Fiat 500 S 2014 Review

It's been almost seven years since Italy's born-again bambino, the new-generation Fiat 500, arrived in Australia and now it's time for a second and final facelift for the pint-size retro-car before an all-new model arrives in 2016.

Changes for the Series 3 Fiat 500 hatch and cabrio are relatively minor, but do include a trio of bright new exterior paint colours -- Blue Jelly Bean, Mint Milkshake and Vanilla Ice Cream.

They join 11 previous colour options across the range and, combined with 16 interior options choices and three cabriolet roof options, spell an even broader range of personalisation options.

Throw in other unique options like a multitude of snazzy roof and bodyside stickers, and the 500 is one of the most customisable cars available. And that's without further options like keyfob covers, a sunroof, TomTom portable navigation, various 16-inch alloy wheel designs and a Perfezionare Pack with leather trim and xenon headlights.

But the headline act of the Series 3 upgrade is a fancy new Magneti Marelli-developed digital instrument cluster that displays a cute graphic of the 500 and large central digital speedo, plus bar-type tacho, temperature and fuel gauges, gearshift indicator, trip computer functions, warning lights and media, phone and navigation info readouts.

Apart from being extremely useful, the circular seven-inch colour instrument screen brings a whole new level of sophistication to the 3.5-metre two-door city-car – and to the micro-car class.

Among its party tricks is an 'eco' gauge for flagship Lounge variants that measures how efficiently the car is being driven in real time, and awards 'Eco Hero' trophies designed to encourage efficient driving.

In the mid-range S model (previously called the Sport), the TFT screen reconfigures into a red display with racier gauges including a digital RPM gauge and g-force meter when Sport mode is selected, which also sharpens the throttle and steering response.

The bad news is the clever new instrument panel is not available in the entry-level Fiat 500 Pop, which – worse still – is now at $1000 more expensive at $16,000 plus on-road costs or $17,000 drive-away.

That means the cheapest Fiat 500 changes the least, which is why we've concentrated here on the mid-grade 500S model, which costs $19,000 plus ORCs.

The mainstream 500 range continues to be available with three distinctly different equipment grades, each powered by a different (and now Euro 6 emissions-compliant) petrol engine.

Fiat's unconventional five-speed Dualogic single-clutch automated manual gearbox adds $1500 to the price of all three models, except the top-shelf Lounge hatch and all three 500C cabrios, which are now auto-only.

But Fiat has also relaunched its Abarth brand in Australia by releasing a trio of racy 500-based hot hatches, priced $1490 lower than the Esse Esse model they replace.

The revised Abarth line-up comprises the 595 Turismo hatch and the 595 Competizione hatch and cabrio, and comes with an entry price reduced from $34,990 to $33,500 plus-on road costs for the hatch-only Turismo.

The better-equipped Competizione is available in both hard-top (from $36,500) and convertible form, which at $39,000 plus ORCs costs around the same as the previous $38,990 Esse Esse soft-top.

All three models come with a five-speed manual transmission as standard or, for an extra $2000, the Dualogic auto

That means Australians miss out on the long-awaited conventional (torque converter-type) six-speed auto that's now available in the Mexican-made Abarth models sold in the US, because our 500s come from Europe.

Which is a shame, given the majority of buyers who'd prefer an auto in this segment are forced to live with what is archaic technology that really takes the gloss off the Fiat 500 experience.

The five-speed manual may not be the slickest-shifting around, but it's still far better than the Dualogic auto, which is slow to shift up and down and then takes an eternity to do so when it finally obliges, making two-pedal 500s frustrating to drive and potentially dangerous.

All four petrol engines come with the same outputs as before, meaning the base Pop continues to be powered by a 51kW/102Nm 1.2-litre 'FIRE' four-cylinder that's matched to a either five-speed manual (hatch only) or Dualogic transmission and consumes 5.1 and 5.0L/100km respectively.

The mid-range 500 S offers the most powerful engine in the range – Fiat's trusty 74kW/131Nm 1.4-litre four, paired with six-speed manual (hatch only) and Dualogic gearboxes. Fuel consumption is 6.1 and 5.8L/100km respectively.

The range-topping Lounge scores Fiat's newest engine, the twin-cylinder 900cc TwinAir Turbo, which delivers less power (63kW) but more torque (145Nm at just 2000rpm).

Coupled exclusively to the Dualogic auto and fitted with idle-stop and intake valve control systems, it consumes just 3.9L/100km – the same as Toyota's Prius hybrid, making it Australia's most efficient petrol engine.

The Abarth models are powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder T-Jet petrol engine that produces 118kW at 5500rpm and 230Nm of torque at 3000rpm.

That's less than the 132kW/250Nm outputs delivered by the limited-edition 50th Anniversary Abarth 595 released in May, but enough for all three "Italian pocket exotics" to accelerate to 100km/h in a claimed 7.4 seconds in manual form and 7.6 seconds with the Dualogic auto, and to reach more than 200km/h.

At the same time, official combined fuel consumption is just 5.4L/100km for the manual and 5.3L/100km for the Dualogic.

All three Abarths ride on lower and firmer MacPherson strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension from the mainstream Fiat 500, but gain automatically-adjustable Koni dampers and a rear anti-roll bar.

They also come with a racier version of the latest 500's clever new seven-inch TFT instrument cluster, which adds a turbo boost pressure gauge.

The Abarth 595 Turismo rides on diamond-finish 10-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels with 205/40 R17 tyres, wrapped around cross-drilled and ventilated brake rotors measuring 284mm front and 240mm rear, and gripped by red callipers.

It also features bi-colour leather seat trim, leather floor mats with aluminium inserts, 'Alutex' gearshift and pedals, and a tinted rear window.

For an extra $3000 (hatch), the Abarth 595 Competizione hatch and cabrio come with a dual-mode 'Record Monza' exhaust that's considerably more vocal above 4000rpm, darker five-spoke 17-inch alloys, yellow callipers and matt-titanium grey stripes.

Inside, the top-shelf Abarth delivers fabric-trimmed 'Abarth Corsa by Sabelt' seats in Titanium Grey, a carbon-fibre kickplate, aluminium pedals, climate-control and tinted rear-side windows.

At close to $40,000, the range-topping Abarth 595 Competizione is an expensive four-seat micro-car and makes the 500S look like a bargain.

At $20,000 on the road, it's the cheapest 500 to score the handy and sexy TFT instrument cluster, and gets all of the model's safety features, including seven airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control, hill holder, brake assist and active hazard lights.

Like all 500s, the S also scores Blue&Me Bluetooth connectivity, a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 player, leather-clad multifunction steering wheel, air-conditioning with pollen filter, Dualdrive electric power steering, power windows/mirrors, remote central locking and a three-year/150,000km warranty.

Unlike the base Pop though, it's available with the unique Blue Jelly Bean paint, a sports body kit with spoiler, 15-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, dark chrome exterior accents, body-coloured mirrors, tinted rear windows, sports seats, sports mode, a silver dash panel, leather flat-bottom steering wheel with red stitching and chrome gearshifter with black insert.

In fact, the 500S misses out only on the Lounge's new 15-inch alloys, a fixed glass roof with sunblind (hatch only), chrome bumper accents, climate-control and steering wheel paddle shifters (auto only), making it the pick of the Series 3 bunch in terms of value.

But it also delivers on the road, offering crisp engine and steering response in Sport mode and flat cornering despite surprisingly plush ride quality, in addition to Fiat 500 hallmarks like a pleasantly rigid body, good vision and acres of head room.

Fiat 500 downsides remain, such as a seat base that hinges from the front and a steering wheel that's not adjustable for reach, which can make finding the right seating position difficult, and hard plastic surfaces everywhere except for the door armrests.

So while the base Fiat 500 is a little more colourful but $1000 more expensive, the more sporting 500S is $2100 pricier than before but brings a much bigger dose of tech.