Fiat 500

Rather than take its pension, Fiat’s 65-year-old star car heads into the electric age

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ICON 42KWH MODEL TESTED

Price £26,995* Power 117bhp Torque 162lb ft 0-60mph 8.1sec 30-70mph in fourth na Fuel economy 3.8mpkWh CO2 emissions 0g/km 70-0mph 45.3m

Fiat has become a car maker a critic might compare to one of those greying musical acts that keeps touring but hasn’t come up with any new material worth listening to in yonks, and is simply milking its back catalogue for all it’s worth.

The Mazda MX-5-based 124 Spider was a likeable but ultimately forgettable cover album; the Tipo – which is still on sale – was an old name for an old-fashioned car, even when it was new; and the 500X and 500L are unimaginative and somewhat cynical reinterpretations of old material. Meanwhile, endless new variations on the 500 city car – and, to a lesser extent, the Panda – have kept the fans entertained.

But at long last, Fiat may just have a worthy comeback album on its hands. Sure, the all-new, all-electric 500 has a familiar name and (from a distance) looks familiar, but don’t let that fool you: the material here is truly fresh and original, and very current indeed.

Let’s be clear about the name first: this new car is simply called the Fiat 500. The second zero of the badge has a dash in it to make it look like an ‘e’, but Fiat never actually calls the car the ‘500e’. It does sometimes call it the ‘New 500’ or ‘500 Electric’ to avoid confusion – but nowhere does it say ‘electric’ on the car. Meanwhile, the petrol-powered 500 remains in production, but that is now called the 500 Hybrid, even though it’s only the mildest of hybrids.