If you need a car for in the city, and you’re man enough to cope with the looks you’ll get, then you really should consider the Fiat 500 TwinAir. And get it in matt black if you can.
Drive around the city in a Fiat 500 and you’re going to get noticed. Funny, given that the Fiat 500 is a teeny bubble of a thing that’s smaller than just about every other car on the road, but in a country where big imposing Mercs and BMWs are commonplace, it’s the uncommonly dinky Fiat 500 that stands out.
This is a car that wears its nationality with pride. Inside, where there’s more room than you’d expect, the dashboard console looks like a sleek Italian coffee machine. The shiny sort of thing that is made by Gaglia and which you get in the coolest cafe’s in Milan.
On the outside it’s so stylish that wherever you park it – be it in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford or Belfast – you can’t help but think that it’s the city rather than the car that’s a little bit out of place.
In fact, every Fiat 500 should come with a life-sized picture of the Colosseum in Rome for it to park in front of so that it always has the perfect backdrop. You could lean on the bonnet, sipping an espresso whilst eying up the local talent. All very cool, all very Italian. (Quite how you’d fit the picture into the diminutive car to transport it around is, I accept, something that I haven’t fully thought through).
I keep mentioning city drives and city roads because this is unquestionably a city car. I’ve smugly managed to park one within earshot of the roar from the Aviva Stadium while everyone else heading to the game with a car to park had to head further and further away in order to find a space that will accommodate their particular automotive giant.
I’ve sneaked past cars turning right that would have caused fatter gas guzzlers to have to wait an age for the obstacle to pass before lumbering ahead.
Responsive
It’s responsive enough to give you confidence as you wind your way through a city’s rabbit runs – despite the traffic, in a 500 nipping about still feels like fun. And most importantly, in the case of the Fiat 500 TwinAir, the fuel economy of the petrol engine when in an urban environment simply cannot be matched.
Out on the open road it’s a slightly different matter. While you have a top speed of 173km/h the TwinAir will accelerate from 100km/h in 11 seconds. But this isn’t a car that is built to be thrashed while out on the open road. If you want to cruise at 200km/h, buy a Merc and move to Germany.
Italians aren’t known for their timekeeping, so if you don’t want to keep refilling the tank and you want to have a drive that’s in keeping with the car’s Italian heritage then take it easy, enjoy the scenery and arrive at your destination fashionably late.
Until now I’ve glossed over what some might see as the lack of manly credentials of the Fiat 500. It’s true that this is not a car that will have boy racers drooling, but who really wants to see a boy racer drool? Jeremy Clarkson is a big fan and he’s pretty manly (he’s also pretty big, so he must find it quite snug in there).
And recently Formula One’s Fernando Alonso has added his endorsement to this most diminutive of motors.
So if you’re worried about not looking manly enough, you just need to get over yourself. Besides, the top-of-the-range Matt Black Sport version is ridiculously cool, looking like the sort of car that Batman would use as his runaround when not chasing bad guys.
Not that you’ve much chance to see many of the matt versions driving around as only 200 of the bug-like beauties are being made available globally in right-hand drive form.
To maximise the impact of the matt black paint, the mirrors, moulding and door handles have a satin chrome finish while the 16-inch alloy wheels are painted in matching matt black with a contrasting red coach-line to underscore the car’s sporting spirit.
You’ve got sport seats, a sports suspension, air conditioning, Start&Stop, a gearshift indicator, hill-holder, traction control, a leather steering wheel and seven airbags as standard.
Cheeky
Under the bonnet there’s the cheeky, award-winning, 85hp, two-cylinder TwinAir engine, which Fiat are keen to point out is the cleanest mass-produced petrol engine in the world (CO2 emissions of 95g/km in manual form).
The engineering boffins have started from scratch to make their new engine as sharp as possible while also being as economical and environmentally friendly as possible.
Performance is further boosted by a new generation turbocharger that increases maximum torque as well as making it available at very low revs.
Quite how it will look as it gets older is hard to say, and it comes with a ‘do not wash’ order because anything beyond plain water will mess up the finish.
Because the TwinAir is a petrol engine you can give it plenty of revs and there’s a responsiveness that all but the cleverest of diesels can dream of.
So how much? Well for the sporty Matt Black version you’re talking €16,445. For an entry-level TwinAir Pop, which lacks things such as the leather trim and electric rear-view mirrors, expect to pay €14,295.
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