FIAT 500X DOLCEVITA HATCHBACK 1.5 Hybrid 48V Top 5dr DDCT

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

Heated rear windows with wash wipe

Rain sensor

Heated front windshield

Rear wiper

Electric front and rear windows

Privacy glass

Dark tinted rear windows

Brakes

Brake assistance system

ESC including ASR, MSR, Hill Holder, ABS, EBD, ERM,DST, BAS

Electronic parking brake

Chassis/Suspension

Active roll mitigation

Communication

Apple car play/Android Auto

E-call

Driver Aids

Lane assist with intelligent speed assist and traffic sign recognition

Power assist steering

Front and rear parking sensors

Blind spot detection system

Parkview rear parking camera

Adaptive cruise control

Driver Convenience

Stop/start system

Driver Information

7" HD touchscreen DAB radio with bluetooth,3D navigation, Aux-in and USB in central tunnel

Drowsy driver detection

3.5" Colour TFT

Driving Mirrors

Electric, heated, and power folding door mirrors

Dark grey electrically adjustable door mirrors

Electrochromic rear view mirror

Embellishment Trims

Dark grey dashboard with bezels

Entertainment

6 speakers

USB port

Exterior Body Features

Dual chrome exhaust

Rear side wing doors

Foldable soft top roof

Rear spoiler

Front door sills

Body colour bumpers and side skirting

Dark grey fog light surround

Sporty exterior styling with dark grey mirror caps, door handles and tailgate handle

Body coloured wheel arch extensions

Exterior Lights

3rd brake light

LED tail lights

Dusk sensor

Heating/Cooling/Ventilation

Automatic dual zone climate control

Interior Features

Front sliding armrest

Satin chrome steering wheel bezels

Techno leather steering wheel with audio controls with alcantara inserts

Satin chrome air vent and touchscreen surrounds

Cooled glovebox

Cloth upholstery

Front armrest

Steering wheel mounted paddle shift

Auxilliary 12V power socket

Black leather wrapped gear shift

Black fabric floor mats

Interior Lights

Courtesy light on sunvisor

Packs

LED Pack - 500X

LED lights pack - 500X

Safety

Manual passenger airbag deactivation function

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Height adjustable seatbelts

6 airbags - Front, side and window

Child locks on rear doors

3x3 point rear seatbelts

Front and rear seatbelt reminder

Seats

3 seat bench in 2nd row

Two rear head restraints

Single front passenger seat

Height adjustable drivers seat

60/40 split folding rear seat

Seat back pockets

Front head restraints

Third rear headrest

Heated front seats

Security

Passive entry and keyless go

Deadlocks

Remote central locking

Immobiliser

Wheels - Alloy

18" Alloy wheels

Emissions - ICE

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEL: 129

Standard Euro Emissions: EURO 6

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb - TEH: 131

WLTP - CO2 (g/km) - Comb: 129

Particles: N

HC+NOx: N

Engine and Drive Train

Cylinders: 4

Cylinder Layout: IN-LINE

Number of Valves: 16

Camshaft: SOHC

Fuel Delivery: TURBO DIRECT INJECTION

Catalytic Convertor: No

Engine Layout: FRONT TRANSVERSE

Compression Ratio: 12.5:1

Transmission: SEMI-AUTO

Gears: 7 SPEED

CC: 1469

Cylinders - Stroke (mm): 92.2

Cylinders - Bore (mm): 71.2

Fuel Consumption - ICE

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEH: 48.7

WLTP - MPG - Low: 43.5

WLTP - MPG - Medium: 60.1

WLTP - MPG - High: 55.4

WLTP - MPG - Extra High: 42.8

WLTP - MPG - Comb: 49.5

WLTP - MPG - Low - TEL: 43.5

WLTP - MPG - Low - TEH: 42.8

WLTP - MPG - Comb - TEL: 49.5

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEL: 5.7

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Low - TEH: 6.6

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb - TEH: 5.8

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies: 0

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Low - TEL: 6.5

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Low: 6.5

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Medium: 4.7

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - High: 5.1

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Extra High: 6.6

WLTP - FC (l/100km) - Comb: 5.7

General

Timing Belt Interval Mileage: N

Special Edition: 0

Service Interval Frequency - Months: 12

Service Interval Mileage: 9000

Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07: 20D

Based On ID: N

Special Order: 0

Coin Series: Top

Timing Belt Interval Frequency - Months: N

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: 130

Badge Engine CC: 1.5

Vehicle Homologation Class: M1

Coin Description: Hybrid 48V

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

Standard manufacturers warranty - Years: 3

Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage: 999999

Manufacturers Paintwork Guarantee - Years: 3

Manufacturers Corrosion Perforation Guarantee - Years: 8

Alternative Fuel Qualifying: 0

Performance

0 to 60 mph (secs): 0

Engine Power - RPM: 5250

Engine Power - BHP: 130

Engine Power - PS: No

Engine Torque - LBS.FT: 177

Engine Torque - NM: 240

Engine Torque - RPM: 1500

0 to 62 mph (secs): 9.4

Top Speed: 121

Engine Torque - MKG: 24.5

Engine Power - KW: 96

Test Cycles

RDE Certification Level: RDE 2

Emissions Test Cycle: WLTP

Tyres

Space Saver?: 0

Alloys?: No

Tyre Size Front: 225/45 R18

Wheel Style: N

Wheel Type: 18" ALLOY

Tyre Size Spare: TYRE REPAIR KIT

Tyre Size Rear: 225/45 R18

Vehicle Dimensions

Length: 4264

Height (including roof rails): 1603

Height: 1580

Width (including mirrors): 2025

Wheelbase: 2570

Width: 1796

Weight and Capacities

Turning Circle - Kerb to Kerb: 11.05

Luggage Capacity (Seats Down): 1000

No. of Seats: 5

Luggage Capacity (Seats Up): 350

Max. Towing Weight - Unbraked: 600

Max. Towing Weight - Braked: 1450

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres): 48

Minimum Kerbweight: 1405

Exterior Body Features

Metallic paint

Special solid paint

Hoods

Soft top - Black

Ivory soft top

Paint - Metallic

Metallic - Venezia blue

Metallic - Italia blue

Paint - Solid

Solid pastel - Ice white

Paint - Special

Special solid pastel - Passione red

Special solid pastel - Cinema black

Trim - Cloth

Recycled PET Fabric - Black sporty seats with red stitching

Wheels - Spare

Space saver spare wheel