Fiat 500 Test Drive Review - BusinessCar
An all-new model is rumoured to be coming in 2018. Still, when the existing car's stand-out looks and great customisation options have won 1. 5 million hearts worldwide (70% of them female) since its 2007 launch - and it still tops city car sales... Some of the basic driver ergonomics remain poor, the rear is still cramped for taller folk and the boot offers only a tiny 185 litres with the rear seats up (even the three-door Mini has 211). Engines remain the same. Controlling the revs in first gear is hard, power pick-up in second is painfully slow (neither is good for a city car) and the ride feels bobbly over uneven surfaces. The next most important engine (10% of sales) is the 105hp 0. 9 TwinAir, added to the range in 2014. Although official mpg stays the same at 67. 3, CO2 keeps reducing from 99g/km in early 2014 to 90g/km now. A tweaked 95hp 1. 3 diesel due January 2016 (promising 89g/km) should nab the remaining 5% of sales but there is a lower-emitting model available now - an 85hp 0. 9 TwinAir (74. 3mpg and 88g/km in automatic Dualogic guise). However, UK head of brand Elena Bernardelli says it will account for only tiny sales and the 'robotised transmission' feels as weird to drive as it sounds. Despite it all, the 500 remains the most distinctive city car range available, and at still low prices. Source: www.businesscar.co.uk
