After much scampering around in our attempts to find a New Fiat 500 to review, thanks to the great help of Motorvogue in Northampton, we finally get to grips with the new Fiat 500 1.4 litre Sport.
We had been trying to set a date with an official Fiat press fleet car, there is apparently a demonstrator in the UK on a flying visit from Italy, but when we caught word that Motorvogue had a Fiat 500 display vehicle on their premises, which just happens to be only a short drive from NF500 HQ, we couldn’t let the chance slip by. So a phone call later and we’d arranged a test drive and photo shoot for the very following morning. Excellent.
We should probably make it clear at this point that the left hand drive, Italian spec 500 that Motorvogue are showing is not for sale, and is not actually a test car either. But if you do want to go and see the new Fiat 500 in the flesh well ahead of it’s UK launch next February, then it’s there for all to see, touch, and crawl all over. Motorvogue also already have a long list of customers waiting to have their orders placed with the factory when UK allocation becomes available. So if you want to be among the first to own one of these little beasties in the UK, you’d be well advised to get in touch quickly. With overseas demand continuing to exceed all expectations, who knows what the UK allocation will be next year.
Anyway, now that the disclaimers and thanks are out of the way, lets get on with the review!
Amazingly for the so-called British Summer Time we’ve been experiencing this year, the conditions for our first hands on encounter with the new Fiat 500 could hardly have been better. Warm weather and blistering sunshine were our welcome companions as we drove along the M1 motorway in a MINI Cooper S Convertible to finally get our mitts on the new baby Fiat. Oddly enough, we passed a pristine Red Fiat 500 (original version) on the back of a trailer as we made our way North, small World.
The first impression of the new Fiat 500 as we passed it, circling for a nearby parking space, was how small the car appears. From the view in our MINI it looked very short, and with a more bulbous appearance. With the red 500 we passed fresh in our minds the styling queues of the new car were clear for all to see. This is very clever reinterpretation of a classic design.
The new 500 has been strongly promoted as an example of the quality Fiat wish their brand to stand for. They’re working hard to shrug off a less than ideal image for build quality and the 500 is intended as a little gem to show just how far they’ve come over recent years. Externally it has to be said the car looks very high quality. The silver paintwork is probably not the best to accentuate the lines and intricacies of the design, but all shut lines around the boot, bonnet and doors seems consistent and tight, nothing felt wobbly or weak, and the lines of the vehicle flow nicely from front to back. It’s a pretty car, and that could put off a lot of would-be male customers, but it really shouldn’t.
Inside the new 500 Fiat have pulled off a pretty neat trick. This example in particular, with it’s grey and black interior trim, has a lot of grey plastic on show, and we have a bit of an aversion to dull grey plastic. But here’s where the designers have been smart. Once sat in the car, most switch gear and controls you actually touch and feel are finished nicely, with shiny plastic, chrome accents and really nice chunky little steering wheel. The perception you get is of a higher quality car all around. We’ve seen a lot of the motoring press heap high praise on the quality of the Fiat 500, and while we can now understand their exuberance, we can’t quite find ourselves agreeing that the 500 is on a par with the BMW produced MINI, which really did set a new standard in small car quality when it hit the market six years ago.
But what the 500 does inside that the MINI doesn’t do so well is offer some very clever packaging. There are storage pockets, cup holders and trays in every nook and cranny. There’s bags of head room, rear seat space is surprisingly good for a car so small, and the boot puts that of the MINI to shame. The Fiat 500 in that respect is extremely good for a car so small and stylish, Fiat have successfully combined Form and function, so maybe they have made the iPod of the motoring world after all?
Obviously from a drivers point of view the seating arrangement is key. We found the 500 a little odd in that department. The seats didn’t offer much adjustment, and even with the seat base at it’s lowest angle we felt a little higher than we’d usually like to be sat. Although, at 6′ tall we still had plenty of head room and certainly found ourselves comfortable. If we had more than a couple of hours behind the wheel we’re confident we could make it “just right”, but from our relatively short experience the seating position wasn’t fantastic. Even though this 500 was the Sport edition, the seating felt much City Car than little Sports Car. Hopefully this is something the hot Abarth versions will put right for those wanting something a little more sporty.
Another tiny annoyance we also found was that the sloping a-pillars could interfere with your line of sight quite badly when pulling out of tight country lane junctions. This isn’t something unique to the 500 though, and seems to be a side-product of modern car design and production. The feeling of space granted by the sloping windscreen and relatively large dash area do more than compensate for this minor annoyance.
As for the dash display and operation, gear change and steering wheel we could find very little at fault. The 100hp engine coped well with the lanes and the congested city traffic, if you work the snappy six speed gearbox well enough you could nip about quite effectively, and while the engine is quite peaky by nature, it can make for an engaging drive. The steering wheel is not overly big, and while the weight of the steering could maybe be a little beefier, the response from the power steering was nice and positive, and you felt confident in the twisties. With Sport mode engaged, things are improved a little more, but the change isn’t as obvious as we had previously experience with the Sport button in the second generation MINI Cooper.
Road noise in the cabin was surprisingly subdued, it was more than possible to carry on a civil discussion at 60mph on the not-so-smooth lanes of Northamptonshire. The suspension was firm, but not jarring and body roll was at a more than acceptable level. The car feels surprisingly mature for a fun little thing, and we felt we could quite easily drive for reasonably long distances without cause for complaint.
Public reaction to the 500 was also interesting, we’ve driven a few cars before release on public roads and the look on the faces of people walking by is a good gauge to how public reaction at large could be. A sort of “silent vox pop” situation. The 500 certainly drew attention and glances on the road, and when we stopped for photographs people of all ages showed an interest. A group of young boaters unanimously declared it “cool”.
Our lasting impression of the Fiat 500 was that of a job well done. While clearly produced to a budget, and there are cracks in the make-up in terms of materials and some of the less obvious detailing, you walk away feeling that Fiat have achieved their aims and produced a seriously amusing little car that looks fantastic and leaves you smiling. And if you can’t have fun behind the wheel, then what’s the point?
We cant wait to spend some more quality time behind the wheel of the new Fiat 500, when we hope to be able to offer some more in depth opinion, thanks again to Motorvogue for the opportunity and hospitality. For more photographs, check out Flickr.
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