I think it's quite neat looking small car. Doesn't try too hard and isn't retro like the new Mini or Fiat 500 posted above, and it's not an Opel either. I could buy one if I had the money and they sold it here.
Not to mention the first one makes you look a right twat of a chav, the second is the same as what every single girl tries to drive and thinks is the width of a Challenger II, and the third is a Fiat, whose dealers' idea of service is to shit in your face.
first incident: i went to the official fiat service center for my delta... they told me that the ECU is at fault for the engine shutting down after some kilometer... the dialogue was like this
- we can change the ecu
- how much is that?
- 500 (or something)
- ok, suppose we change it, as you suggest... will it solve the problem? are you sure this is the fault?
- no. but that's what the "diagnostic computer" says.
at the time i was a total newb so i couldn't troubleshoot nothing.
it went like 3 times to that service.
asked from a friend of mine, who came around when my car let me down in the middle of the street and in the 5 seconds that it took me to get to him after i pulled the lever that opens the engine door, he exclaimed "hey malaka, one of the sparkplug cables is out!"
engine came to life without a hiccup and never failed again after that.
second incident: my passenger door doesn't close easily, the engine behaves strangely when cold (i accelerate, in first, and if i let go of the accelerator, the engine drops like to 500rpm, rattles like hell, goes to 2000 and then stabilizes at idle. also, if i try to accelerate a bit harder it chokes on itself. this shouldn't be happening, it's injected) and i get a hard knock when the front right goes over anomalies or when i center the wheel after a sharp left turn. also the brakes are kinda soft and the steering wheel drifts to the left. 800 euros later, NONE of the issues were fixed, dude says that i got serious damage in the steering bar-something (not sure of the etymology) that will cost me another 800... turns out, one component is worn out that costs like 20 or so.
there have been other minor incidents similar to these in the 15 year history of this car
got a good review and finished 2nd on fifth gear in their "hot hatchlette" test this week. they all said it was the most fun to drive but the fiat 500 abarth beat it because it was faster round the track despite being less well balanced purely because of the power.
There was an early mazda model that was sold with a wankel engine... and the same model was sold with a reciprocating engine, because the wankel engine was still in very early development.
Since two months I own a very basic Swift 1.3 and that engine already has a bite! (of course it helps the car weighs only 1000kg)
On top of that it has a very nice balance between over and understeer (tends to slight understeer, but very easy to get throttle-lift oversteer). All in all a brilliant little car, I can only imagine how awesome the Sport version is! I'll be sure to make a test drive in it some time soon!