Fiat 500 Hybrid review

The Fiat 500 Hybrid is a bit like an old episode of Doctor Who: while it holds plenty of appeal, we've become used to seeing a newer reincarnation on our roads/screens.

And while there's no missing the family resemblance between the 500 Hybrid and the newer and whizzier all-electric Fiat 500e, they're very different cars.

This mild-hybrid version has remained relatively unchanged for a while now, so has it been left behind? And how does it stack up against similar-sized alternatives, such as the Hyundai i10, the Kia Picanto and the Toyota Aygo X?

Read on to find out how we rate the Fiat 500 Hybrid – and the 500C cabriolet version – against the best small cars...

The Fiat 500 Hybrid's name might lead you to think it's a full hybrid car but that's not the case: it's a mild hybrid and can’t travel on electric power alone.

It just has a tiny electric motor and battery to help the petrol engine in certain situations. For example, if you engage the clutch while coasting to a halt, the stop/start function will cut in before you reach a standstill – improving fuel economy in the process.

What it doesn’t do, though, is make the 500 Hybrid's 69bhp 1.0-litre petrol engine any more zippy. Sure, there’s enough thrust to make progress in hectic city traffic, but if you need a meaningful burst of pace, you won't get it – even if you work the standard six-speed manual gearbox hard.

This is not a car that sits particularly comfortably in fast-flowing motorway traffic. That said, the same is true for the glacially slow Toyota Aygo X. The Hyundai i10 gets a peppy turbocharged option (which was available in the Kia Picanto but has been discontinued) and the Dacia Sandero 1.0 TCe 90 is punchier still.

If you want more performance in a 500 Hybrid-like body, take a look at a feisty hot-hatch called the Abarth 595 or the fully electric Fiat 500.

This isn’t the 500 Hybrid's strongest suit. Things are never uncomfortably firm or jarring, but the car never feels particularly settled.

On a typical uneven backstreet you’ll find yourself doing an involuntary impression of a nodding dog. The suspension struggles to cope with potholes and larger intrusions, which occasionally send a shudder through the car's body.

As for the rivals, the Picanto jostles you around a little less on scraggy town roads, but is still rather unsettled on motorways. Really, if you want a city car with a supple ride, you’ll want to take a look at the i10 – it’s easily the most relaxing car in the small car class.

You won’t be surprised to learn that the 500 Hybrid is most at home on crowded urban streets, thanks to its small dimensions and light steering, which can be made even lighter by pressing a City button on the dashboard.

However, when you break away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the model fails to sparkle. The body leans when you go round a corner with any gusto, and the steering doesn’t weight up very much, so you feel somewhat disconnected from what the front wheels are up to.

Compared with, say, a Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto, the 500 Hybrid is completely outclassed when it comes to handling – particularly on faster roads.

The 500 Hybrid isn’t too noisy when you're just pottering around town, but if you accelerate hard you’ll soon hear the engine wheezing away like an overly ambitious jogger on their first (and last) run of the year. You'll feel quite a lot of vibration through the pedals too.

Wind and road noise become increasingly noticeable as your speed rises, and, while they never reach irritating levels, the i10 is far more hushed inside.

If you opt for the cabriolet version – the 500C Hybrid – be prepared to put up with a substantial amount of wind noise over the fabric roof even when it is closed.

The six-speed manual gearshift is rather notchy, and its vague clutch pedal makes it tricky to drive smoothly in stop-start traffic. The 500 Hybrid is not available with an automatic gearbox.

“This isn’t the best-handling small car but I found its diminutive dimensions and tiny turning circle (just 9.3 metres) made it a breeze to drive around town.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

There’s no height-adjustable driver’s seat in the 500 Hybrid in entry-level Pop trim. Fiat says you do get one with range-topping Top trim, but in reality the lever on the side of your chair merely changes the angle of its base, not how high it sits.

The driving position is further compromised by a steering wheel that adjusts for height but not reach. In fairness, though, the same is true of the Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto.

Still, at least the 500 Hybrid’s heater controls are easy to use. The gearlever is conveniently high up on the dashboard, where it’s within easy reach.

The 500 Hybrid hatchback is relatively easy to see out of in all directions. Its front screen pillars are relatively slim and because the car is so compact it's easy to judge its extremities when parking. 

The view out of the back of the cabriolet version (the 500C Hybrid) is more restrictive because the rear window – which is made of glass and heated – is narrow, so there’s a big blind-spot to the rear three quarters.

If you’re buying the entry-level model, we’d recommend selecting the optional rear parking sensors (Top trim gets them as standard).

All 500 Hybrids get a 7.0in infotainment touchscreen positioned conveniently high up on the dashboard making it easier to use on the move. However, its angle gives it a nasty habit of reflecting sunlight and the screen itself is not exactly high-definition, so it can be tricky to see on bright days.

The icons on the screen are rather small and it doesn’t respond to inputs particularly quickly. However, you do at least get Android Auto and Apple CarPlay so you can use your phone’s applications instead of the car’s built-in software.

Visually, the plastics and fabrics used in the 500 Hybrid’s interior suit its retro image. The face of even the cheapest model’s dashboard is finished the same colour as the outside of the car – a feature that really livens things up. The result is an interior that’s a real contrast to the drab dashboards of some small cars.

You won’t find any soft-touch plastics though, and overall build quality isn’t quite on a par with a Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto but the 500 Hybrid’s interior doesn’t feel at all cheap or shoddily assembled.

“The 500 doesn't use the plushest materials but I love its colourful dashboard and cute, Sixties-inspired design details, such as the chrome door handles and lozenge-shaped physical buttons.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

Although the Fiat 500 Hybrid's front seats are mounted fairly high up, you’re only likely to have issues with head room if you’re very tall. Likewise, the seats slide back far enough to just about accommodate long-legged drivers.

Somewhat less impressive is the cramped pedal area and the lack of a proper footrest – an omission that’s particularly annoying on longer motorway journeys. It's also easy to bash your left knee on the bulbous centre console.

Storage is in rather short supply: the glovebox is very small and the door bins are even smaller. At least there are two good-sized cupholders below the gearlever.

Getting into the back isn’t as easy as in many rivals because the 500 Hybrid has only two doors.

As with many small cars, there are only two seats in the back, but while two adults will fit, there isn’t as much head or leg room as there is in a Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto. The rear seats get head restraints as standard.

Again, there's not much storage but all trims have pockets in the front seatbacks.

All 500 Hybrids benefit from a practical 50/50 split-folding seatback. It’s easy to use: simply push a button on the top of the backrest, push the seatback forwards and down it folds.

That’s your lot though. The rear seats don’t do anything else clever and there's no option of a height-adjustable front passenger seat on any model.

The 500 Hybrid hatchback’s 185-litre boot is smaller than the Picanto’s and i10’s load bays (at 255 litres and 252 litres respectively). However, because it's relatively deep and wide, we managed to fit three carry-on suitcases under the parcel shelf – the same number of bags we squeezed into its closest rivals. 

You can’t have an adjustable boot floor, so with the rear bench folded down, the seats don't sit flush with the floor and instead sit at a slight angle above it. That places a pronounced step in the extended load area.

The cabriolet version's boot is even smaller at just 185 litres. There’s not much load-lugging versatility either, with a narrow opening that will frustrate. You have to crouch down to see into the boot properly, and loading bulky items is awkward.

“The boot is small but because of its shape I found it easy enough to slot in three carry-on suitcases.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

The Fiat 500 Hybrid hatchback isn’t as cheap to buy a lot of small cars – most of which have more doors and more standard equipment.

And if you’re hoping the desirability of the 500’s image will result in it holding on to its value better than other small cars, you’ll be slightly disappointed. Over three years, it's predicted to suffer worse from depreciation than an equivalent Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto.

The cabriolet version – the 500C – is even more expensive but it’s worth noting that it has no direct rivals. The new Mini Convertible has yet to be launched and you can’t get any other small cars with a droptop. It is, in effect, in a class of one.

Fuel economy and CO2 emissions don’t stand out against the 500’s rivals, despite its Hybrid badge. See our Fiat 500e review to read about the electric car version.

The cheapest trim – called 500 – is our favourite because you get all the kit you really need. We’re talking 15in alloy wheels, a panoramic roof, cruise control, manual air-conditioning and touchscreen infotainment.

The top trim – appropriately called Top – is worth considering if you want a few more luxuries. It gets 16in alloy wheels, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, a digital instrument cluster and a chrome exhaust tip.

Of course, whichever trim you settle on, there's also a myriad of personalisation options to make your 500 Hybrid stand out from the crowd, with a huge palette of paint colours and a big selection of alloy wheel designs.

The 500 Hybrid did not do well in our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey – it finished in 15th place out of 18 small car models ranked. Fiat as a brand fared a little better, finishing 15th out of 32 manufacturers.

Like all Fiat car models, the 500 Hybrid comes with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty and a further one-year dealer warranty. Mileage is limited to 60,000 during that three-year period.

If you want a small car with a longer warranty, take a look at the Kia Picanto – its cover lasts for seven years/100,000 miles.

The 500 Hybrid is let down massively by its lack of safety systems, with no sign of automatic emergency braking (AEB) – even on the options list.

Euro NCAP gave the model three stars out of five for overall safety, and that was in 2017, when standards were far less stringent than they are today (the rating has now expired).

“If you’re going to get a 500 Hybrid I think it makes sense to keep the price down by opting for the surprisingly well-equipped entry-level model.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

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