The new 500 Hybrid - Image: FCA
Words by Marcus Boothby
The Fiat 500 is an interesting little car, or at least it was when it launched in 2007. We’re neither here or there on the normal 500 as it isn’t the enthusiasts choice of a non-sporty, small hatchback. As a car, we can’t find anything wrong with it other than it being a tad old.
Since it’s launched, it’s main rival has been the MINI, a car which has been through two generations in the time the 500 has been on sale, with the 500 only getting minor facelifts here and there, countless Abarth versions and even more special editions.
However, the 500 isn’t a boring car. In the right specification, it can be a blast to drive…as long as you don’t get the hateful 1.2 petrol as that has less power than a backwater village in Ukraine. We quite like the idea of the TwinAir engine they launched a few years ago as it sounded pretty throaty, gave good power figures yet, was woeful on fuel economy. This means the sensible choice is to find a 1.4 petrol 500. And before you ask, no, don’t even consider the diesel.
This brings us nicely onto the next point. The 500 needs new engines. We are aware there’s a new MHEV model but we don’t care too much about that. What Fiat needs to do, and partly due to the fact they are now owned by PSA, is to bring in the small engines from the 108 and 208 models as they seem to be quite excellent.
We like the Abarth 695 a lot - Image: FCA
On top of the PSA engines, the 500’s chassis needs a lot of work on the non-Abarth models. Not only is the chassis 13 years old, it’s also awful to drive. Small cars are supposed to be nippy, sharp and somewhat agile but the basic 500 doesn’t seem to adhere to any of those fun sounding words. It’s the automotive equivalent of an off-brand Android tablet. Yeah, it’ll do everything you ask it to do but you won’t get an enjoyable experience from it. Again, base the next generation 500 on the Peugeot 108. You can’t go wrong with that.
Fiat are clearly still trying to market the 500 as a MINI rival, but it just isn’t. The MINI is still the better car despite its high price and addiction to the Union Jack. Honestly, the tail lights on the facelifted Mk3 Mini just scream Brexit.
So here’s our solution; the 500 needs to be split up into three distinctive models. A basic 500 with the new MHEV engine, the brilliant Abarth model and a fully electric 500. This way, that would attack the MINI Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper SE directly and give BMW something to worry about.
In the meantime, we’re looking at prices of early Abarth 500’s.