In the mid to late 1950, the FIAT brand decided that they would be clever and introduce a small city car that could carry 4 people. Really? Small, city and 4 in the same sentence? Nonetheless, they did and appeared a little 500cc 2 cylinder motor. Not fast, not bound to break any records but just what the gents over in the land of Pizza, Pasta and good wine needed! Everyone was recovering from the war and the boys needed to show that owning new cars were cheap, fun and easy to get around.
Fast forward more than half a decade and appeared a FIAT 500 again. This time around, it was not rear engine, rear wheel drive, it is now front engine and front wheel drive. This time with more meat under the bonnet too! 1400cc! This will definitely allow us to break some records, right? I still remember Top Gear doing a review on it, actually should I say, a race on with it! It did well, very well in actual fact!
Again, the little guy rocked up just as the world economy crashed and people could not really afford the biggest, fastest and most flash cars around. I think the Italians predict something and this time, it was correct! At least they doing a lot better than the Ferrari F1 team! FIAT is saving the Italians rear end, who actual thought that would happen!
Fast forward a few years and we are back at the 2cylinder, small cc except it has a turbo. Wait… Surely on a car, 900cc, 2 cylinders and a turbo will not be good enough? I think you will have to rethink that quite a lot! Extremely economical and a cute little throaty noise from the motor in traffic is just what a city car should be. However, a little touch of a magical button (no, not that button, stay out of the gutter) and you will be able to turn yourself into a hot shot without 1000hp. It is highly addictive to see a bigger car, with more power, twice the price and most likely twice cylinders, being dumped by a little 900cc! I must admit there is a lot of space in the car. It does not look spacious at all from the outside but inside, there is enough room to have a baby or make one. The screen for the infotainment is easy to use and it tells you everything that you will need. The gear shifter, even though it is a small car, has a bigger proud golf ball size knob which means you can hook gears quickly! All in all, I will give the little guy a solid rating due to the fact it will upset a lot of cars on the road, especially that of bigger cc’s and power range. It is massively underrated. It has quite simply some of the best value for money extras like cruise control, climate control and rain sensor windscreen wipers as standard!
FIAT, if you are the hope for Italy, then you have hit the nail on the head with this little car. It is fun, spacious, exciting and will definitely pick up any girl that you revv too. Okay… Maybe that part was a bit of a lie but they really can do the long distance haul, the city driving, mountain passes and it will always leaving you smiling from ear to ear which is exactly what every person would love to hear!