Say you need a daily driver and times are hard, or you’re cheap frugal, and really don’t want to spend a lot on a car – but you want some fun, some style, and self-respect on the road. What do you do? What would I do? CarMax has 1,548 cars for sale nationwide priced under $10,000. Filter that by my self-imposed unicorn ceiling of 60,000 miles, and that number dwindles to 183 prospects. Most of those are Chevrolet Sparks and Sonics, Nissan Versas, Smart cars, and Mitsubishi i-MIEV’s (looks like that applicance that sweeps your living room floor when you’re not home). All fine commuter cars but no soul, no individuality on the interstate.
My choice would be this 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Really. While it’s not a 160hp Fiat 500 Abarth (that’ll run you $12,000!) it’s also not the 101hp base Fiat 500. It’s a 135hp, 2,500 pound car that rides good enough, quick enough (for $10,000), gets over 30mpg, and has that Italian style and flair. Here’s a cute review from Car and Driver back in 2013. I would definitely drop some lire on MaxCare – it is an Italian car after all!
But mostly, I’d pick this Fiat 500 Turbo for my selfish nostalgic reasons – in the summer of 2010 before these came to the US and I lived in Europe, I rented one in Norway for a bucket list solo drive from Oslo to the Artic Circle. I drove 25 hours – 14 hours up in a day, and 11 hours back (different route) in a day, and almost 1,500 miles round trip – and not once was I uncomfortable or disappointed in that little car. Loved it. If you really, really want to read the whole story, here’s my write-up in Trip Advisor after I returned. So yeah, I have an emotional enthusiasm for this little Fiat and could easily daily drive it. And tempting – this single-owner Fiat 500 Turbo is here at my local CarMax dealer!
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