In Hybrid form, the second modern-era version of Fiat's little 500 is a rather different confection. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.
Ten Second Review
The second modern-era Fiat 500 was originally meant to be EV-only. Now though, you can also have it as a petrol mild hybrid. The modestly-powered engine is as familiar as the cheeky looks - which, together with budget pricing, is what Fiat hopes will sell you this car.
Background
The modern-era Fiat 500 was the car that saved its brand. Launched in 2007, it sold in millions over the next decade as the Turin management tried to figure out how to replace it. Their answer as it turned out, was an enormous and hugely costly mistake that has threatened the very future of this famous marque.
Introducing the second generation 500 as an EV was a logical step. But not bothering to also introduce a combustion Hybrid version - or even design the structure of the car around the possibility of one - was an astonishing blunder. With predictable results.
The 500 EV was too expensive for most 500 loyalists to afford, even if they'd wanted to make the switch to electric, which many of them didn't. On top of that, with EV subsidies being phased out in many European countries, 500 EV production at the famous Mirafiori plant in Turin had to keep stopping because dealers simply couldn't sell the cars it was making.
Realising its mistake too late, Fiat tried to keep the old 500 going into this century's third decade as a mild hybrid, but trying to sell a design almost two decades old was a losing battle and the Italian management eventually had to take the car off sale in 2024 due to the model's non-compliance with new EV cybersecurity laws.
All of which led to the almost unprecedented decision to try and retrofit the original modern-era 500 model's EV platform to accept a combustion engine. The resulting car, the 500 Hybrid, is what we're going to look at here.
Driving Experience
Once they'd decided that the second modern-era 500 should also have a combustion powerplant, the headaches for the Fiat engineers began. The conversion required near-total redevelopment of the car, with new subframes added to the front and back to accommodate a petrol engine and associated transmission. And a fuel tank was inserted in the space used by the traction battery in the EV.
Then the question was which engine this petrol/electric 500 should have. The obvious choice was the 1.2-litre Stellantis unit used in the Grande Panda Hybrid, but that wouldn't fit - and anyway couldn't be matched with manual transmission and would have made the car too expensive. Because developing a bespoke Hybrid unit for this car would have been too costly, the only other option available was the rather ancient Firefly 1.0-litre three cylinder unit used by the previous generation model. This had been updated at the end of the last decade with a 12V starter generator mild hybrid system, before being slightly tweaked in 2024 for the Italian market Panda.
This powertrain was never particularly fizzy in the previous 500 and get-up-and-go is restricted further here by this second modern era model's greater weight and the fact that output has fallen by 5 braked horses to just 64bhp. For perspective, a rival Toyota Aygo Hybrid X has 114bhp.
So you won't be surprised to learn that acceleration in this Fiat is glacial, 0-62mph needing 16.2s in the three-door and 17.3s in the convertible. A non-hybrid rival like the Kia Picanto has a closer output - 67bhp - but uses it to get to 62mph over 2 seconds quicker. Top speed in this 500 Hybrid is 96mph. To be fair, you properly won't feel that slow around town because most of the engine's low-down grunt is available from just 2,000rpm. The mild hybrid system offers a light boost at this point, but apart from that, all it does is power the start/stop system.
There's only one transmission choice and, unusually for a modern car, it's a manual, with six speeds. An auto would have been too expensive to engineer. What this Hybrid does borrow from its EV cousin is more sophisticated suspension, so you'll clump over urban potholes a lot less.
Design and Build
Unless you notice the Hybrid badge on the back, you might struggle to tell this combustion 500 apart from its EV stablemate, but there are some changes. There's a thin 'moustache'- style slot added to the nose to feed air to the tiny 1.0-litre engine that Fiat eventually managed to shoehorn beneath the bonnet. As usual with a 500, there's the choice of three-door hatch or convertible body shapes.
If you happen not to be familiar with this third generation 500 design and are graduating up from the previous 500 Hybrid, you'll find that there's been a subtle increase in exterior size, with both versions of this second modern-era model being 3.36m long and 1.69m wide, an increase of 6cm in both length and width. The 1.53m height means it's 4cm taller too. Fiat has deliberately made exterior look an evolution of this car's predecessor - specifically in the light and bumper designs. Look more closely though and you'll spot sharper lines and flush door handles, plus the adoption of full-LED headlights.
As for the Hybrid changes over the EV, well it's easier to see these inside because the brand has had to accommodate a manual gear lever, which is mounted high just as in the previous 500. Which means you view a digital instrument display with a big rev counter and speedometer, while in the centre of the body-coloured dashboard is a 10.25-inch centre touchscreen housing the brand's U connect 5 media system. This can deliver navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot and 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'.
The pedal box is tight for the three pedals there's no seat height adjustment. Plus, as in the 500 EV, your over-the-shoulder view is compromised by narrow tailgate glass and thick rear C-pillars, so it's just as well there are big door mirrors.
The boot is small too. With both body shapes, there's only 185-litres of space here, the same as the old model; but a few large backpacks or three carry-on suitcases will fit. Otherwise, you'll have to fold down the rear bench. Flattening the rear bench increases luggage capacity to 550-litres.
Market and Model
Fiat says it wants to price this 500 Hybrid as close to the outgoing price of the previous generation model as possible, which means asking figures from just under £19,000, with £3,000 more for the Convertible version. There will be no auto gearbox option. The line-up starts with base 'Icon' spec (or a limited-run 'Torino' version), with plush 'La Prima' spec for those with more to spend.
The asking figures aren't as low as some potential buyers might like; a non-hybrid citycar like the Kia Picanto costs from around £17,000. And for only £3,000 more than a 500 Hybrid, a Toyota Aygo X Hybrid has lots of street cred, twice as much power and a much more economic engine. Plus both those cars have two extra doors. For reference, Fiat's 500e costs from around £25,000.
Part of the costing problem here lies with the production switch from the old 500's cheap labour factory in Poland to Italy. This 500 Hybrid's engine is made in Termoli, making this the first 500 since the '60s to be entirely Italian made. Over 80% of the Mirafiori plant's 500 Hybrid production will be for export markets - unlike the Panda which is 80% sold in Italy.
If you're seduced by the 500's cheeky looks, you'll want to know that entry-level 'Icon' trim includes 16-inch wheels, LED headlights, rear parking sensors and a black cloth interior with a 10.25-inch central touchscreen with 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'. From launch, you'll also be able to choose 'Torino' trim, which has special badging and cloth and vinyl upholstery. The top 'La Prima' spec gives you larger 17-inch alloy wheels and faux leather upholstery with 'cannelloni' stitching, as well as heating for the seats and windscreen and a reversing camera.
Cost of Ownership
You might hope for quite a lot here given the feeble power output and prominent Hybrid badging. Don't get your hopes up too high; this is about as mild as mild hybrids get and the resultant electrification confers very little efficiency benefit. With the result that combined cycle fuel consumption is quoted at 54.3mpg and 119g/km of CO2, which (unsurprisingly) almost exactly duplicate the figures of the same-engined old 500 Hybrid. But look a little unimpressive when you consider what a proper full-Hybrid engine can deliver in this segment. A Toyota Aygo X Hybrid manages up to 76.3mpg and 85g/km.
This model will be covered by the brand's usual unremarkable three year/60,000 mile warranty. There's 36 months of breakdown cover included as well. Should you have a problem on a journey, you can use the 'Uconnect' infotainment system to contact roadside assistance.
FIAT offers two service packages: Connect ONE, including Emergency Call, Roadside Assistance, and Vehicle Health Reports; and Connect PLUS, which adds Vehicle Finder, and other services to improve maintenance, like vehicle information and vehicle health alert, available through the FIAT mobile app. Owners can keep up to date with their car's maintenance schedule via the 'My Car' section of the Fiat app, which briefs you on the time of your next service and various maintenance issues. Expect depreciation to be slightly better than it usually is with small Fiats.
Summary
Fiat says that the 500 Hybrid is proof that 'social relevance is at the core of the brand mission'. Rhetoric which will fool no one. Here's a U-turn in product policy that is almost unprecedented in automotive development. Visionary former Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who helped create the original new Fiat 500 back in 2007 would have been horrified at the way his successors took 'the people's car' from the people.
Is it too late for Fiat to return it to them? Perhaps. Much depends on product value. Which will need to be astonishing if the Mirafiori plant is to reach its target of building 100,000 500 Hybrids a year. But it could happen if the EV market continues to stall. The very thing the Turin maker depended on not happening when the electric version of this second modern era 500 was first launched. That battery model still needs the EV revolution to gather pace, so, not for the first time in its history, Fiat finds itself conflicted. Is the 500 Hybrid too little, too late? Time will tell.
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