The Star: May 12, 2022

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Thursday May 12 2022 The Star 33
Fuel-friendly Fiat 500 sure to appeal
MUCH OF THE talk around
motor vehicles in the last couple
of months has centred around
fuel use.
With petrol (and diesel) prices
up and down like a yo-yo, the
cost of filling up a tank is on
almost every car owner’s mind.
That’s where small, fuelefficient
cars come in, those that
have small engines and have
technology that maximises every
drop are being snapped up almost
as quickly as they arrive in the
country.
One company offering good
supply is Fiat, and it has a new
500 landing in healthy numbers.
What’s more, it has a low carbon
emission engine that means a
buyer will be eligible for a $2180
rebate through the clean car
discount scheme, a Government
initiative to lower greenhouse
gases.
Long gone are the days when
the 500 was named Bambina
here, its rear engine layout was
advanced for its time and quickly
won favour with a good part of
the population.
Today’s Fiat 500 is vastly different;
sure it’s shape is extremely
retrospective, but the engine sits up
front (transversely), and with fourcylinders
it has double the number
as the original, it also has an engine
of 1.2-litre against 479cc.
RETROSPECTIVE: A wheel in each corner look for the Fiat 500.
Even though the new Fiat 500
has an engine that would appear
sizeable for a small car, it has the
efficiency that will make it desirable.
Fiat list the new 500 with a
4.8-litre per 100km combined
cycle average, that’s about as good
as it gets for a non-hybrid model
and that makes it a stunningly
economical car. What’s more, it is
remarkably entertaining to drive.
The 500 is instantly
recognisable, not so much
because of its diminutive stature,
but it has a blunt sloping bonnet
and a wheel in each corner look.
Bear in mind though, the 500 is
only a four-seater and those in
the rear will need to be slight of
build.
The 500 is available here in
two variations at present, highperformance
Abarth models
aside. There’s bound to be more
options arriving as time goes by,
but the choice now is what Fiat
name Lounge and Dolcevita; effectively
it is low and high grade,
the test car was the entry-level
model that sits at $22,990, which
by my reckoning, is good value
buying, the Dolcevita adds $3k.
If you also take into account the
little amount of fuel the 500 uses
then outlay will be paid back over
time.
During my time in the evaluation
car the fuel usage readout
was listing an average of
5.5l/100km which is an excellent
return given the car was almost
brand new (280km) and would
still be tight in the engine. At
100km/h it is sipping fuel at the
rate of just 3.8l/100km.
The interior is also retrospective,
it clings to a design that’s not
dissimilar to the original model
that was built from 1957 to 1977.
However, the newcomer does
have modern elements such as a
central touch screen display and
other fitment that a new car buyer
today would come to expect.
I’ve long been a Fiat owner
and over the years I have complained
more about their seats
and seating positions than any
other car I’ve been involved with.
But things have changed, the 500
has brilliant seats, soft, grippy and
with plenty of under-thigh support.
From the moment you sit in
them you know you are going to
be comfortable.
Under the bonnet sits a 1242cc
engine, it develops just 51kW and
102Nm but both these figures
register just below the traditional
points of the rev band, with
maximum torque available at just
1750rpm meaning the engine
is barely ticking over before it is
pulling at the best part of the rev
band.
Weighing just over 900kg, the
Fiat 500’s engine doesn’t work
hard to gain momentum. Yes, you
do need to give the accelerator
pedal a bit of a nudge at take-off,
• Price – Fiat 500, $22,990
• Dimensions – Length,
3571mm; width, 1627mm;
height, 1488mm
• Configuration – Fourcylinder,
front-wheeldrive,
1242cc, 51kW,
102Nm, five-speed
automatic
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 12.9sec
• Fuel usage – 4.8l/100km
but once the engine becomes
lively speed is ushered in willingly.
Drive is channelled through a
five-speed transmission that Fiat
label Dualogic. Effectively, it is a
manual gearbox with a robotised
clutch but there are only two pedals
so you treat it like a traditional
automatic. One of the benefits is
that you can use it like a manual,
changing up or down simply
by moving the gear lever at any
given point.
With sensible ratios the 500 is
an easy city car, it is relaxing to
drive and battles the rush-hour
traffic without taxing the driver.
Against the clock it will
reach 100kmh from a standstill
in 12.9sec, and it will make
120km/h from 80km/h in around
11sec.
At open road speeds the 500 is
quiet and relaxing to drive, any
external sound is well stifled.
Interestingly, Fiat has persevered
with their dual mode
power steering set-up.
FIAT 500:
Available
in two
specifications
starting from
$22,990 with
a $2180
rebate.
The 500 has a push-button city
mode which lightens steering feel
considerably to take the pressure
of close confine manoeuvring.
Personally, I preferred the more
involving mode, but I do appreciate
for those who have movement
restriction or aren’t as strong in
the wrists as they would like to
be, the system would be of much
benefit.
I took the evaluation car for a
couple of highway excursions,
one of them was to west of Darfield
where its handling dynamics
were well captured.
Sitting on soft spring and
damper rates, the 500 has a plush
and controlled ride that would
have been hard to engineer, given
its short wheelbase. Not only is
it comfortable, but because of its
light weight gravitational transfer
in a corner isn’t significant. It can
be placed into a corner with reasonable
speed and its accuracy and
precision will command control.
The new 500 lands at a very
opportune time, if its cheeky style
and design doesn’t win friends
then its economy will.
Sure there are disadvantages, it
is compact inside, and for those
who are above average height
and are consigned to the rear will
need to be mindful their heads
will reach the roofline, and space
to spread out there is negligible.
However, if you want a small
car and like the idea of something
retrospective, and Italian, then
Fiat have created a very desirable
package.
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