More Gripes with Hire Cars

[peter scott]

Used a new car hire lot this time and got a Fiat 500. I really don't like it. Driving off at 11pm I had no idea what speed I was doing because the cluttered display is lit by orange light and the pointers are also orange. Also the car kept telling me to change up when I was in 5th and it could barely maintain speed in that gear. It's a petrol hybrid but surprisingly has a 6th gear. This morning I went shopping in the sun and discovered that it has a sun roof with a filter screen but it still lets in far too much sun. The screen should have been solid rather than perforated.

   

Peter

[ppppenguin]

Fiat 500 is now whole range. The basic 500 is like the one we all remember but a bit bigger. The one we had as a hire car in France a few years ago was quite a big thing, about the size of a Golf. Fair enough since we'd asked for a car that size. After the man at the hire company managed to get the satnav to talk to us in English rather than Italian it was fine. It was an automatic so no issues with gears. I don't remember if it was petrol or diesel. Certainly not hybrid.

That display Hertz! (I'll get my coat)

[Refugee]

I would dig the handbook out of the glove box and see if it gives any clue as to how to adjust the brightness of the display.

[peter scott]

This one is a very small two door car vaguely like the original. I do have handbook now. Although multi-lingual it's not very helpful. The paper copy does explain that it is not exhaustive and that I should read the on line version. Unhelpfully it leaves the reader to find the link. I can probably live with the stupid display at night. It's no problem during the day as it's all black and white except for the pointers. Someone with a Skoda Rapid told me that it too keeps trying to encourage upward changes when the engine just hasn't got the torque to deal with them.

Peter

[Refugee]

You could also use an internet digger with a search string;- Make Model Display brightness and see if there is a motoring forum where someone has found the brightness control.
In the photo it looks like the brightness is currently set to slot arcade level or even pinball machine level.

[peter scott]

The online version is in English but the car only wants to speak German. I'll need to get my wife, who is fluent to translate.

Peter

[joebog1]

If it doesnt want to pull in 5th, change to 6th and labour the hell out of it. Hopefully itll blow a bigend and they will get you something decent.

Kidding

Joe

[peter scott]

If it doesnt want to pull in 5th, change to 6th and labour the hell out of it. Hopefully itll blow a bigend and they will get you something decent.

Kidding

Joe

It's really weird. It's not that I'm trying to slog the thing at too low revs. I'm talking about driving at 100 to 120 kph and it running mid rev range but it's telling me to change up when it has hardly enough torque to maintain speed on slight hills.

Looking up the on-line owners handbook it is one of these 1 litre three cylinder engines, which is what my little Suzuki has back home but unlike the Suzuki I don't think the Fiat is turbo charged and the manual quotes 70 bhp @ 6000 rpm and 92 Nm @ 3500 rpm. So I guess I'm being a bit unfair comparing it to the Suzuki with 111 bhp @ 5500 and 169 Nm over 2000 to 3500 rpm.

Also the Fiat weighs 980 kg as against 924 kg for the Suzuki.

Peter

[boater sam]

Have you tried pressing the right hand pedal?  Being a hire car I suppose it is loaded with people and luggage.
Fiats are rubbish, the only thing they do well is rust.

[peter scott]

Good thinking Sam.

Not as much of a joke as you implied. I did wonder if I was just not pressing down had enough, but alas no.

It's just a gutless car that is fitted with a dashboard gear change advisor that was designed for a very much more powerful vehicle.

Although I wouldn't buy one of these I must admit that the fuel gauge is still reading full after driving it for 100 km. It might be a trick that will suddenly drop like a stone but who knows? It might be totally honest. I'll update my report once I have more evidence.

As to the adjustment of the instrument brightness, I did discover two such adjustments with scales 1 to 8 or something. One is for daylight and the other for when the lights are switched on. Well the latter does virtually over the complete range of adjustment.

Peter