Fiat 500: right car, wrong engine
Fiat is having another go with the 500 in New Zealand after quietly dropping it a few years back, so now we get a refreshed version in two bargain-priced entry offerings. But is it bargain-priced enough for what it offers?
OUTSIDE
The original 500 is a beloved icon, and its reboot in 2007 managed to capture quite a lot of the original’s charm in a thoroughly updated package. The version we get here now is the facelifted model we never got back in 2017, and it doesn’t mess with that formula, being actually quite hard to even spot, unless you are a tragic Fiat nerd.
The headlights are a slightly different shape, the taillights now get red inserts and ... well, those are the main things. No, really – there ismore, like new bumpers and some interior tweaks, but good luck spotting a new one unless it is lined up alongside an older one.
INSIDE
The same goes for the inside, and it is still pretty much business as usual in here, which means the same awkward, very upright seating position and cheap, hard plastics. But it also means it is overflowing with character and delightful design touches, and it does get a new touchscreen infotainment system.
Our test example also came with the options ‘Luxury Pack’ that adds leather seats, tinted rear windows and different 16-inch alloy wheels. This costs $3000 and that honestly leaves me thinking ‘‘how?’’, simply because, to be honest, the leather isn’t that nice...
The 500 also lacks most of the modern safety assists we expect on cars these days and only has a 3-Star EuroNCAP crash safety rating.
UNDER THE BONNET
Sadly, the 500 we get here features the most characterless engine in its lineup – a wheezy 1.2-litre petrol four that produces 51kW and 102Nm and is utterly uninspiring. Which, given the 500 is available overseas with some of the most hilariously characterful engines I have ever driven (the brilliant little two-cylinder TwinAir engine in both 964cc naturally-aspirated and 875cc turbo forms) is disappointing.
While the naturally-aspirated TwinAir produces less power, it does it in such a cheerfully eager way that itmakes driving it a delight, something that can’t be said of the lethargic 1.2.
The engine is hooked up to Fiat’s ‘Dualogic’ five-speed single clutch automated manual transmission, which, in a powerful car can actually be quite fun. However, the Dolcevita is not a powerful car.
ON THE ROAD
Now you may not have picked up on this so far in this review, but I actually adore the Fiat 500. It has always been one of the most joyous and characterful cars to chuck around and, while it never had much power (mad Abarth versions excluded) it was always fun, providing you drove it like an Italian – flat out everywhere.
And that charm remains in the current version, but only when it comes to its handling, both around town and out on the open road. Responsive and eager, the 500 has delightful poise and is like an eager puppy, ready to play at a moment’s notice.
That’s probably why I am so down on the engine, as it clearly doesn’t give a crap about any of that.
VERDICT
On paper, the Fiat 500 looks like a delightful bargain for a cute, iconic European car – and admittedly the entry Lounge variant starts at $22,900, a price where the wheezy engine could probably be tolerated. Just. But go further up the price list to the Dolcevita and things get less appealing.
At $25,990, the Dolcevita still offers the same charming looks, but the same dismal engine, while the $3000 for the ‘Luxury Pack’ plants it squarely in a price segment where it is comprehensively out-classed.
However, spend just $1000 more, and you can get a far better version of the 500 that doubles the power and torque (yes, really) and keeps the cute looks – the entry version of the Abarth 595, which has a brilliant 107kW/206Nm 1.4litre turbo engine, is $29,990 in manual form. Buy that instead.