- Doors and Seats
3 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
1.2i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
51kW, 102Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 150000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Fiat 500 Pop new car review
So you want something small and economical. And cheap. Properly cheap, with a starting price of comfortably less than $15,000.
Well, you've got plenty of options to sift through these days, from Holden's Barina Spark, Nissan's Micra and Suzuki's Alto to VW's Up! and Mitsubishi's reborn Mirage.
And you can now add Fiat's 500 to that list. Previously sold here as a premium-tinged small car, with pricing to match, it's taken on a much more mainstream-oriented flavour following Fiat/Alfa Romeo's move to in-house distribution.
What do you get?
The most inexpensive model in the three-tier 500 hatch range goes into bat with the new Pop title and an enticing price of $14,000 drive-away for the manual version. The 1.4-litre Sport and 0.9-litre two-cylinder turbo Lounge models kick off at $16,900 and $20,300 respectively.
Fiat hasn't resorted to rampant spec-stripping to get the Pop's price down. You miss out on alloy wheels and cruise control (two standard omissions at this price point) and the Bluetooth only streams phone calls, not audio, but its key points of airconditioning, keyless entry, trip computer, CD/MP3 stereo, seven airbags, stability control and five-star ANCAP rating more than meet expectations. Style-wise, it looks just like any 500, which for most buyers is going to be a good thing.
Not that there isn't the odd catch. Where some rivals have or offer five-door bodies, this Fiat only comes with a less-practical three-door layout. Going for the automated manual transmission not only bumps the price up to $15,500 but slugs you with on-road costs as well.
More significantly perhaps, it has no answer to the long warranties or the capped-price servicing offered by some of its key rivals.
What's inside?
Life can be pretty bland and bleak inside some sub-$15,000 cars. The 500's innards, in contrast, are a riot for the senses, from the flash of colour delivered by the metal-look dash and rich detail of the instruments (a speedo, tachometer and trip computer are layered into one circular dial) to the lovely cream leather of the steering wheel.
Functionally, it's more of a mixed bag. Hits include plush, pampering front seats, its user-friendliness (most of the controls adhere to logic and hooking up your phone to the Bluetooth system is relatively painless) and good vision but the lack of steering-reach adjust and mediocre storage are most definitely misses.
The three-door body has its practical shortcomings, too, whether it's the doors themselves (they're long, heavy and require real care in tight spaces) or the back seat's two-person limit and tight headroom. The 185-litre boot is also easily exhausted, though the split-fold back seats do allow you to make the most of the available space.
Under the bonnet
The Pop's 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine is nothing fancy, either in terms of its technology (it runs just two valves per cylinder) or the numbers it cranks out. Any number of three-cylinder rivals keep it honest for grunt while achieving better official economy ratings.
Not that you could call it thirsty. Fiat claims a 5.1L/100km official rating for the manual (automated manuals go a little better with 5.0L/100km) and we ran that pretty close with a 5.6L/100km result on our combined urban/highway test.
There's no getting around, too, that it does the job. It's no firecracker and needs plenty of revs to keep up momentum on hills or when overtaking on the open road, but that's something this willing little engine is more than happy to do. It's noticeably smoother and quieter than your average triple, too.
The Pop's standard-issue five-speed manual gearbox shifts sweetly and makes it easy to extract every ounce of its performance potential. It gets plenty of use around town thanks to the engine's restrained low-rev response, though lazy drivers who aren't in a hurry will find it has more than enough flexibility to call on.
On the road
The entry-level 500 isn't a sharply responsive sports machine, nor does it deliver limo-like comfort. Push it into a bend and you get a fair bit of body roll, while the short wheelbase and small wheels mean it tends to stumble over really big, sharp bumps.
But there's also plenty that's good about it, like its responsive, transparent steering, its agile balance and decent roadholding abilities. In a lot of ways it's far less compromised than most sub-$15,000 cheapies – indeed, you could go as far as to say it's actually fun.
It's a similar story for its ride and general feeling of refinement. The Pop gets a little frazzled by, say, brutal washboard gravel and there's plenty of racket at highway speeds but in its natural city environment it's a fine-riding and respectably quiet package.
Verdict
Sub-benchmark warranty and servicing credentials and the practical niggles of its three-door body mean the 500 Pop could have its work cut out swaying more rational buyers from rivals that have more space, longer warranties and capped servicing.
But it's also hard to deny that this kind of style, usefully willing performance and driving flair isn't impressive, for just $14,000 drive-away. Buyers looking for a cheap city car that offers more than bland competence and who can forgive the odd niggle will find it's just the ticket.