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Fiat 500 review - fashion victim or stylish mover? - Engine and gearbox

Retro charm offensive that’s inoffensive to drive

Evo rating
Price
from £11,050
  • Retro charm, reasonably inexpensive, compact, did we say charming?
  • Too compact, a bit too charming, more fun to look at than actually drive

Engine and gearbox

The 1.2-litre four-cylinder unit has been around for a while, but it’s still a decently refined, capable engine in the 500. It represents the entry point in the range, with just 68bhp. It might have twice the cylinder count of the TwinAir’s two-cylinder specification, but the smaller 875cc engine adds a turbocharger for enhanced performance.

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The result is either 84 or 104bhp, with 106lb ft of torque. That peak torque is produced low in the rev range too, which should make for a tractable engine, but for the TwinAir to deliver anything approaching its promised performance it needs lots of revs. That’s fine, but it punishes fuel consumption, turning Fiat’s economy champion into a proposition that's far thirstier than it should be.

There's a strange pleasure in extending the twin-pot, though. The automotive journalist's favourite onomatopoeic cliché of "thrum" barely covers the unusual noise it makes - it's more akin to the staccato thudding of a parallel-twin motorcycle, with a sprinking more refinement and an amusing burble from the exhaust. It's a characterful sound inside the car (without ever getting annoying) and it's a whole lot more interesting for passers-by than a diesely clatter.

The more powerful 104bhp TwinAir comes with a slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox, the rest making do with a five-speed transmission. If you’re after an automatic Fiat offers any of the petrol engines with the five-speed Dualogic auto, a robotised manual. We'd be inclined to avoid it unless you absolutely must have an automatic.

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