If you’re going to revive an icon it’s a good idea to do it somewhere significant. Which is why I found myself on the top floor of an almost century-old building in the heart of Italy’s motorcity of Turin.
For many years the Lingotto complex was the headquarters of the giant Fiat conglomerate and even now as it has been converted into upmarket hotels, shopping malls and offices, it still retains some of the treasures of its glorious past beyond the FIAT name sculpted in huge letters on the gable end.
Faded photographs, many from almost a century ago, adorning the walls show some of the momentous events when proud Fiat executives unveiled their latest creations to an admiring audience of potential customers and impressed gentlemen of the automotive press.
One in particular from the early 20th century, detailed enthusiastic Fiat fans aboard a fleet of charabancs gazing at partially-completed vehicles on the rooftop oval test-track with its dramatic steeply-banked curve at either end. This is the same track which featured around half a century later in the classic film, The Italian Job with a trio of Minis jostling for position as they tried to outwit the finest of Turin’s polizia in their overshadowed patrol cars.
Fitting then that Fiat should use this same piece of hallowed tarmac to show off their latest baby, the all-new 500…..their most recent success story in the image of the classic Cinquecento.
Exactly eight years on from its first appearance and on the 50th anniversary of the original car’s launch, the new car has kept all the special features which gave it its personality – its “laughing eyes and smile” in the words of the designers – but has now matured to incorporate the latest technology and improved efficiency along with more customisation options, a refreshed interior and styling tweaks to the body.
At a glance it’s not that different, still clearly a 500, but that’s because Fiat have been cautious not to tamper too much with a winning formula which so far has brought sales of 1.5 million globally and almost a quarter of a million in the UK.
Fiat say there are no fewer than 1900 new components which means 40 per cent of the car has been replaced…..although I had difficulty spotting more than a couple of dozen changes.
Most of them are at the front. The headlights are still circular but now have special modules inlaid to improve night vision. The indicators are integrated along with LED daytime running lights which have the profile of the Fiat 500 logo.
The bonnet is still the distinctive, traditional clamshell of the original, while the nose gets a more pronounced look including an auxiliary air vent which is built into what is now a three-dimensional grille, with chrome buttons on the top-of-the-range Lounge version of the test car.
Even the entry-level Pop version comes with LED daytime running lights, electric mirrors and audio controls on the steering wheel, while the Popstar adds air conditioning, heated door mirrors and folding rear seats.
At the back end, the rear lights have been remodelled with empty centres which take the body colour of the car. It works well with some darker shades but I’m not so sure it’s successful in brighter ones like white. The rest of the ring incorporates fog and reversing lights and indicators and makes the back end look much cleaner and up-to-date.
There are a range of new 15 and 16 inch alloy wheels and 13 new body colours including standard Bossa Nova white and two brand new shades, Glam Coral pastel and Avantgarde Bordeaux metallic, and two other dramatic variants, black-yellow and black-red, which on any other car might make it look like a European taxi, but work really well on the wee 500.
They’re part of the brand-new ‘second-skin’ package of customisation options which come either as a geometric pattern along the belt line of both saloons and convertibles or covering the upper half only on the hardtops.
There’s quite a selection – pattern (Ethnic), classic tartan (Lord), pop decoration (Comics), nautical (Navy) or military (Camouflage). There’s a touch of the Marmite about them – you’ll either think they’re brilliant or that the style and design of the car is enough in itself without tarting it up.
On the inside, the car has been given a comprehensive makeover, mostly around the dashboard area. It’s now dominated in the centre by the 5 inch touchscreen for the Uconnect infotainment system which on the Lounge version test car came with Bluetooth hands-free calling with voice recognition and SMS for reading text messages and replying from a set of standard responses.
Uconnect gives direct access to Tuneln Internet radio, Deezer music streaming and Reuters news feeds as well as Facebook and Twitter. The TomTom satnav display was clear but annoyingly late with its instructions on occasions which led to frequent missed junctions and some challenges around the choked streets of central Turin.
The circular instrument cluster with analogue dials for speedo and revs has been kept on the lower levels while a 7 inch TFT display developed with Magneti Marelli is a £250 option on the Lounge version. The front seats have been made more ergonomic and are comfortable and supportive with ten colour combinations and the classic circular 500 headrests have been carried over.
It’s a small touch, but the glove box has improved from an open shelf to a lidded compartment and the central console has new cup holders and now houses the USB and aux-in ports along with the 12V power socket.
The engines stay the same but have been tweaked for greater economy and lower emissions with five and six-speed manual gearboxes or a Dualogic robotised transmission.
I didn’t care for it much with its slow response but it did make life easier in the stop-start city traffic. The manual gearbox was better to extract what performance was available in the small two-cylinder TwinAir unit but it felt a little spongier and less precise than I would have liked.
The softtop on the test car slid back as far as you like but when fully retracted, the folded canvas restricts the view from the rear mirror – a small price to pay for letting the stunning Italian sunshine flood into the car.
On the open road, it handled well and the wee engine was remarkably capable in a range of conditions and perfectly adequate for the demands which are likely to be placed upon it.
While not exactly spacious, the rear seats can take a couple of adults but I wouldn’t recommend much more than short journeys or nipping around town. The boot would be fine for the shopping or a weekend away with a couple of small carry-on bags but don’t expect it to be much use for anything larger.
Around 80% of buyers of the 500 so far have been women and I could say that many of the remaining 20% were probably hairdressers but that would be unfair.
Certainly Fiat are expecting the remodelled version will have a wider appeal and draw in more men from across the age range. With prices starting at just under £11,000 – pretty much the same as the previous model – and most bought on PCP with a deposit of around £1500 and monthly payments of £139, the new 500 is an attractive and stylish proposition…..in true Italian tradition.
CAR: Fiat 500C Lounge
PRICE: £17,070
POWER: 875cc 2 cyl TwinAir 105 hp
TORQUE: 145 Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 117 mph  0-62 mph 10 secs
MPG: 67 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 99 g/km
TT Rating: 
