NF500 / wheel

Mike Rutherford, a British motoring journalist not known for holding back with his forthright views is pondering if Fiat have created the “Car of the Year” in their new 500 only half way through 2007.

In his report Mr Rutherford praises not only the vehicle itself, but puts it side by side with the more expensive MINI range and questions the value of the latter now the baby Fiat is on the scene.

Of driving the new Fiat 500, Mike can’t be more complimentary in his opening few paragraphs

While driving 1.2 and 1.4 versions of the 500 in Fiat’s home town… I instinctively did something I’ve almost forgotten to do behind the wheel of a motor car: smile, have fun, remind myself that great cars don’t need to be high powered and cost tens of thousands of pounds to be hugely entertaining and highly effective.

The 500 presses all the right buttons.

In the article published in the AOL Motoring section, Mr Rutherford then goes on to pitch his own battle lines between Fiat and BMW in the MINI versus 500 crusade, and falls well in favour of the Italian supermini. Indeed, this certainly isn’t the most in depth review of the new Fiat 500 we’ve yet to read, but it’s certainly one of the most emotive and emotional appraisals we’ve seen from a non Italian publication. When it comes to reinventing a brand from a bygone era, emotion is key, and we feel Mike has been well and truly won over by the spirit of the new bambino.

CWW Cardesign, who specialise in creating imaginative Photoshop interpretations of rumoured, planned and fantasy future vehicles have conjured up these images of a new Fiat 500 Giardinetta Station Wagon.

The images have been created from Fiat’s official photos of the new 500, and show a stretched wheel base Station Wagon concept.  Which is not so far fetched considering it is rumoured that Fiat will decide by the end of 2007 if they will pursue Station Wagon and SUV derivatives of the new 500, most likely based on the Panda’s AWD platform.