Fiat Cinquecento 500

A nicely pliant ride actually makes the 500 surprisingly refined through the manholes and potholes of urban driving. The only drawback is an oddly high driving position that can make taller drivers feel precariously close to the roofline. At the moment the new 500 is rare and eye-catching. Whether this will endure is debatable. Expect this to be the new, new Mini. Ubiquitous, and frequently driven by highly slappable estate agents and smug media types. The bespoke and impressively retro-looking cabin in the 500 not only looks great, but also feels fairly expensive. Cheaper Fiats don't have a great reputation for reliability, but the 500 has yet to prove itself either way. Tall, narrow cars like this are bound to suffer from a little bit of pitch and roll, but the 500 still feels sure-footed and, vitally, entertaining when you're slinging it around a bit. Improvement over the original 500 is not, 60 years on, anything to feel smug about. The 500 is still cramped in the back, a bit too lofty from the driver's seat and not blessed with the ease of access of its cheaper sister the Panda.

Tested the 1.4 with sequential gearbox. Was really surprised by its performance. Below 2500rpm, the car felt like a tortoise, but once past that mark, it felt as if there is a little turbo charger inside the engine. The car literally flew! With its really short length, the car was so easy to manouvere in tight spaces.

Interior room is real good for a car so small on the outside. Rear leg room is good, but headroom is a bit short for normal sized people. A person of 1.7m in frame size would have his head rubbing against the roof. My passengers were around 1.55m tall, and because of the bouncy ride, the head kept on hitting the roof. Thus they label it as more a driver's car. Which i really agree.

Equipement wise is splendid. Ipod/USB connectivity, built-in bluetooth to sync with phone, moonroof that can be opened, lots of thoughtful storage compartments and drawers...

The real bad thing about this car is its potentially high depreciation. The OMV is estimated at around $20K for a car costing almost $90K! That is really really bad. If TTSH can price the car at around $78-80K for the 1.4-litre feature-packed model, the car will really sell very well.