since the 500 is a totally different car. I asked one of the Fiat associates (eye candy) at the Motor Trend International Auto Show at the Baltimore Convention Center earlier this year about that and she just said that it was about brand identity. I replied that it made no sense and suggested they call it a Fiat 600 instead.
My stepson has an Abarth with that engine, but he has the manual transmission and it is an absolute blast to drive. But like you said in your review, you have more control with all that power if you can chose which gear you’ll be using. Although my Mustang’s an automatic, I can use the ‘select-a-shift’ or whatever they used to call it if I want to enjoy manual mode. You couldn’t do that with the 500L? ~ Rick…
Oh, P.S. Quick Question for this CC Newbie: What does the acronym “COAL” mean?
COAL = Car(s) Of A Lifetime. Usually a series of all the cars owned by the writer. Sometimes there’s just one-off posts.
Don’t ask why, but I never used the manual mode except for once when I accidentally put the lever in manual. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of manually shifting an automatic, except when I’m really driving a car intensely, especially for downhill engine braking and such.
The 500L was used to ferry my Mom around, and I didn’t feel like i should or needed to be shifting manually under the circumstances. I wanted to drive her around in a relatively placid manner, but that was harder to do than expected.
THE X BOX AND KIA SOUL ARE RELIABLE LOOK COOL AND ARE THE NEW COLLECTABLES THIS FIAT IS NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL AND ITS UNRELIABLE IF YOUR GONNA BUILD A MULTIPLA THEN BUILD ONE IT NJUST DOSENT WORK THIS CAR
Please don’t use all caps; it’s rather unpleasant. Thanks. 🙂
Your pictures look like Fleet Street in Fells Point, yes?
Fells Point, but Broadway.
Actually, that looks to be Broadway… One of the most famous beer bars on the planet can be seen in the background… “Max’s” at the corner of Broadway and Lancaster… which BTW, to respond to the Post of the Day about DeLoreans… is the exact parking lot that I sat in and then subsequently went for a ride around Fells Point in a fellow beer geek’s DeLorean. He frequents the place on Tuesday Nights, and sometimes brings the old girl out. Other than at a dealership off Exit 31 of the Baltimore Beltway back in the day, is the only time I’ve ever come close to one of those cars in person. ;o)
Late to the party here, but I drove the 500L for 10 days in Sicily, with the diesel engine and manual gearbox. The handling of the car was as described here, but the drivetrain was peppy and super efficient, getting over 50 mpg in combined hiway, mountain-road and city driving, and this with three adult-sized folks and luggage within.
The car swallowed us and our gear well, it accelerated well while sipping gas, but I didn’t much appreciate the way wallowed through the curves. I think Fiats troubles here are that the European efforts have been in developing manual tranmission-based diesel drivetrains for 20 years now. The gasoline versions brought here just don’t add up, because they’re not a serious option there.
For some reason when reading (skimming?) this earlier I thought the car had an old-style single clutch automated manual as per some versions of the Fiat 500. Those are definitely poor, but then automatic transmissions in French and Italian cars (perhaps German also?) were generally to be avoided in the past. I think it was as simple as they were such a small part of their sales that not much attention was paid to them. For example a relative had a Renault 19 years ago, and people were suprised it had made it to 60k miles without failing; it seemed to be a case of when, not if.
While a dual-clutch transmission doesn’t have the same slow-shifting issue, it still has the fundamental problem of a mechanised clutch engagement that can’t work 100% properly in all circumstances, particularly a dry clutch setup that Ford used.
I drove a VW Golf 7 speed DSG a couple of years ago and it would similarly go into 7th gear before 35 mph under light throttle, but kicked down fairly readily from memory. I do remember that the sport mode kept the revs up around 3500 rpm, quite change from the <1500 rpm that 'normal' mode seemed to aim for. The other quirk was you had to move from sport mode back to normal to access the manual change gate on the shifter, I would have thought that you would want to shift manually more often when in sport mode. The resultant fuel economy was very impressive though, with an average of around 42 mpg (US), although it did use premium fuel that cost 10% more.
You posited a manual diesel 500L could make for a very different experience. Well, last weekend I rented a car here in Germany, and guess what I got. While we had actually booked a smaller car – supposed to be a Skoda Citigo, probably would have been a Fiat Panda – they were all gone when we got there. Instead, they gave us a Fiat 500L in the configuration you transatlantic lot so seem to covet: a manual diesel, a 1.6 with 120bhp. And contrary to my expectations, I have to grudgingly admit I quite liked it.
First off, I can echo most of the Paul’s sentiment regarding its roominess. While I find the giant fishbowl ahead of the driver plain silly, it offered plenty of legroom front and back, and had comfy seats. In terms of interior design, I’m not a fan of retro, but it actually looked quite pleasant. Besides the rock-hard and already scratched door cards the quality seemed in order and the relatively simple entertainment system did all we wanted from it.
But onto the road. We live in Munich, and southern Bavaria really is a paradise for drivers with unregulated Autobahnen over rolling hills, and twisty trunk roads taking one straight into the Alps – but also with busy city streets in Munich itself. Any capable car should shine here. And I’ve got to say the Fiat didn’t disappoint.
The 1.6 diesel, not all that powerful for a nearly 1400kg car, is mated to a 6-speed manual, and it needs them. I like to change gear very frequently, and luckily clutch, engine and gearbox allow for smooth shifting. First gear is very short, and used essentially only to get moving. Pulling up from a junction without coming to a complete stop is best done in 2nd. Since shifting goes smoothly if done in time, rolling around town can be done in good comfort. If the Popemobile had this combo, the hat could have stayed on!
Out of town, it’s not a star runner but it didn’t leave me impatient either. It did well enough on the Autobahn, too. It steers quite smoothly, but the limitations of the high centre of gravity do show themselves quite soon. That’s ok for me, it’s no hot hatch, and the drivetrain is clearly not aimed at sportiness either. The diesel does get noisy at higher speeds, even in 6th gear.
Overall, the 500L proved itself a comfy companion for my GF and me for the long weekend. To us, not all that used to new cars, it seemed as good as any other on the market – definetely better than the 500X I also had as a rental last year. And that is probably the issue with these things: any car, even in this class, can provide smooth transportation, while offering a better price and more engaging handling. Fiats have become pretty much rentals only by now. Besides, while the car definitely doesn’t look boring, it isn’t exactly pretty either. That alone is the main reason I expected to hate it. Positively surprised, but not too much.
Tasteful colour though.
The Pope’s favourite is his Renault 4.
https://www.infobae.com/2013/09/09/1507534-el-papa-francisco-renault-4l/