The Fiat 500 is almost as synonymous with traversing the city environment as a scooter, rickshaw or bicycle. Occupying the road with its compact shape and Italian styling since the 50’s, Fiat has had massive success with this city car. With its chic appeal, the 500 favours the female demographic – about an 85 per cent split to be exact.
Looking ahead to 2016, Fiat is giving its 500 model a slight revamp to keep its looks fresh and up-to-date. Usually, manufactures will give a model a facelift halfway through its lifecycle, then replace it with an all-new model after six years or so. However, Fiat facelifted the current-gen model last year, so this is its second visit to the Botox garage. Fiat is following the ‘if it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ motto – or if we are to quote verbatim – “We haven’t tried to mess around with this car too much.” The range also keeps its roll-back convertible 500C model, which is what we tested.
Fiat claims that the new 500 has over 1,900 new components. The most obvious addition to the new model is its gaping, 3D-looking grille on the lower part of the front bumper and LED daytime running lights. This actually makes the 500 look a little sportier and more masculine.
Although our model didn’t have it, we did notice plenty of the other test cars sporting the 500’s new ‘second skin’ design. These are basically optional body decals, similar to that of the Vauxhall ADAM, which give more of a bespoke look. Personally, we think the 500 looks better in its block colours – of which there are two new ones to choose from, as well as two new alloy wheel designs.
The 500 remains youthful and quirky on the inside, with a colourful body-coloured dashboard inlay and large easy to read buttons. On our Lounge model, which is top spec but also expected to be bestselling, we had Tom Tom LIVE sat-nav features integrated into the five-inch Uconnect system. This system works fine, but we felt the five-inch display was a little too small. Those after a practical city car should look elsewhere as well, as the 500 offers just 185 litres in the boot and very little rear passenger space. Still, it’s enough for a few shopping bags.
After adjusting the driver’s seat so you can reach the pedals, you may find that you are too close to the steering wheel. Alternatively, if you are particularly tall and have the seat a fare way back, you may find that you can’t reach the steering wheel, as it does not adjust for rake. We didn’t like the fact that the height adjustment lever for the seat is alarmingly close to the handbrake and there isn’t much support in the seats either.
The 1.2-litre 69bhp petrol we tested is expected to rake in the most sales. Although it is a diminutive power figure, it is more than capable of getting you from A to B, which is all you are really going to need it for. If you do want something with a bit more oomph then the 0.9-litre TwinAir turbo is your best bet. CO2 starts from just 105g/km in the 1.2 as well, so just £20 a year in tax. The only slight niggle with the 1.2 is that the engine struggles to settle in either third or fourth and you may find yourself changing up a gear, only to change down immediately after. Almost as if there is a gear missing in-between. The gearbox is fairly slick though and shouldn’t give bustling city dwellers any problems.
Like most other city cars, the steering is very light in order to make tricky manoeuvres as simple as possible. The suspension handles bumps with ease as well. This is great when it comes to navigating tight side streets, however, venture outwards to a country road and it can be a little unnerving, as the steering lacks feel and you may find the ride a little bouncy.
As we tested the 500C model, naturally we expected refinement to lack a little – as it features a fabric roof. However, we were impressed with its sound-deadening, even at motorway speeds.
It’s clear to see that the 500 is still very fashion-conscious, which is why many of the seemingly smaller things like the seating position are not first priority. But it still manages to accomplish what it sets out to do, which is offer a stylish, easy to drive, A to B motor for the city.