FIAT 500 HATCHBACK 1.0 Mild Hybrid Top 3dr

With June Neary

Introduction

Fiat's 500 is the citycar of the moment. June Neary looks at the revised version

Will It Suit Me?

I'm pleased to say that I don't remember the original Fiat 500. It was half a century ago that car was launched after all. So I can't tell you whether the latest Fiat 500, now recently updated, is a true retro tribute to the original. Sorry. But of course, like me, you don't care. All that matters is that it's cute, it's nippy and it's the latest thing to be seen in. A MINI? That's so yesterday..

Practicalities

I was a bit disappointed to learn that for all its Italian heritage, this car is in fact built in Poland. Oh well, better news comes in the realisation that it has a reputation as an entertaining steer. At 1.65m wide, 1.49m high and 3.55m long, the 500 doesn't take up a great deal of space. For reference, a MINI is much wider, a little lower and a fair bit longer. Even little runabouts like Hyundai's i10 or Volkswagen's up! won't fit into some parking spaces the 500 will be able to squeeze into. My local Lidl supermarket has a ridiculously tight underground carpark, so I can testify to the benefits of this. I tried the revised mild hybrid version but to me, it looks no different. As before, delicious design details drip from this design. It's like a tiny pearl, especially when the ivory finish interior fitted to my test car is specified. There's a very well-judged blend of retro chic and ruthlessly modern contemporary design inside, with circular head restraints, a glass roof and iconic 500 badging on the Panda-sourced dashboard. Chrome-ringed vents and a fascia that can be specified in the same colour as the body are just some of the interior design features. The exterior treatment is cool and clean too. The neighbours had a good old stare.

Behind the Wheel

Fiat knows how to make great little engines for great little cars. But I did wonder what the petrol mild hybrid version might be like. Fiat claims that it's one of the world's cleanest and greenest four-seater petrol-powered production cars. My expectations weren't high. Something driven by battery packs perhaps? Or perhaps so feebly powered that it would struggle to show a bike courier a clean pair of tailpipes. I was wrong. The latest 1.0-litre engine has decent pulling power and works via a 6-speed manual gearbox integrated with a 12-volt 'BSG' 'Belt-integrated Starter Generator', allowing for a quiet, vibration-free restart of the internal combustion engine in Stop&Start mode. The new system also involves lowering the entire power unit 45mm so the car behaves better on the road thanks to the lower centre of gravity. In preference to a 500, you could save a few thousand and buy the more practical Fiat Panda with the same mild hybrid tech. But then, you only live once and how often are you going to need five doors in a citycar anyway? If it helps you to justify things, Fiat claims that body rigidity is around 10 per cent better than the Panda's, so in theory, the 500 should be slightly more crash-proof.

Value For Money

As before, there's a choice of fixed-top and convertible 500 models. The open-topped 500C variants require a premium of around £2,500 over their standard counterparts. If you're happy with tin-top 500 motoring, then you'll find pricing that's a fraction higher than before, yet which still starts just shy of £12,600 for the baseline Pop version. Is that good value? Well, trendier town tots nearly all cost more. You'll need to find at least £2,000 more on top of Fiat 500 prices to buy an equivalent MINI. Fiat's Panda is one of the cheapest cars to own, so the '500' will prove little different. Expect well over 50mpg (53.3mpg [WLTP]) in regular use and an NEDC-rated CO2 emissions figure of 88g/km (down from 114g/km before). If you decide to go for the open-topped 500C variant with this engine, you'll see no penalty for either economy or emissions. Depreciation won't be anything like at MINI levels but will be much better than you'd expect on a Panda. Which is good news since insurance costs shouldn't be much more expensive.

Could I Live With One?

I much prefer this approach to retro design to the kind of thing BMW have delivered us with the MINI. It seems more real somehow - and infinitely more exciting. The fact that it's more affordable too is just the icing on the cake. Right now, this remains one of the most fashionable things you can be seen in up and down the high street. How long it will remain that way is, of course, quite another question..

Body Glass

Electric front windows

Heated rear windows with wash wipe

Rear wiper

Heat insulated glass

Brakes

Traction control

Anti-lock Brake System and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution

ESC + ASR/MSR + HBA + Hill holder

Communication

Apple car play/Android Auto

E-call

Driver Aids

Cruise control

Speed limiter

Rear parking sensor

Power assist steering

Driver Convenience

Stop/start system

Driver Information

7" TFT instrument cluster

External temperature gauge

Trip computer

Driving Mirrors

Electrically adjustable and heated body coloured door mirrors

Embellishment Trims

Body paint dashboard

Entertainment

4 speakers

Rear speakers

7" HD Touchscreen Radio, Bluetooth, USB and DAB

Exterior Body Features

Chrome plated exterior door handles

Rear side wing doors

Fixed glass roof with sunblind

Chrome exhaust tip

Body colour bumpers

Exterior Lights

Front fog lights

LED daytime running lights

3rd brake light

Halogen headlamps

Heating/Cooling/Ventilation

Automatic climate control

Interior Features

Door sill plates

Chrome kit

Height adjustable steering wheel

Auxilliary 12V power socket

1 passenger grab handle

Cloth upholstery

Techno leather steering wheel with audio controls

Safety

Tyre pressure monitoring system

7 airbags - Driver, passenger, side, window and drivers knee airbags

Passenger airbag deactivation system

Seats

Front headrests

Isofix child seat preparation

2 seat bench in second row

Single front passenger seat

Height adjustable drivers seat

50/50 split folding rear seats with height adjustable rear headrests

Security

Locking fuel filler cap

Remote central locking

Immobiliser

Automatic door locking

Wheels - Alloy

16" alloy wheels

Emissions - ICE

Particles: N

HC+NOx: N

Standard Euro Emissions: EURO 6

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEL: 104

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEH: 105

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb: 104

Engine and Drive Train

Engine Layout: FRONT TRANSVERSE

Gears: 6 SPEED

Transmission: MANUAL

Compression Ratio: 12.0:1

Cylinders: 3

Cylinder Layout: IN-LINE

Number of Valves: 6

Camshaft: SOHC

Fuel Delivery: MULTI POINT FUEL INJECTION

Catalytic Convertor: No

CC: 999

Cylinders - Stroke (mm): 86.5

Cylinders - Bore (mm): 70

Fuel Consumption - ICE

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEL: 61.4

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEH: 58.9

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEL: 4.6

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies: 0

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEH: 4.8

General

Did at least one aspect of this vehicle's safety give cause for concern?: 0

Timing Belt Interval Frequency - Months: N

Special Edition: 0

Special Order: 0

Based On ID: N

Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07: 10D

Service Interval Mileage: 9000

Service Interval Frequency - Months: 12

Timing Belt Interval Mileage: N

Alternative Fuel Qualifying: 0

NCAP Adult Occupant Protection %: N

NCAP Child Occupant Protection %: N

NCAP Pedestrian Protection %: N

NCAP Safety Assist %: N

NCAP Overall Rating - Effective February 09: N

Badge Power: 70

Badge Engine CC: 1.0

Vehicle Homologation Class: M1

Generation Mark: 2

Manufacturers Corrosion Perforation Guarantee - Years: 8

Coin Series: Top

Coin Description: Mild Hybrid

Manufacturers Paintwork Guarantee - Years: 3

Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage: 999999

Standard manufacturers warranty - Years: 3

Performance

Engine Power - PS: No

0 to 62 mph (secs): 13.8

Engine Power - KW: 51

0 to 60 mph (secs): 0

Engine Power - RPM: 6000

Engine Torque - LBS.FT: 68

Engine Torque - NM: 92

Engine Torque - MKG: 9.4

Engine Power - BHP: 70

Engine Torque - RPM: 3500

Top Speed: 104

Test Cycles

Emissions Test Cycle: WLTP

RDE Certification Level: RDE 2

Tyres

Tyre Size Spare: TYRE REPAIR KIT

Tyre Size Front: 195/45 R16

Space Saver?: 0

Alloys?: No

Wheel Type: 16" ALLOY

Wheel Style: N

Tyre Size Rear: 195/45 R16

Vehicle Dimensions

Width (including mirrors): 1893

Height: 1488

Height (including roof rails): N

Width: 1627

Length: 3571

Wheelbase: 2300

Weight and Capacities

Minimum Kerbweight: 980

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres): 35

Max. Towing Weight - Braked: 800

Max. Towing Weight - Unbraked: 400

Luggage Capacity (Seats Up): 185

No. of Seats: 4

Turning Circle - Kerb to Kerb: 9.3

Exterior Body Features

Metallic paint

Special pastel paint

Paint - Metallic

Metallic - Crossover black

Metallic - Epic blue

Metallic - Dew green

Paint - Special

Special pastel - Bossanova white

Special pastel - Pasodoble red

Pastel - Orange

Trim - Cloth

Cloth - Popolona black with monogram on backrest

Wheels - Spare

Space saver spare wheel