The Fiat 500 is adorable to look at, but would it be a good car to own today?

Inspired by an icon born in the 50s, the Fiat 500 has stayed true to its no-fuss cute-car styling.  The latter-day Cinquecento (Italian for 500) has all the potential to be the perfect city car.

Even now the Fiat 500’s clean simple design gets it compliments like adorable, fun, funky, ideal, lovely, aah-sweet and even terms of endearment.  It is still a car with the (rare nowadays) ability to elicit a smile  from even the biggest turned-down  lips.  Not growing up is the trick – a cub or puppy is so cute because it so small and playful.

Unlike anything in the car-world clones.  Some are saying it is a timeless design icon.  Sure, it has added sportier versions and used the 500 as base to re-create the Abarth sporty brand, but very grateful are many that Fiat has not tampered with the Fiat 500 styling in any way since that time, avoiding the usual facelift which can ruin a good thing so easily, unintentionally.  6 years on (introduced locally mid-2008) it is still as simple as it can get:  irreducible complexity.

The Fiat 500 interior is more spacious than its compact size would have one think.  It is also great to look at, as it is a fun place to be – it puts the fun in functionality.  Headroom is more than enough, with a general feeling of space thanks to its arched roofline.  The gearlever is positioned close-and-high on the centre console, whether opting for the manual or MTA Dualogic automated gearshift. 

The instrument cluster is a huge speedometer with floating short needle running in the outer rim, with a smaller rev counter just inside it.  The centre circle houses electronic gauges and computer readouts.  And when last did you see a car with a cream-white classic-look for the steering wheel, instrument cowl, audio and climate console, and air vents?  Retro, today.

On the road, the 1.4 engine has a soft growl, and pulls well enough in most circumstances with its 74kW and 131Nm, whether in the manual or no-power-lost MTA (as it is a direct drive manual that simply does the clutch-work for the driver).  Fuel consumption is a claimed 6.1 l/100 km and corresponding 140g/km for the 5-speed manual, and slightly less for the auto, at 5.8 and 135.  The smaller 1.2 engine is cheaper, though could be a bit weak at high altitudes or with friends up.

The Fiat 500 range is ignited by the 500 1.2 Pop, having held onto its R 168 990 price since end February.  Also available in 1.2 Lounge at exactly R10k more, 1.4 Lounge at a R206k budget, or the latest addition:  the 500S (aka Sport) tagged at R216k.

If you need a roll-back soft-top to tin-open your Fiat 500, ask the dealer for the 500C (C for Cabriolet, you see) sitting at R207k for the 1.2 Pop, R247k the 1.4 Lounge, or +-R256k for a 500S Cabriolet.

No use bringing home a good-looking cutesy if it is not safe and convenient – all 500s have 7 airbags (even 1 for the driver’s knee), collapsible pedal box, anti-lock brakes and stability control (ABS to help you steer without locking up the brakes, and BAS to automatically boost max brake-force in a panic-brake scenario), daytime running lamps (was way ahead of its class), leather steering wheel with multi-functional switches on the steering wheel for the Blue&Me system (Bluetooth phone, voice recognition, digital audio file player, Dualdrive electric power steering (choose normal or just-had-my-nails done City steering assist), chrome-plated door handles, electric windows (with switches on the centre console), remote central locking, air-conditioning to keep your cool or stay hot (climate control is an option if you want to get this done automatically) and even big-car things like hazard-light activation at emergency braking.  The 500 can also be customised by adorning it from a selection of stickers.

The MTA auto option costs just under R 9000, on any of the abovementioned models – cheap for an automatic these days, and adding a sense of driving fun, due to its joystick gear selector simply pushed/pulled to go sequentially between gears.  Some motoring scribes have written crits about how slow and jerky the automated gearbox is – it is sometimes a bit slow to dis- then re-engage drive, but pop it into manual mode, and therein lies the trick – use the accelerator like you would in a manual, by lifting off when changing gear, and re-apply throttle.

With a rest-assured 3-year 100 000 km warranty and your-wallet-closed maintenance plan for the same time and distance, the baby-looks car is also a sensible car.  The popularity of the Fiat 500 also sees strong residual/resale values (just reference how pre-loved ones are available and what they sell for on Auto Trader website).

No doubt about it – the Fiat 500 is very popular in European cities and should be more popular here. Where buyers here often go for a boring safe alternative, the Cinquecento basks in its own cheerful rays.  What a great car to own.  The please-love-me face in the shop window deserves a loving home.