It's been almost a year since I bought my little Fiat 500 Pop. I thought I'd list some of the things that I enjoy about my Italian hatchback since people often ask me about it on my daily travels.
1. It's tiny: Big things come in small Italian cars. This little bugger can pretty much squeeze into any parking space (especially in car-congested South Beach and downtown Miami.)
But when you fold the backseats forward, the car is surprisingly roomy. The car has about the same exterior dimensions as the first Honda Civic hatchback from 1973 but my Fiat feels spacious inside.
It's big enough to fit my father's wheelchair in the back. I'm five-feet-10-inches tall and weigh about 170 pounds and three of my guy friends who are more or less the same height (okay, maybe an inch taller and thinner that me) fit comfortably in the car with me in the driver's seat. On date night, my boyfriend and I usually take my car because it really fits anywhere. To me, FIAT stands for
FITS
IN
ALL
TINY spaces.
2.
Headturner: Several times a week, curious admirers ask me about my copper colored 500 when I pull into a parking space or pull up to the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru in Fort Lauderdale. The car literally turns heads. "Beautiful little car,'' one woman said as I hopped into the car outside Publix. "How is your Fiat treating you? I had one in college," a business man asked me as I parked at my work's parking garage in downtown Fort Lauderdale..
3
. Gas-friendly: I commute weekdays from Coral Gables to Fort Lauderdale, which is at least 70 miles a day, sometimes more depending on my assignments. A full-tank costs me $21 and lasts me four and half days. I average about 300 miles on a full-tank what has 10 gallons.
4. Design: I like to joke to people that I feel like I'm inside a beautifully-detailed Italian purse on four wheels. The dashboard has beige, brown and orange accents. The seats are sewn in espresso brown material. The steering wheel is a cream-hued leather. The head rests are perfectly-shaped ovals. With its egg (or coffee bean) shape, the car sits high, tall.
5. Peppy engine: The car has a 1.4 litre engine that hums at 101 horsepower. That doesn't sound like much but the engine is zippy, peppy. I can easily maneuver inbetween cars on Interstate 95 when I switch lanes although I have to punch the pedal and give it gas.
(that's me below sitting in the backseat.)
Donks are everywhere in Miami. They are classic Chevy Caprices and Impalas from 1971-76 that have been tricked out with large sparkling rims. Since they always catch my eye, I created a photo gallery of donks around Miami and Fort Lauderdale for my newspaper Sun Sentinel and SouthFlorida.com
Donks have also been part of pop culture, particularly music videos by Pitbull and OMI. Below is a donk featured in the 2015 summer video Cheerleader by OMI. The video was shot in north Miami-Dade at Haulover Beach.
Secretly, I kinda want one but with standard tires.
