USED Fiat Seicento Hatchback (98 - 04)

My car

I love this car! It's so cheap to run, and surprisingly fast on the motorway. It's not of the greatest quality, but when it's so cheap, what do you expect?

The first problem I've had was when the clutch cable broke, but that's nothing major - just watch out for it, as it's common, apparently! I love it though - I don't want any other car.

My car

I bought my Seicento in August 2006. It is now March 2007, and over the past three weeks my car has cost me on average £170 through various faults and repairs being needed. When she runs, she is wonderful and I enjoy driving her, but over the past few weeks she has shown problems which I now see through this site are common to her make.

I would recommend her only to a short-distance town driver. I drive quite a way and having these faults has caused a lot of problems to my day-to-day life.

My car

I own a Fiat Seicento Sporting three-door Michael Schumacher edition no. 1969.

After passing my test, I bought it as a first car for £2250 from eBay and I can hardly fault the car.

Speed is exceptional for a 1.1. Fiat claims a top speed of 93mph, but I've seen well past 100mph continously for long periods on the motorway without any hesitation. It's a bit noisy, but it is a 1.1. It handles perfectly - roundabouts and B-roads present no problems - very chuckable.

It looks brilliant - the Abarth/Schumacher body kit and alloy wheels are well worth the extra few quid. The Schumacher comes with exhaust trim and lower skirts and bumpers, exclusive alloys, and Schumacher badges and logos.

Insurance is very low - £484 for a 17-year old male fully comprehensive from Norwich Union Direct. The lowest tax bracket is a bonus, too.

I have had nearly 400 miles on a full tank and it can, if driven economically, achieve 55-60mpg on a run. At present, it costs about £38 to fill it up.

One piece of advice - get a Sporting with Abarth kit instead of a Schumacher. All Schumacher parts are special editions, and cost double to repair or replace. Even wheel bearings are expensive, because they have ABS, whereas the rest of the range don't. You will also pay a bit extra for the Schumacher in the first place.

Find a decent Abarth-kitted Sporting and you will never look back.

My car

I bought myself a Y-reg Fiat Seicento Sporting in Black about two months ago. I had previously owned a Fiat Brava 80 SX 16v before. I have been overly impressed with the Seicento. I call it my little go-kart, everything about it just makes you smile.

Okay, it's not the biggest or fastest car around but you definitely never get bored with it. It handles better than I ever expected and it is an absolute dream to park and manouvre around traffic.

I had the car for less than a week when the clutch broke. Not only that, but when I took it through a car wash I found the sunroof leaked... Other than that, I haven't had any problems.

For such a small bog standard car, I wouldn't say it's that short of kit. Mine came with electric windows, sports seats, sunroof, leather steering wheel, leather gear stick, alloy wheels, fog lights, CD player, anti-roll bar, split-folding rear seats, sport suspension, remote central locking, immobiliser and ABS. There is no way that car is short of kit. This car has proven itself on motorways and around town. I drove from Tamworth to Morecambe, to Chester and then back to Tamworth in one day! I covered over 300 miles in that car that day and I was surprised I could actually still stand up when I got out the car. The seats kept my back supported and it easily had enough power to stay in the fast lane on the motorway cruising at 90mph for a couple of hours. And that whole journey only cost me around £30 on fuel!