Fiat 500 Hybrid: test and price of the new Italian hybrid city car

Five years for one mild hybrid. Or we can count the 15 months spent on the return to Italy of the car together more representative And necessary of our automotive industry. The first road test of the new one Fiat 500 Hybrid arrives 5 years after the event that marked the debut of 500 electric from which it derives, in October 2020. The latter, produced in the factory of Mirafiori in Turinwas in turn born from a profound readaptation of the mechanics of 500 on petrol thrown into the distance July 2007 and built until the end of June 2024 in the Tychy in Poland. Fiat 500 Hybrid is therefore a real one return homewill be built in Mirafiori borrowing the design of the battery-powered variant, but focusing on 65 HP 1.0 mild hybrid 3-cylinder engine of power, a solution now tested over the years also by the Panda, which later became Pandina. The price starting from 19,900 euros, barring further promotions at launch and already announced, it brings the Fiat 500 back to the center of the Italian market. With more confirmations than surprises, this must be said.

1Design

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A mechanical double jumpthis is the secret of Fiat 500 Hybrid. In summary, the electric was born in 2020 maintaining the McPherson front and torsion bar rear suspensions of the 2007 petrol version, but transforming the entire central part of the chassis to house the batteries under the floor, with modifications to the anchoring crosspieces and the side members, spaced apart enough to widen the car by a good 6 cm compared to the original. Today, the work of reverse conversionto accommodate the mechanical components of a combustion car, i.e. the engine under the front bonnet and of course the gearbox and the exhaust system, with the consequent radical modification of the underside of the car.

In terms of size, there are no upheavals, with the length of the 500 Hybrid at altitude 3,631 mmidentical to the electric version, as well as the width of 1,684 millimetres. The Hybrid is a whisker higher, with 1,532 millimeters versus 1,527, while the distance between the front and rear wheels is absolutely identical at 2,322 millimetres. The aesthetic elements have been reproduced down to the smallest details, including the curvature on the bonnet. The difference on the front is inevitable, with the 500 Hybrid gaining a deep opening just above the profile of the bumper, dedicated to cooling of the radiator.

2Interior

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When the electric Fiat 500 was born in 2020, the idea was to make it a car “compact chic” with a higher than average level of interior finishing, and clearly superior to that of the petrol Fiat 500 of those years. In 2025 there is a more nuanced competition on the premium sensation and if anything more stringent on the price factor. The passenger compartment remains formally identical, leaving aside the obvious difference at the base of the dashboard, with the buttons for selecting the direction of travel replaced by manual gear lever six-speed, the only transmission alternative planned for the 500 Hybrid. The general level is good, both for the materials and for the assemblies, but it is the details that count equipment variants in individual setups.

There 7″ color digital instrumentation is standard already from the Pop entry version, but the central display 10″25 of the infotainment system, however, no, just as only the presence of a manual air conditioning. The good judgment on the habitability granted to the front seats remains, but also the compromise of the design of rounded external shapes which reflects on the space available to the trunklimited to 183 litres capacity as for the electric 500 and extendable to 440 liters by reclining the back of the rear seat, but can only be split in the more expensive La Prima trim level.

3Trial

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Useful comparisons or merciless comparisons: everything depends on the point of view you want to choose on the Fiat 500 Hybrid. The question is not why a car arrived in 2025 already technically feasible 100% from 2020, but in case what message it wants to communicate, therefore which customers it intends to focus on. Despite the renunciation of batteries and therefore their weight centered between the axles, very close to the ground, the Fiat 500 Hybrid takes the same form from the electric variant attitude stabilitywith lateral supports that convey confidence and precise steering, despite the almost unnatural power assistance that makes it truly very light in operation. The new 500 Hybrid is unparalleled in road holding, at least compared to the 2007 Fiat 500, with bump absorption and a general sensation of control that allows you to get very close even to the Big Panda. Whoever had a 500 finds the car again comfortable in a general sensewith more than acceptable front habitability and the same difficult access to the two makeshift rear seats. Visibility on the road and liveability in city traffic are strong points of a car that plays exquisitely on the image of a model that has made history. The point, if anything, is whether it now belongs only to that one.

Technically, the choice of the 1.0 three-cylinder engine with 65 HP of power and just 92 Nm of torque is very unqualifying. The only practicable way to update the car, it is claimed, but the result is at least not modern. It’s not just the acceleration that counts 0-100 km/h in 16.2 secondsgiven that it makes the 500 Hybrid sedan one of the slowest cars of the market, but above all the general efficiency of a car which, with the same engine as the Fiat Pandina, performs less. Looking at the price lists of other manufacturers, useful comparisons then become merciless comparisons. New Toyota Aygo is priced starting from 20,850 euros with features even higher than 500 Hybrid sedan in the special launch series Turin, from 20,900 euros. The Aygo X engine has 116 HP and is full hybrid, and not 12V mild hybrid like the Fiat. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is equal to 9.2 seconds, with declared average consumption of 3.7 liters of petrol per 100 km, which was however verified in our real road test. The Fiat 500 Hybrid has declared consumption of 5.3 liters per 100 km, but our test on the streets of Turin made it clear that the qualities of the engine inevitably lead to using the six-speed manual gearbox too much, with the first three rather short ratios, to gain momentum at the start and compensate for the rather “calm” response of the engine, bringing it to high revs. The consumption recorded in our city test never fell below 7.5 liters per 100 km. Excesses in driving are then paid even more dearly.

4Equipment and prices

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The Fiat 500 Hybrid range predicts how single engine the 65 HP 1.0-litre three-cylinder, intended to equip three bodywork variants. Fiat 500 Hybrid sedan And convertible are already available, while from next year the 3+1 versionthat is, with a third side door that opens against the wind only on the right side and does not have a pillar. Three also installations provided for the sedan version, i.e Pop, Icon And The Firstto which the special launch series must be added Turina tribute to the city where Fiat was born, but only available in the sedan version. The Pop trim opens the range with a list price of 19,900 euroseven if the promotional offer of 16,950 euros in case of scrapping and with financing was communicated. The main features include 15” steel wheels with wheel covers, manual air conditioning, rear parking sensors, electric parking brake, keyless go start and cruise control and 7″ color digital instrumentation.

The 500 Hybrid sedan is also available in the special launch series Turinlisted from 20,900 euroswhich adds, among other features, the multimedia system with 10.25″ central display and 4 speakers, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, keyless go keyless start, electric parking brake, rain and twilight sensors, USB port on the central console and 16″ burnished alloy wheels. The features of the set-up are almost identical Iconlisted at 21,400 euroswhile at the top of the range we find the trim level The Firstat the price of 24,400 euros. It adds full LED headlights, 17″ diamond-cut alloy wheels, 10″25 DAB multimedia system with integrated navigator, automatic high beams, wireless smartphone charger, 6 speakers, passive entry access and keyless go keyless start, rear parking camera, blind spot monitoring, 50/50 split rear seat and heated front seats. Fiat 500 Hybrid convertible it is only available in the Icon and Prima trim levels, respectively at the price of 24,400 And 27,400 euros.

5Strengths and Flaws

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Below, advantages and disadvantages found during our test of the Fiat 500 Hybrid.

• Look: aesthetically successful, with attention to every detail and elegant, maintaining the identical proportions of the electric 500;
• Setup: takes the best of the battery-powered variant, with comfort on bumps and roughness of the asphalt, but also good grip when cornering.

• Price: the basic Pop version has objectively reduced features, which do not include either the central display or the automatic climate control;
• Engine: the power reduced to just 65 HP transforms it into one of the slowest cars on the market, with inevitable and significant consequences on real consumption;