Hi Alex, having owned several Cinquecentos and Seicentos I agree that these are great little cars. I really bonded with mine. Keep an eye out for corrosion on the inner and outer sills especially just in front of the rear wheels and around the rear subframe mountings, also inside the rear corners of the boot. Well worth checking these areas as a bit of preventative rust-proofing can save a lot of heartache. And yes the road tax is way too high!
Alex, I love this Fiat! I especially love the colour! And you have proven that a Fiat is it isn't always breaking down needing to be fixed by Tony. It is also what I would consider to be a modern classic.
My father bought a Seicento 900 back in 2000 as the 4th car of the family., brand new. He used to go to work with it, instead of his Discovery...he used it as a van....also my sister learned driving on it. It has been tortured, badly maintained, but never let anybody on the road side. It's been a couple of years since I started occupy of this poor little car. Proper maintenance, a bit more careful use...last year it was painted....and it is still here, with 215.000 km on!
That gives me hope for mine! Just bought my first car, being a Seicento 1100 SPI. 76k km on it. Being my first car, still getting used to the clutch and proper gearing. I am going to do good maintenance on the little thing as a soon to be student technician. Looking like the perfect car to learn to drive and to learn to repair cars! :)
That's the same road tax as my 58 plate 2l 140hp diesel auto Seat Altea XL was(1) ... Crazy for such a small car! My father-in-law has a Vauxhall Zafira (62 plate diesel, I think it's a 2.0l engine too) - as it's an 'eco flex' model with the stop/start you can disable (which doesn't kick in if you only use it for short journeys as the engine never gets warm enough) it only costs £35 a year! (1) - it died, started sounding rattly, I added a bit of oil as it was at the minimum - on reflection the oil might have been a mistake as it was quite black and didn't smell right (I'm assured it wasn't fuel / oil mix as that would not have been put in an oil can ... it was also similar viscosity to thin oil ... it just smelt odd, so I stopped pouring after 2 tablespoonfulls) - next drive (on route to a garage to see why it was rattling) it's engine lost power and stalled and the oil escaped (about a mile from home) leaving holes where engine block should be! My daily driver is now an 09 reg Kia Picanto - all 999cc, 61hp propel this (quite pretty) city car quite well due to the low gearing, until you get to 40mph, when it becomes noticeable slower in 4th and especially 5th ... it is only £35 a year tax though, which is good.
If you're still in the market for one, I can tell you personally, that they're very very good cars. If they're both exercised and looked after with care then they'll last and last and last. It's (generally speaking *anyway)* always a good idea to establish measures which you can implement to compensate for any deficiencies you come across with the car. They're very inexpensive cars if you do your research - some traders charge extortionate amounts for them. Despite this "review" (which is hardly what *_I'd_* consider a review - just a man sitting in the driver's seat wearing casual clothing, talking, while driving) referring to the timing belt as though it was changed "just in time", the engines in these cars are non-interference engines, meaning that if the cable fractures, the valves won't smash into the pistons and immediately destroy the engine. Perhaps I'm a bit of an optimist when it comes to these cars, as I became a fan when I first came across them in the late 90's. I would suggest that a full and complete inspection is undertaken on the car before you do purchase one, just on the off-chance there actually IS any issue with it (and check everything is present and in good order). One thing worth mentioning I think (that this "review" didn't address, is the storage inside the car... it's very indiscreet and awkwardly shaped. There is indeed plenty of room, but that space is best used for items that are noticeably inexpensive, just to show potential thieves that nothing is worth taking. DIY/routine maintenance such as changing the bulbs is easy, and the car's manual is very simple to follow. The boot is very small (170 litres), however if packed using the right combination and type of (soft) cases and bags, can store a great deal. Folding the rear seat forward to fit the cases, and then putting the rear seat back in place again once the cases are fitted (as there's an inside overhang) will help you make better use of the space). Rear space for passengers can be resolved in terms of leg room, if the passengers take their shoes off before sitting in the seats, and putting their shoes in the footwell/in a bag on their lap if there isn't room. This should work even with the front seats fully put back.
![Were The Modifications To My Cheap Project Car Worth It? (First Drive) [FIAT Seicento Sporting]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rLsKTzsKHPk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Were The Modifications To My Cheap Project Car Worth It? (First Drive) [FIAT Seicento Sporting]](/img/tr.png)
Hi Alex, having owned several Cinquecentos and Seicentos I agree that these are great little cars. I really bonded with mine. Keep an eye out for corrosion on the inner and outer sills especially just in front of the rear wheels and around the rear subframe mountings, also inside the rear corners of the boot. Well worth checking these areas as a bit of preventative rust-proofing can save a lot of heartache. And yes the road tax is way too high!
Alex, I love this Fiat! I especially love the colour!
And you have proven that a Fiat is it isn't always breaking down needing to be fixed by Tony.
It is also what I would consider to be a modern classic.
Delightful little car.
My father bought a Seicento 900 back in 2000 as the 4th car of the family., brand new. He used to go to work with it, instead of his Discovery...he used it as a van....also my sister learned driving on it. It has been tortured, badly maintained, but never let anybody on the road side.
It's been a couple of years since I started occupy of this poor little car. Proper maintenance, a bit more careful use...last year it was painted....and it is still here, with 215.000 km on!
Oh wow. Thats a fantastic story. They are great little cars! :D
That gives me hope for mine! Just bought my first car, being a Seicento 1100 SPI. 76k km on it. Being my first car, still getting used to the clutch and proper gearing. I am going to do good maintenance on the little thing as a soon to be student technician. Looking like the perfect car to learn to drive and to learn to repair cars! :)
What a beast.
That's the same road tax as my 58 plate 2l 140hp diesel auto Seat Altea XL was(1) ... Crazy for such a small car!
My father-in-law has a Vauxhall Zafira (62 plate diesel, I think it's a 2.0l engine too) - as it's an 'eco flex' model with the stop/start you can disable (which doesn't kick in if you only use it for short journeys as the engine never gets warm enough) it only costs £35 a year!
(1) - it died, started sounding rattly, I added a bit of oil as it was at the minimum - on reflection the oil might have been a mistake as it was quite black and didn't smell right (I'm assured it wasn't fuel / oil mix as that would not have been put in an oil can ... it was also similar viscosity to thin oil ... it just smelt odd, so I stopped pouring after 2 tablespoonfulls) - next drive (on route to a garage to see why it was rattling) it's engine lost power and stalled and the oil escaped (about a mile from home) leaving holes where engine block should be!
My daily driver is now an 09 reg Kia Picanto - all 999cc, 61hp propel this (quite pretty) city car quite well due to the low gearing, until you get to 40mph, when it becomes noticeable slower in 4th and especially 5th ... it is only £35 a year tax though, which is good.
Seicento is €330 Road tax here 😢🇮🇪
Can someone tell me what to look out for before getting one?
If you're still in the market for one, I can tell you personally, that they're very very good cars.
If they're both exercised and looked after with care then they'll last and last and last.
It's (generally speaking *anyway)* always a good idea to establish measures which you can implement to compensate for any deficiencies you come across with the car.
They're very inexpensive cars if you do your research - some traders charge extortionate amounts for them.
Despite this "review" (which is hardly what *_I'd_* consider a review - just a man sitting in the driver's seat wearing casual clothing, talking, while driving) referring to the timing belt as though it was changed "just in time", the engines in these cars are non-interference engines, meaning that if the cable fractures, the valves won't smash into the pistons and immediately destroy the engine.
Perhaps I'm a bit of an optimist when it comes to these cars, as I became a fan when I first came across them in the late 90's.
I would suggest that a full and complete inspection is undertaken on the car before you do purchase one, just on the off-chance there actually IS any issue with it (and check everything is present and in good order).
One thing worth mentioning I think (that this "review" didn't address, is the storage inside the car... it's very indiscreet and awkwardly shaped.
There is indeed plenty of room, but that space is best used for items that are noticeably inexpensive, just to show potential thieves that nothing is worth taking.
DIY/routine maintenance such as changing the bulbs is easy, and the car's manual is very simple to follow.
The boot is very small (170 litres), however if packed using the right combination and type of (soft) cases and bags, can store a great deal.
Folding the rear seat forward to fit the cases, and then putting the rear seat back in place again once the cases are fitted (as there's an inside overhang) will help you make better use of the space).
Rear space for passengers can be resolved in terms of leg room, if the passengers take their shoes off before sitting in the seats, and putting their shoes in the footwell/in a bag on their lap if there isn't room.
This should work even with the front seats fully put back.
These dinky cars built for the narrow streets in Italy 🇮🇹
Built only in Poland for anyone who wants a cheap car with character and great to drive. My cinq always puts a smile on my face 😁👍🇮🇪