NF500 / car magazine

Fiat is celebrating again, having scooped yet another industry award for its iconic 500 supermini.

The hugely successful 500, which was launched by Fiat earlier this year, has just been crowned Best City Car in the 2008 Auto Express New Car Honours. In doing so, the 500 brings to an end an impressive run for the Fiat Panda, which held the City Car title for the previous four consecutive years.

The award-winning Fiat 500 has already been crowned Car of the Year 2008 and has won a sack full other accolades including CAR Magazine Car of the Year, Fifth Gear Small Car of the Year, EuroCarBody 2007 and Auto Europa 2008.

Commenting on this latest honour, Auto Express says:

Reinventing a legend is never easy – but that is exactly what Fiat has achieved with its new 500. In a class that’s now bigger than ever, the Italian star has proved itself a real winner. We define a city car as any model that has the compact dimensions and tempting price to make it perfect for urban living. Cars that have been designed with tight high street parking spaces and city centres in mind were in with a shout, so the 500 had to beat everything from smart’s fortwo to Renault’s Twingo.

So what makes the Fiat so special? In a similar vein to the MINI, the 500 manages to capture the spirit of a legend without coming across as forced or tacky. Its low prices go hand in hand with the great looking exterior and interior styling to create an irresistible package.

And the worst news for rivals is that this is only the beginning for the 500. There are technical innovations such as an ultra-efficient two-cylinder engine waiting in the wings, while the Abarth sporting brand will bring hot hatch performance to the Fiat at the end of the year. Looking further ahead, the Italian firm will also launch an estate version to rival the MINI Clubman as well as a 500 convertible. By keeping the style and spirit of the original, but adding refinement, versatility and luxury, Fiat has built a car that we will be talking about for decades to come… just like its predecessor!

Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat UK adds:

This is yet another example of the fans the Fiat 500 is winning among the UK’s leading commentators and journalists, and I am delighted to say that that same confidence in the product is being shown by customers too.

To date we have sold or taken orders for more than 11,000 Fiat 500s in the UK and there are a lot more to come yet. We are delighted with Auto Express’s choice of Best City Car for 2008 and look forward to many more important awards like this one for the 500.

Available with a choice of three frugal, ultra-low emissions, Euro 5-ready engines: 69 bhp 1.2-litre and 100 bhp 1.4-litre petrol, or 75 bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel, the new Fiat 500 can be ordered in three different trim levels – Pop, Sport and Lounge.

With a starting price of just £8,100, the new Fiat 500 represents outstanding value for money and positions the car well below its benchmark rivals. At the top end of the range, a highly specified version with a larger engine costs only £10,900 – a price that includes air conditioning and alloy wheels as standard.

With all the talk of the “retro battle” between the Fiat 500 and the new MINI, or at least of how Fiat can benefit from the success of the MINI and learn from BMWs approach, the Ford Ka has been a little overlooked.  Until this week, when Car Magazine’s online publication posted more (rumoured) details of the upcoming budget Ford, which has sparked a fair bit of interest (and indeed, this very article).

The article itself doesn’t offer very much by way of new information, but does tie together some previous reports and rumours in a neat, easily digestible package.

The reason this could be of interest to Fiat 500 fans is the fact that the new Ford Ka is based on the Fiat 500 platform, and Car claim it will also mimic the baby Fiat in almost every other way.  Same engines, different tuning packages, a convertible, a larger “SUV” variant.  Basically everything the 500 will do, the Ford Ka will do.  But cheaper.

And here’s the reason we feel the Ka, not the MINI, Beetle, or any other cool car is the one to watch with regards to the success of the 500.

Very few dispute the Fiat 500’s looks, charms, and unique appeal.  But Ford have also been raising their game in terms of quality and style recently, winning over many with their latest Mondeo as the best vehicle Ford have made in a long time.  If the Ka can carry on that trend of quality and style then it could grab sales from Fiat as the sensible, budget equivalent of the 500.

True, the Fiat is retro and chic, while the Ford Ka will without doubt go for a modern, even futuristic style.  But in the same way some knocked the Beetle for being a “Golf in a skirt”, the 500 may be seen as Ka in a pretty frock.   And if you do want to continue the MINI - 500 references, the unique platform of the MINI was a strong selling point for BMW.

I guess the question is, “for what price style?” and Fiat will have to be careful to continue to get the balance right when the Ford hits the scene in 2008.

The online version of Car Magazine is carrying some very good spy photos of the new Fiat 500 Abarth in testing in Germany.  The photos appear to be from the same sessions that the photogrpahs of the 500 Abarth shown on WorldCarFans.com came from.

This time however the snaps show the red 500 Abarth test vehicle fleeting along in the pouring rain.  See the full photo set and read Car’s opinions on their website.

Early reports of the first drives of the new Fiat 500 are appearing in the media Today, and it all appears to be a case of so far, so good for Fiat’s new baby.

One of our personal favourites, 4Car, has a great photo gallery, and sum up their positive review by saying:

See one, drive one and you’ll want one.

Can’t get much more glowing than that, although Auto Express come across equally as gushing and state that:

…there’s no doubt that, after 50 years, the 500 is back with a vengeance. Is there a better small car on sale? After our test drive, we seriously doubt it.

CAR Magazine have the Fiat 500 as their cover star, a review and an in depth interview with Frank Stephenson.

So the British motoring press, known for their honesty, and and at times downright cynicism seem to have been well and truly won over by the new Fiat 500’s charms, despite the fact people in the UK will have to wait for a few more months than mainland Europe to get their hands on the car.