Bucket Seat: FIAT 500 Sport

The FIAT 500 is an iconic car, not just for the brand but for vehicles in general. The shape is famous world wide and its easily identifiable, what is truly great about the FIAT 500 unlike some of the other small icons of the past is that the size has stayed generally the same. The cute stocky nature of the car is still the essence behind the brand and while the car has grown slightly over the years, it hasn't transformed into a completely different car, unlike some of the iconic cars of yester-year like Mini and the VW Beetle for example. The model I had on test was the Sport version and while it looked pretty much like your standard 500, it did have some sporty elements to help distinguish it as a sports model, I'll go into detail of that in a bit. Now, many who know me and my size were probably sniggering to themselves when they saw I was driving this car, as I am not the smallest guy around and driving a tiny car like this might not have been the best fit for me but truth be told, I didn't really mind it as I will explain now in the review of this FIAT 500 Sport. 

DESIGN

As far as the term icons go, the FIAT 500 is definitely one that many motoring enthusiast would agree is one. The Italian car maker first launched the model in 1957 and was initially known as "The Cinquencento", it was marketed as a cheap, functional and economical town car and to much extents it still is that but evolved along the years to bring in all the new technology and safety features required in our modern era of motoring, the dinky size of the car and shape still remains the same making it the perfect little run around for town driving. The styling has evolved as well, giving the car a modern interpretation of the classic design, keeping those iconic lines and Italian flare. The unit I had, came in Passion Red and being the Sport, changes are made to bumpers, side skirts giving it a more dynamic look and attitude, along with a rear spoiler to complete the sporty look. In the front the grill is more pronounced and there is front fog lights with chrome detailing. The FIAT 500 Sport receives 16" Alloy Wheels which come in black with brush aluminum outlines. Just incase all this sportiness isn't enough, they slapped a "Sport" badge on the side above the front wheel arch and the side mirros are finished off in black too. Another addition is the panoramic sunroof which really makes the car look great with the black roof contrasting well with that Passion Red paintwork. 

PERFORMANCE       

With the FIAT 500 being so tiny, you don't need a mammoth engine to power it, neither can a mammoth engine fit in it as well but under the hood you'll find a 0.9L front wheel drive motor that delivers 62.5kW of power and 145Nm of torque, its basically a go-kart, you're driving a go-kart but with a shell of a well equipped car, now while many might be thinking, what can that little motor do? Well a lot in a car like this! Remember the car is tiny, weighing in at 930kg's, this car is actually quite punchy when you driving it. That 5-speed gearbox is a charm to use and with the small steering wheel it gives off that perfect go-kart like experience. With the short wheel base and great turning circle radius, the maneuverability of the 500 Sport is exceptional, apart from driving around town, in and out of parking lots hasn't been as fun for me until I got this car! Front wheel suspension is independent-wheel, MacPherson type with lower transversal wishbone secured to an auxiliary crossmember, anti-roll bar connected to the shock absorber while the rear is inter-connected wheel through torsion beam and anti-roll bar. Fuel economy on the 500 Sport comes in the same as the others with a claimed 4.7L per 100km, with my rather rash driving style I was getting little over 5.6L per 100km which still isn't too bad, maximum speed on the car is maxed at 173km/h. 

COMFORT

Now with a tiny car like this, there surely can't be a lot of room in the interior and yes, you are correct, it is a bit cramped for large guys like me but was I uncomfortable? The answer is no, the seats are well designed  and have great leather finish with the 500 sign stitched in, making it not only look great but super comfy as well. There was more than adequate room for me to sit, which obviously compromised the leg room for the rear passenger but the way the cabin is designed, it makes everything more functional for anyone to drive the car. For example the height of the gear selector is higher than what you'd expect it to be, sitting just below the climate control panel on the dash, making it easy to reach and change gear. The car has a nice large 7-inch touch screen infotainment screen which has an easier to use UIF but also has pre-loaded mobile apps for Android and Apple phones. The instrument cluster is fully digital as well and has incorporated everything quite neatly in its single circle design. The quality of materials used in the cabin is amazing, I honestly thought I'd be in for a lot of cheap plastics but truth be told, I couldn't find any, even the leather steering wheel is wrapped in feels so luxurious. One thing that took some getting used to was where the window buttons were, but that wasn't really an issue but just something one would have to adjust to when having this car. The cabin features lots of chrome detailing and 500 badges on the dash and front seats. The rear seats are also finished off in that great leather but with the tight space, rear passengers will definitely feel cramped and might suffer from motion sickness if traveling at high speeds. The boot is indicative of the size of the car but not bad in terms of practicality, you can drop both seats to increase capacity as I even managed to get my golf clubs in there!

VERDICT

When people look at cars in a practical sense, I don't think the FIAT 500 will come to mind quite often, its size is one of the main reasons for this but when you have to think about who the buyer of this car would be and what reason they are buying it for, it starts to make a whole lot more sense. It's the perfect town car or for running around in our modern terms. Its small, light on fuel, great on short distance driving. Has more than enough room for your shopping trips, commute to and front work. While you may think this would be more aimed for students or females, I actually loved my time with it, it made for a fun commute to work in the morning. The boot had enough space for my laptop bag, lunch bag and gym bag, with space for some shopping. Lunch time trips in the car was fun, as everyone wanted to go with me even with the coupe doors and tiny rear passenger space. While some will say the novelty of this car will ware off, I beg to differ, the driving experience alone will make you feel like a kid with a new toy every time you get behind the wheel of it. The brand still remains true to what the essence of the car is, an affordable city car, so it stays on brand and does so brilliantly.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	0.9L
Gear Box	5-Speed Manual
Torque	145Nm
Power	63.5kW
Top Speed	173km
Price	R281,900

 

Bucket Travel: MSC Cruises Milestones

MSC Cruises today took delivery of MSC Grandiosa from Chantiers de l’Atlantique, one of the world leaders in cruise ship construction.  The delivery ceremony of MSC Cruises’ newest flagship and one of the most environmentally-advanced ships at sea took place in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group Chairman.

Earlier in the morning a second important milestone event took place with the traditional cutting of the first steel and naming of the first World Class ship, MSC Europa, by MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago. MSC Europa is the first of five liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ships on order and the first LNG ship to be built in France.  The two events marked another important step forward in MSC Cruises’ long-term commitment to environmental stewardship, both at sea as well as ashore.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, says, “Since its inception, MSC Cruises has embraced a commitment to environmental stewardship and ways to minimise and continuously reduce our environmental footprint, both at sea and ashore, with the use of innovative, leading-edge and effective technologies across our entire fleet. With each new ship we raise the bar of environmental performance and our ultimate goal is zero emissions operations. MSC Grandiosa moves us another significant step forward in that genuine ambition.

Mr Vago continues, “Today is even more significant as we begin the construction of the first of five LNG-propelled ships, which will further elevate our standards in environmentally-sound cruising, thanks to this use of alternative fuels, as well as other cutting-edge technologies.”

Mr Vago concludes, “Our commitment to environmental protection, both while at sea and when calling at the port communities that we serve, does not stop here. With each new ship we will push further the boundaries of innovation in terms of environmental technology. We will specifically focus our R&D investment into accelerating the development of next-generation advanced solutions and other technologies – from more alternative fuels, shore power availability, batteries, fuel cells and beyond. All of this while we retrofit and upgrade our existing fleet – one of the most modern at sea – with the latest technologies to continuously improve our environmental performance fleet-wide.”  

Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, adds, “The delivery of MSC Grandiosa and the official start of construction of the first world-class ship are two major milestones in the history of our partnership with MSC Cruises.  At Chantiers de l’Atlantique, we are happy and proud to provide our privileged customer with state-of-the-art solutions that significantly lessen the environmental impact of the ships.  MSC Cruises can thus benefit from the result of our R&D programmes on energy saving schemes and environmentally-friendly technologies that we have been leading for the last ten years.”

MSC Grandiosa is MSC Cruises’ most environmentally-advanced ship at sea yet and is testament to the Company’s long-standing commitment to protect the seas and respect the communities that it touches. The ship is equipped with advanced cutting-edge technologies geared to ensure ever cleaner air emissions and improved overall environmental performance, both while at sea and ashore.

In addition to a hybrid ‘closed-loop’ exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) that reduces ship sulphur emissions by 97 per cent, MSC Grandiosa will also be the first MSC Cruises’ ship to feature a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that helps reduce nitrogen oxide by 80 percent. All other MSC Cruises’ ships currently under construction will feature the SCR technology, including MSC Grandiosa’s sister ship, MSC Virtuosa, due to come into service in October 2020, as well as MSC Seashore, currently under construction at a different shipyard. This active emissions control technology conducts nitrogen oxide from the engine operations through a catalyst – a high-density device made from noble metals – and converts them into harmless nitrogen and water.

When speaking of alternative fuels, MSC Cruises is investing €5 billion in the construction of five LNG-powered ships. Compared to standard marine diesel, LNG reduces sulphur oxide emissions by more than 99 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85 percent. It also largely eliminates particulate matter in the ship’s exhaust and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as an additional 20 per cent. The 205,700 GT LNG-powered world-class ship MSC Europa will come into service in May 2022 and is the first of four futuristic world-class ships to be constructed at the French yard, with further deliveries scheduled for 2024, 2025 and 2027. In addition, one Meraviglia-Plus ship will also be propelled by LNG when the ship comes into service in 2023.

Bucket Seat: Toyota Aygo X-Cite

Today's review is going to be a bit different because the car in question, is a bit different. I've driven a fair share of budget hatch backs and this one was probably one of the most impressive ones I've had yet, not because it had a cool trick up it's sleeve either. The Toyota Aygo is the smallest passenger offering by the Japanese motor manufacturer, it was developed in a joint venture with Peugeot and Citroen and assembled in the Czech Republic, each of the other brands had the same car under a different guise and name, Peugeot with the 107 and Citroen with the C1. The cars started out as city cars for the European market, with CO2 emission tax coming into play, developed smaller cars, with less emission was the goal. While the French cars did well in the Northern hemisphere,  they failed to catch the local markets attention as well as the Aygo. Could be because of brand loyalty or probably just the reliable legacy that Toyota has built in South Africa over the years, which is why we see the new Aygo on the roads today but not the C1 or 107. 

Now while the Aygo start off as a budget hatch back, it certainly isn't just that anymore and with this new X-Cite model its bound to get the attraction of much of the younger crowds and it won't brake your bank account to get one. The X-Cite comes with the standard Aygo 1L engine, I'll admit, not the best engine Toyota has made and it really makes you work to maintain speed. I often found myself needing to down change to maintain or pick up speed on a regular occurrence, especially on highway driving which annoyed me because Toyota has a perfect good 1.5L engine in the Etios Sprint, why not chuck that in here? It would make a world of a difference! Then I sat at the robot, opened the roof...yes, that's the trick up the sleeve (but more about that later) and cruised off the line, down to the office and thought, this is what this car is for, city driving!

Forgetting the fundamentals of the car can be very easy, the car is meant for the city, or the burbs, not flying up and down the highway and when doing that, its probably one of the best things out there. Lets start with the looks, it's striking, it has a big X on the front which makes it all that more X-Citing, the overall design is quite funky, and the utilization of space is very clever. The front doors are quite long which made me thinking it was a 3 door at first until I realised there are actually doors at the back. Getting to the back, the seats are pretty decent, not some wooden bench places there just to say it can seat people at the back. In front, the cockpit is pretty cool, although, granted there is a lot of plastic which isn't unexpected for the price tag, I wasn't expecting imbuya. I quite like how everything is designed though, it really does appeal to the young side in you, which you hope that won't die. There's lots of lights and even section on the side of the speedo that tells you when to change up or down a gear. The space in the front is great, I'm a big guy and had no issue driving around in the car. 

Now, for the crowd pleaser, not quite sure what Toyota were thinking when they decided to add a fold-able roof to the Aygo, but I'm glad they did! When I first saw pics of it, I thought someone was taking the mickey out of the car and I even compared it to the likes of the Mayback Landaulet but I tell you what, it is genius! The roof folds up in a matter of seconds, quietly and neatly, it will have everyone in traffic confused as hell, as to whats going on here. Since the roof stacks up, it opens up practically just over 80% of the roof, which is a lot compared to most sunroofs. With the fresh air and added scenery to the drive, it really makes for a fun ride. No need to worry about drag or wind noise since with the roof open, you're cruising and its perfect. The large touch screen display connects to your phone in seconds, with bluetooth audio streaming coming through the decent sound system, it just adds to the experience.

While this car might be aimed at the youth, I found it quite practical as my daily run around. It sips fuel, at 4.4L per 100km, the tank size is 35L! After getting just over 450km on a tank, I was pleasantly surprised that R200 of petrol got me over half a tank! Many might look at the car and think of the safety aspects of it, I mean guys, sure it's small, sure its light but they got 4 out of 5 stars in the last safety rating for the car, so if that doesn't give it the thumbs up, I don't know what will. I got many comments while driving this car, one of them being cute, which I don't really mind, the Aygo  is a cute car and there's no denying that, the X-Cite just takes the cuteness level up a notch with the folding roof. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1L 3 cylinder
Gear Box	5 Speed Manual
Power	51kW
Torque	95Nm
Fuel Comsumption	4.4L/100km
Fuel Tank Size	35L
Price	R189,500