Fiat 500 Hybrid test: Cute looks and a nice interior – but terribly slow
The interior is a mixed bag. The topology and design carried over from the 500e work well, and it has a much greater sense of solidity than the old 500.
The 10.25in infotainment touchscreen feels slightly overwhelmed by the density of icons, but once you’ve figured out the layout, it’s plenty responsive. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring is standard.
The digital instrument display has a nice big tacho and speedo, although some testers had to set the steering wheel high so as not to block their view of the gauges. Our test car didn’t have height adjustment for the seat, either, which made for an uncomfortable experience after more than half an hour.
Another issue with the driving position is that, while there’s plenty of room for the clutch pedal in a left-hand-drive car, the right-hand footwell is very tight. As a result, there’s only just enough room for three pedals, and the footrest is tiny.
Visibility isn’t great. The rear screen is narrow and the C-pillar’s thickness means there’s a huge blindspot over your shoulder. It’s just as well that Fiat fits huge side mirrors, which help to mitigate this problem somewhat.
Being a tiny city car, there isn’t much room for rear passengers. This is a four-seater, freeing up some room widthways for rear passengers, though their legs will feel cramped after more than a short run.
Access to the back is also compromised by the three-door layout. Although mainland European buyers are offered a novel ‘three plus one’ bodystyle with a small rear door mounted on the passenger side, this won’t be offered in the UK because it would be too expensive to develop a new bodyshell – effectively flipped over to suit right-hand drive – for a single market.
The boot, meanwhile, is as tight as you’d expect from such a compact car. There’s room for a few large backpacks or three carry-on suitcases, but bigger loads will require you to fold down the rear seats.
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