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Superiority at a low price - Fiat 1500 C in the (historic) test

Name: Fiat 1500 1965
Brand: Fiat

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Created on June 20, 1965

Text:

Jürgen Stockmar

Photos:

Archiv

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - bigger on the inside than on the outside

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - Factory photo for the presentation of the revised model

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - together with 850 and 1500 Cabriolet in a factory photo

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - together with 1300, 1500 L and 1100 D

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - ignition lock on the left, grouped toggle switches and instrument cluster with many warning lights

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - Steering wheel gearshift as standard, stick shift on request only in Germany

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - spacious interior thanks to 8 cm more wheelbase

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - the engine seen from the exhaust side

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - the engine seen from the intake side

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - the revised four-cylinder with hardened crankshaft

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - In a short test by Automobil-Revue

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - 1.5-liter four-cylinder with 75 hp according to DIN and 83 hp according to SAE

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - Glove box and ashtray

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - Air filter and brake booster

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - now with 8 cm more wheelbase

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Fiat 1300 (1965) - the little brother of the 1500

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Fiat 1500 (1965) - rear view at the Turin Motor Show

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Summary

It was nimble, economical, spacious and safe to drive - there really wasn't much to criticize about the revised Fiat 1500. With an extended wheelbase and hardened crankshaft, it made up for the two biggest weaknesses of its predecessor. The negative aspects of the Italian were limited to minor details and the stubborn steering wheel gearshift, for which there was an alternative, at least in Germany. This article provides a historical test report and makes it clear how well the Fiat 1500 was received at its debut.

This article contains the following chapters

Not new, but good
Fast chassis - completely conventional
Compact on the outside - spacious on the inside
And all for DM 6990.00
Technical data and measurements

Estimated reading time: 18min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Conversations at the beer table about the Fiat 1500 usually culminated in the statement that the car was fast, but would need a new engine after forty thousand kilometers at the latest. Unfortunately, there was more than a grain of truth in such statements, because until the new model appeared, the Italian car manufacturer was unable to get rid of a constructional peculiarity that had long been recognized by other manufacturers as unsuitable for everyday use: the crankshafts of almost all Fiat engines have unhardened bearing journals. This saving was particularly annoying for those customers who often had to set off with a cold engine and did not always have time to warm up the machine first.

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