Imagine that you are sitting around a table on a winter’s night with three friends at the local Drama Group Annual Table Quiz. As a team you are doing well. The questions on politics, sport and history are easy, to say the least. The two motor sport questions, however, are real bummers. One: Name Michael Schumacher’s first-ever car. And two: Apart from his Racing Ferrari what’s the only other car Schumacher put his name to?
Putting the quiz brotherhood out of its misery, the answers are as follows. Schumacher’s first-ever car was a Fiat Cinquecento. Appropriately he signed his name on its successor, the ubiquitous Seicento.
I don’t have much time for special editions but the Seicento Michael Schumacher is something special in its own right. Quite tasteful in the dress sense, this is not just a gimmick car with different wheel trims, added body strips and a pair of fluffy dice thrown in for good measure.
Schumacher logos are found on the side skirts, the doors sills and the tailgate. A special front bumper incorporates two powerful fog lights, and the car sits on sporty alloy rims shod with wider, larger than usual, 175/50 R14 H rubber treads.
Inside, the steering wheel and gear knob are trimmed in black leather with red top stitching. The handbrake grip, gear lever frame and the foot pedals are made of aluminium. Value-for-money, the extra Schumacher touches add just IR£345 to the price of the top-of-the-range Seicento Sporting.
Power is provided by a standard 1.1-litre Fire engine, capable of producing 54bhp. Having Schumacher’s name splashed over it doesn’t make it go any faster. At the same time, travelling at its 93.2mph top speed will earn more than a 10-second stop penalty if you are caught.
Enjoying the little red Fiat and making the most of the rev. bands, handling and brakes, over a 500 mile test on mixed roads, we were happy to see it return 41mpg overall. Treating the car a little more gently should add at least another 10 mpg to this figure.
Standard equipment on the test model included: electric power steering, central locking, electric windows, driver air bag etc.etc. What makes the Seicento really special and appealing is the fact that in its base guise you can sign your own name on the dotted line for £2,000 less than the flagship model.
Having a collapsible steering column, anti-submarine seat ridges, side impact bars, driver’s airbag and a fire prevention system the small Fiat goes a fair way towards satisfying most safety requirements. But as I wrote recently on another test report, manufacturers should fit a passenger side front airbag as standard anywhere there’s a passenger front seat. The option should never be left to a person’s own choice.
Compact, yet practical because of its interior flexibility, Seicento is a serious little car that will act as a nice little run around or a small work horse. Overall, a well-crafted, well-priced micromini. Definitely worth consideration.
August 2001
by Tony Conlon