Somebody might have already asked this, but i didn’t see it anywhere on the forums. My friend is looking at getting a new car, and for some reason she is dead set on a brand new scion tc, where as my roommate is convinced she should get a fiat 500, and i have been tasked with settling this debate. So which do you guys think is the better/better looking car?
Cars look a lot better when they spend as little time as possible in the repair shop. The Scion tC “looks real good” driving down the road compared to the Fiat on a lift.
Better looking? If ‘cute’ is what you want, nothing’s cuter than the 500. For everything else that I want in a car I’d go for the tC. That 500 would be a total bear for any highway cruising, the tC would eat it up, and it’s got MUCH more room inside. I just sat in a 500 at the Dallas car show, and I have no interest in sitting in one again.
Here’s a review in the WSJ:
tC. But I’m predjudiced…I own a tC and love it, even after 5+ years and 154,000 miles.
“She” should get the car “she” wants and all the better it’s a TC. A friend has one, ~130k miles and still looks and runs new.
Ed B.
Yes, she should get whichever car she prefers.
But, over and above that issue, comparing the Fiat 500 and the Scion tC is sort of an apples vs oranges comparison.
The car most similar to a Fiat 500 would be the new Scion IQ.
Funny thing about opinions that they vary so much from person to person.
I sat in, and test drove the Fiat 500 just the other week when it was in town for the Denver Auto Show. I really, really liked it. So did my girlfriend.
Neither of us would even consider a Scion anything, because we hate their marketing, and their looks. It doesn’t matter to us one iota how reliable they are, since they are made with Toyota parts. That’s actually a huge negative in my book, because Toyota’s are anything except exciting to drive.
The Fiat drove well, handled well, and the interior was both comfortable and stylish for my 6’1" frame. The brakes also worked really well when I had to bring it to a stop right quick for a light that went from green to red real quick, with a Denver Police car sitting right there. You should have seen the glare he gave me, and heard the laughter as all of us in the car started cracking up.
Fun in a vehicle is a very important item.
Highest on my list of reasons to buy one.
Did I mention that I just recently bought a Mazda RX-8?
That should verify my previous statement. 
BC.
I’m with those who say she should get what SHE wants. While I’m sure your friend’s opinion may be welcome, it isn’t his decision. Or yours.
Whoever is paying for the car gets to decide what she buys. Your roommate should stay out of it.
The tC has a proven track record as a reliable, economical vehicle. It’s a Toyota.
The Fiat 500 is a Fiat.
Why do you think Fiats haven’t been sold in the US for the last twenty years or so?
Ever heard the phrase “Fix It Again Tony?”
How about “Found On Roadside Dead”
You know, Fords had a bad reputation once upon a time too.
But, things change.
All Japanese products had a bad reputation once upon a time too.
Almost every domestic engine was considered worn out by 100k miles at one point.
Things change, you know.
You should catch up with the rest of us.
Its 2011, not 1981.
BC.
You are buying transportation and that’s all you are buying. No one except the owner cares what it looks like. If you are trying to make a “statement” or look “cool” spend the money on a headshrinker instead…
I hear you and agree to some extent. But, unless we are a poor destitute college student, we all consider looks when we buy cars though, if only the color. We wear cars like we wear our clothes and if only subconsciously, consider how we look in the car we drive. I find I notice cars that are the same as those I own more than others. So I do think all of us make a statement about looks when we choose a car and how we look in them. My wife is a devoutee to “the color me beautiful” attitude in matching clothes and cars she chooses for herself. She looks great. We all are a little guilty of evaluating people we don’t know by the cars they drive like the cloths they
wear.
Look at the people who “write” in wanting to be seen in an “American” car. You and I know the difference, but a
CEO at GM driving a Caddy in stead of a Lexus is “making a statement”.
I agree. But I’m not going to be the first on the block to be a lab rat and let every subsequent potential buyer know if Fiat has caught up.
But, unless we are a poor destitute college student, we all consider looks when we buy cars though, if only the color. We wear cars like we wear our clothes and if only subconsciously, consider how we look in the car we drive
Perhaps this is my philosophy degree talking, but I think that’s how high school students act. Over the years, I have realized that spending money to please other people’s eyes, be it cars or clothes, is quite restrictive. Not caring about what other people think is liberating. At my graduation, there was this civil engineering PhD walking across the stage in his shorts and sandals. I admire that “I don’t care what other people think” attitude.
Go buy a car because you like the way it looks or you like the way it drives. But buying it to seek the approval of other’s is an expensive investment.
People select the car they do for a whole range of reasons, and how much weight each one has changes with age. When I was a very young man it was cost and ease of driving. When I got a bit older it was cost and looks. When I aged a bit more it became reliability and cost. Then I had kids and it morphed into utility and reliability. Now I’m a bit older and on my own again and it’s comfort, affordability, reliability, and fun factor. I hope to move fun factor to the top of the list the next time.
I guess the one factor that I’m the most willing to compromise on is looks.
If people didn’t buy cars to impress others, a lot of the high end cars would never sell. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Audi, and the like would all be out of business in no time.
I had a few people kinda raggin on me for buying a Japanese made(literally) car, why didn’t I buy American, etc. I told them I liked how it drove, liked sitting up higher, and damnit, it was my money, and if they wanted me in something else, they were more than welcome to buy it for me; That last bit usually shut them up.
I think they were just jealous that I was getting a brand new car instead of them. 
"The Fiat 500 is a Fiat.
Why do you think Fiats haven’t been sold in the US for the last twenty years or so?
Ever heard the phrase “Fix It Again Tony?”"
That information is 30 or more years old. Do you have more recent experience with Fiat than the last time they were sold in the USA? Toyota wasn’t a very good car when Fiat was last sold here either, and they certainly came a long way.
And you do know that the Libyan Investment Authority owned by Muammar Gaddafi and sons own a significant interest in Fiat.
I guess the one factor that I’m the most willing to compromise on is looks.
And from my limited survey…MOST people buy on Looks over anything else.
Not true on Porsche sales.
Every time I go to the race track, I see many, many more newer and older Porsche’s killing dead dinosaurs than any other make of car. And that’s just on a regular open lapping day event. Porsche clubs hold more weekend events than any other club during the summer months, too.
BC.