Road test review: Fiat 500 Dolcevita

Thursday, 5 May 2022

• FIAT 500 DOLCEVITA

• Base price: $25,990 (RightCar estimated Clean Car rebate: $2284)

• Powertrain and economy: 1.2-litre petrol four-cylinder, 51kW/102Nm, 5-speed automated manual, FWD, combined economy 5.3L/100km, CO2 111g/km (source: RightCar).

• Vital statistics: 3571mm long, 1627mm wide, 1488mm high, 2300mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 185 litres, 16-inch alloy wheels.

• Safety: 3 stars (Source: Euro NCAP)

• We like: Still looks adorable, eager and responsive handling.

• We don't like: Lethargic engine, lacking safety kit, Dolcevita expensive for what it offers.

Fiat is having another go with the 500 in New Zealand after quietly dropping it a few years back, so now we get a refreshed version in two bargain-priced entry offerings. But is it bargain-priced enough for what it offers?

OUTSIDE

The original 500 is a beloved icon, and its reboot in 2007 managed to capture quite a lot of the original’s charm in a thoroughly updated package. The version we get here now is the facelifted model we never got back in 2017, and it doesn’t mess with that formula, being actually quite hard to even spot, unless you are a tragic Fiat nerd.

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**

The headlights are a slightly different shape, the taillights now get red inserts and… well, those are the main things. No, really - there is more, like new bumpers and some interior tweaks, but good luck spotting a new one unless it is lined up alongside an older one.

INSIDE

The same goes for the inside, and it is still pretty much business as usual in here, which means the same awkward, very upright seating position and cheap, hard plastics. But it also means it is overflowing with character and delightful design touches, and it does get a new touchscreen infotainment system that is way better than the previous one.

Our test example also came with the options ‘Luxury Pack’ that adds leather seats, tinted rear windows and a different style of 16-inch alloy wheel. This costs $3000 and that honestly leaves me thinking “how?”, simply because, to be brutally honest, the leather isn’t that nice…

The 500 also lacks most of the modern safety assists we expect on cars these days, as well as missing out on adaptive cruise control, and only has a 3-Star Euro NCAP crash safety rating.

UNDER THE BONNET

Sadly, the 500 we get here features the most characterless engine in its line-up - a wheezy 1.2-litre petrol four that produces 51kW and 102Nm and is utterly uninspiring. Which, given the 500 is available overseas with some of the most hilariously characterful engines I have ever driven (the brilliant little two-cylinder TwinAir engine in both 964cc naturally-aspirated and 875cc turbo forms) is disappointing.

While the naturally-aspirated TwinAir produces less power, it does it in such a cheerfully eager way that it makes driving it a delight, something that can’t be said of the lethargic 1.2.

The engine is hooked up to Fiat's ‘Dualogic’ five-speed single clutch automated manual transmission, which, in a powerful car can actually be quite fun. However, the Dolcevita is not a powerful car.

The transmission is indecisive and easily confused in auto mode, but things do improve when you just treat it as a manual and handle shifts yourself, lifting off the throttle briefly when you do. Doing this in the more powerful Abarth models is actually rather fun – it’s like a manual, just without a clutch pedal – but the total lack of enthusiasm for the job the Dolcevita’s engine displays just ends up making this a chore too.

ON THE ROAD

Now you may not have picked up on this so far in this review, but I actually adore the Fiat 500. It has always been one of the most joyous and characterful cars to chuck around and, while it never had much power (mad Abarth versions excluded) it was always fun, providing you drove it like an Italian - flat out everywhere.

And that charm remains in the current version, but only when it comes to its handling, both around town and out on the open road. Responsive and eager, the 500 has delightful poise and is like an eager puppy, ready to play at a moment’s notice.

That’s probably why I am so down on the engine, as it clearly doesn’t give a crap about any of that.

VERDICT

On paper, the Fiat 500 looks like a delightful bargain for a cute, iconic European car – and admittedly the entry Lounge variant starts at $22,900, a price where the wheezy engine could probably be tolerated. Just. But go further up the price list to the Dolcevita and things get less appealing.

At $25,990, the Dolcevita still offers the same charming looks, but the same dismal engine, while the $3000 for the ‘Luxury Pack’ plants it squarely in a price segment where it is comprehensively out-classed.

However, spend just $1000 more, and you can get a far better version of the 500 that doubles the power and torque (yes, really) and keeps the cute looks – the entry version of the Abarth 595, which has a brilliant 107kW/206Nm1.4-litre turbo engine, is $29,990 in manual form. Just buy that instead.