Cuteness is more than skin deep
28/07/08 13:06 Filed in: Road
tests
Back in my college days, I remember
how one of my fellow students fell for the charms of a second hand
Fiat 500 which, even in those days was well past
its prime. Knowing my interest in cars she would always come to me
to ask for advice about its latest ailments.
On this particular occasion, the little Fiat displayed no intentions of starting and, frustrated by lack of success with my pokings and proddings, I asked her why, precisely, she had chosen to buy this particular car?
"It looked like it needed a mummy," came the disarming reply.
Well the cuteness that worked on my fellow student all these years ago is now back with the new Fiat 500. It seems to cast its spell on many people, judging by the succession of questions and demands to borrow the keys to have a closer look. There is no doubting this car is chic. It is a star... but, whether its celebrity status will remain when it becomes more common on our roads, remains to be seen.
Of course, the appearance is the only real link with the original. Instead of a 500cc engine in the back, the present-day 500 has thoroughly modern 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4-litre petrol or diesel engines in the front.
It may have grown a bit. But, the Fiat 500 remains a small car. The accommodation in the front is good, with notably generous head room. The back, however, is for children or compact adults at a squeeze (quite literally). It is actually more feasible than it looks and there is (just) enough headroom for an adult in there, although some hard bargaining would be needed with the front seat passengers to secure sufficient legroom.
Round the back, in place of the engine hatch on the original, there is a full size tailgate. The boot is quite deep, but the sloping rear that is so evocative of the original 500, means that any tall rectangular items may prevent the tailgate shutting. You can, of course, fold down the rear seat (split fold on more upmarket models).
It took me a few minutes to find a comfortable driving position. I like to sit fairly low in a car, so my first mistake was to push the seat height adjustment lever down. I soon discovered that this only lowers the back of the seat cushion. Accepting the only sensible compromise of a higher seating position, I went to adjust the steering column – but it only adjusts for height, not reach. I was in luck, it suited me fine. In a couple of miles I was feeling quite at home.
Fiat have done an excellent job of giving the interior a similar chic retro style to the exterior. There is a single instrument binnacle in front of the driver, which cleverly houses the speedometer round the outside, the rev counter on the next ring in and the minor gauges and warning light, digitally, in the centre. A very minor quibble would be that (as with the Citroen C5) it is not so easy to read the speedometer when you can only see the tip of the needle.
The big surprise for me was how willing the 1.3 Multijet diesel is. This is a very small capacity for a diesel engine, so I had fears that its acceleration would be recorded in hours, not seconds. The reality is that its responsiveness makes the quoted 0-62 time of 12.5 seconds seem slower than the reality.
The good news is that it is also a notably refined diesel. You soon forget that the engine is an oil burner, until you glance at the fuel consumption. Even pedalling it quite hard to extract the maximum performance, I was averaging around 52 mpg on my daily commute. Drive with a lighter touch on the throttle and you should be able to get an amazing 70 mpg out of town. At that rate, Aberdeen to London on a tank of fuel might just be possible - even with the small 35-litre fuel tank on the 500. With just 110g/km of CO2 emissions, the Fiat 500 Multijet slots in to the £35 road tax bracket.
It is not just the engine noise that is minimal, the whole car is notably quiet and remarkably refined for such a small, economy car. The ride is generally quite good for a small, short wheelbase car in this class, with just the occasional unruly thump from potholes or more aggressive road humps. Indeed, the general air of calm is probably why I detected a slight whisper at speed from the door or the window seal just beside my right ear.
Head off the straight roads, onto more twisting country by-ways and the Fiat remains a faithful companion. It handles with confidence and with controlled body roll. If pressed, I would probably give the new Mini a slightly higher score for its dynamic abilities. But, then, it is a more expensive car.
The original Fiat 500, inspiration for the new 500
My test car was the Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet Lounge. The top-of-the-range "Lounge" specification brings the expected and some not so expected luxuries. In the later category – appealing to the 500's younger target buyers – the Lounge models have Bluetooth handsfree system, voice recognition and a built-in digital audio player with USB port on the centre console.
The Mini has shown us the potential for a small car with lots of character and cute charm. The big question for Fiat is whether their 500 can now muscle its way into this market?
On price, it starts strongly, undercutting the MIni with a £8,100 starting price. Even my test car, the Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet Lounge, at £10,900, significantly undercuts the cheapest Mini. The Fiat, however, is a smaller car with smaller engines. But, like the Mini, it is big style and sheer fun.
On this particular occasion, the little Fiat displayed no intentions of starting and, frustrated by lack of success with my pokings and proddings, I asked her why, precisely, she had chosen to buy this particular car?
"It looked like it needed a mummy," came the disarming reply.
Well the cuteness that worked on my fellow student all these years ago is now back with the new Fiat 500. It seems to cast its spell on many people, judging by the succession of questions and demands to borrow the keys to have a closer look. There is no doubting this car is chic. It is a star... but, whether its celebrity status will remain when it becomes more common on our roads, remains to be seen.
Of course, the appearance is the only real link with the original. Instead of a 500cc engine in the back, the present-day 500 has thoroughly modern 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4-litre petrol or diesel engines in the front.
It may have grown a bit. But, the Fiat 500 remains a small car. The accommodation in the front is good, with notably generous head room. The back, however, is for children or compact adults at a squeeze (quite literally). It is actually more feasible than it looks and there is (just) enough headroom for an adult in there, although some hard bargaining would be needed with the front seat passengers to secure sufficient legroom.
Round the back, in place of the engine hatch on the original, there is a full size tailgate. The boot is quite deep, but the sloping rear that is so evocative of the original 500, means that any tall rectangular items may prevent the tailgate shutting. You can, of course, fold down the rear seat (split fold on more upmarket models).
It took me a few minutes to find a comfortable driving position. I like to sit fairly low in a car, so my first mistake was to push the seat height adjustment lever down. I soon discovered that this only lowers the back of the seat cushion. Accepting the only sensible compromise of a higher seating position, I went to adjust the steering column – but it only adjusts for height, not reach. I was in luck, it suited me fine. In a couple of miles I was feeling quite at home.
Fiat have done an excellent job of giving the interior a similar chic retro style to the exterior. There is a single instrument binnacle in front of the driver, which cleverly houses the speedometer round the outside, the rev counter on the next ring in and the minor gauges and warning light, digitally, in the centre. A very minor quibble would be that (as with the Citroen C5) it is not so easy to read the speedometer when you can only see the tip of the needle.
The big surprise for me was how willing the 1.3 Multijet diesel is. This is a very small capacity for a diesel engine, so I had fears that its acceleration would be recorded in hours, not seconds. The reality is that its responsiveness makes the quoted 0-62 time of 12.5 seconds seem slower than the reality.
The good news is that it is also a notably refined diesel. You soon forget that the engine is an oil burner, until you glance at the fuel consumption. Even pedalling it quite hard to extract the maximum performance, I was averaging around 52 mpg on my daily commute. Drive with a lighter touch on the throttle and you should be able to get an amazing 70 mpg out of town. At that rate, Aberdeen to London on a tank of fuel might just be possible - even with the small 35-litre fuel tank on the 500. With just 110g/km of CO2 emissions, the Fiat 500 Multijet slots in to the £35 road tax bracket.
It is not just the engine noise that is minimal, the whole car is notably quiet and remarkably refined for such a small, economy car. The ride is generally quite good for a small, short wheelbase car in this class, with just the occasional unruly thump from potholes or more aggressive road humps. Indeed, the general air of calm is probably why I detected a slight whisper at speed from the door or the window seal just beside my right ear.
Head off the straight roads, onto more twisting country by-ways and the Fiat remains a faithful companion. It handles with confidence and with controlled body roll. If pressed, I would probably give the new Mini a slightly higher score for its dynamic abilities. But, then, it is a more expensive car.
The original Fiat 500, inspiration for the new 500
My test car was the Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet Lounge. The top-of-the-range "Lounge" specification brings the expected and some not so expected luxuries. In the later category – appealing to the 500's younger target buyers – the Lounge models have Bluetooth handsfree system, voice recognition and a built-in digital audio player with USB port on the centre console.
The Mini has shown us the potential for a small car with lots of character and cute charm. The big question for Fiat is whether their 500 can now muscle its way into this market?
On price, it starts strongly, undercutting the MIni with a £8,100 starting price. Even my test car, the Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet Lounge, at £10,900, significantly undercuts the cheapest Mini. The Fiat, however, is a smaller car with smaller engines. But, like the Mini, it is big style and sheer fun.