Fiat 500 Hatchback 2008 - Present

Fiat has a long history for making iconic small cars. The 126 and 127 were European classics of yesteryear that kept many European cities, including London, running.

The most recent small launches have been the Punto and it's bigger brother the Grande, which have been thoroughly modern in their look and feel. With the new 500 Fiat is looking to take their car dealers forecourts back to the 70's with small bubbly cars bursting with colour and yearning to be driven. The new car Fiat has brought us with, the 500 more than doffs it's cap to 70's chic, it embodies it.

Sharing many body parts and it's engines with the Panda the new 500 is built to modern standards of performance and comfort and performs like a car befitting it's time. As you step into the car there can be no surprise that room is tight, even if you're just sitting in the front. The back room is extremely small even with the front seat pushed forward. Head room is also an issue in the back but again, that can come as no great surprise. Fiat have invested well in the safety aspect if the new 500 but once again that comes somewhat at the expense of room within.

On the road the car performs well but the engine requires working if you want to get the best from it as the power is delivered towards the top of the rev range. That said the car is a willing performer if you would like to work with it and very much gives you back what you put in to the drive. There are 3 different engines; 1.2, 1.4 and 1.3 multijet, each offering good levels of performance but the 1.4 models come with a sport setting which sharpens the acceleration and reduces the effect of the power steering to add feel to the drive. The steering, as you would expect from a small car with a wheel at each corner, is precise and easy. The 500 offers good visibility and is easy to squeeze in to the smallest parking spaces.

As you would expect the boot room is limited but it's pretty large for it's class and certainly competes with the Toyota Ayago, but you don't buy a car like this for transporting anything but small luggage and shopping for one or two people.

I really like the Fiat 500 because it's a car with personality in a world of uniformity and as such it will be a head turner in traffic. The car is by mo means a stellar performer but is a rewarding drive and does everything that you'd expect it to. It rewards you for putting effort into the drive and will be a satisfying car to own. Probably not one for the larger framed among us though.

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