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The interior of the Fiat certainly is a polarizing one. Personally, I love the multi-colour interior: the white dash gives the 500 an upscale look and sets it apart from the sea of grey and black in most compact cars, and the two-tone leather seats really add flair. But a few co-workers who checked out the car had different opinions. Some like black interiors and found the Fiat’s plastics too felt cheap — until I told them the car starts at just over $15,000.
My tester has almost 9,000 km on the odometer and there is a visible difference between the driver and passenger seats. The leather on the driver’s seat is beginning to stretch and looks looser than that of the passenger’s seat. Regarding the seats, they are short in the leg area but sit very high in the vehicle, so tall people may have issue with rubbing their hair on the headliner if they are not accustomed to leaning back. Even I was able to touch the roof with my head with the seat in the upright — otherwise known as the “take-off and landing” — position.
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What is surprising is that although you need to bend yourself to get in and out of the backseats, they are reasonably-sized. Even more surprising is the trunk space. Eyeing the car from the outside and seeing the interior space, one would assume the trunk space is next-to-nothing. In fact, it is a very reasonably-sized trunk area that can more than accommodate most drivers’ weekly shopping.
The rest of the interior looks upscale, the only negatives from my perspective being the radio controls, which are all buttons and no dials, which makes simple tasks more cumbersome. The steering wheel feels solid and comfortable in hand and the driver’s armrest is perfectly placed for highway cruising.
The gear level is placed in an ergonomic position if you wish to shift the automatic transmission yourself, which leads me to believe the manual transmission would be perfect for spirited runs.
I am still loving the cute looks of the 500, but can’t help but think how striking it would be with 13 inch wheels, shod with 245 series tires and major negative camber — a little racy!
