Fiat 600 review

This is the Fiat 600 – as the name suggests, it’s a bit bigger than a 500. The name harks back to 1955, even before the 500 was launched, so really the diminutive city car is a smaller 600.

It was intended as a roomier, practical family wagon, a status it maintained through the Sixties (the 600 Multipla was a three-row, six-seater runabout). For the purposes of the narrative we’ll ignore the Cinquecento and Seicento superminis of the early Noughties.

But is it just a bigger 500?

Well this is the slightly more existential question – the 600 is not being marketed as a larger version of the 500 in the same way that the car it’s replacing, the 500X, was. But it’s hard to pigeonhole the newer car – it’s not quite a supermini and it’s not quite an SUV, it sits somewhere in the middle.

It has 500-ish design cues – the coquettish headlights and textured rear lights, the retro front end and various throwback styling touches littered throughout – but there are enough ‘600’ logos festooned across the car to let you know that this isn’t merely a 500 variant. It’s much larger than a 500 when you’re next to it – longer and wider, especially. This means that unlike the 500 it’ll be good for driving with more than one person onboard.

How’s the shared platform?

Fiat says that this is the first full car that’s been developed under Stellantis ownership, and it’s clear that this isn’t an all-new car but one that shares parts with familiar names from across the portfolio. To the point that Fiat will tell you that the platform has won Car of the Year twice in the form of the Peugeot 208 and Jeep Avenger (the 600 is built on the same line as the Jeep). 

On the one hand, none of its siblings set dynamic benchmarks, on the other hand the proven setup means that Fiat can claim reliability by osmosis. The company also reckons that the shared parts mean it can be more competitive on pricing, etc. The electric system – motor, power inverter, battery – is the second generation setup that's coming out with the facelift versions of those other cars.

What’s it like inside?

The retro quirkiness doesn’t quite follow through on the inside – there are some nice touches, like the iPad-style cover on the central storage in the dashboard, but otherwise the interior is a mash-up of Fiat 500 and Jeep Avenger. Space in the back isn’t brilliant, but if you’re thinking of the 600 as a 500 upgrade then you can’t fail to be impressed. 

What are the powertrain options?

You’ve got the choice of a fully-electric, battery powered 600 called the 600e, or two hybrid cars called the 600 Hybrid. One of those Hybrid cars is then called the 100HP offering – surprise! – one hundred metric horses (98bhp), and the other 136HP. That car, to save the suspense, offers 134bhp.

Both hybrids feature a 1.2-litre, poppy little three-cylinder turbo petrol engine matched to a six-speed automatic gearbox. Said gearbox packs in an electric motor, which in turn is powered by a teeny 0.89kWh battery – about the same size as you’ll find in most pocket calculators.

And you might want to sit down for this next bit: in city traffic, that electric motor and battery allows for a full 0.6 miles of fully electric driving. Truly, the driveway is your oyster.

Want a spicier version of that battery-powered 600? Abarth builds a powerful one that makes fake fruity noises.

Does it drive alright? 

The 600e is set up to be comfortable. It's quiet, and accelerates smoothly. But the steering and brakes are infuriating. The wheel is so feathery light it's hard to turn smoothly into a bend. The brake pedal is inconsistent. In short, don't buy it for driving joy unbounded.

The motor is 156bhp and the battery 51kWh usable. Which isn't very big, but it doesn't need to be, because we've always found cars with this powertrain to be notably efficient. Our test of this one got a real world mixed road, mixed weather range of nearly 220 miles, against a WLTP of 250 miles.

The 600 Hybrid 100HP – the same hybrid setup offered in its Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa Stellantis siblings – feels just as peppy as it does in those cars. No, 98bhp doesn’t sound like much when your average sneeze generates more force. But at a time when more people are hesitating over getting into a full electric car, it’s a good stepping stone. Punchy, smooth, with a rorty – albeit muted – soundtrack, it’s fairly frugal, too. More under the Driving tab.

What about rivals? 

Competition from inside the Stellantis empire comes in the shape of the Vauxhall Mokka and Avenger crossovers, or the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric superminis.

There's the MG 4 and (if you're either brave or working to a tight budget) the BYD Dolphin. The Hyundai Kona Electric has grown a step in its second generation, so it's dearer. And you'd be mad not to at least consider the Volvo EX30 and Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, even if they are pricier.

The 600 ticks the rational boxes – it’s a decently equipped supermini/crossover with electric power at a price many folk pay for a petrol auto. It's spacious for a car that size, and comfy. The electric stuff – efficiency, charge times, standard heat pump – doesn't drop the ball.

And if the shiny new world of electricity is frightening, the Hybrid cars are even more rational: frugal, and most importantly, cheaper to buy.

Fiat wants to market the 600 as a ‘fun’ car, but we’ll take away different ideas of what that might mean. From Fiat’s point of view it’s definitely more along the lines of bright colours and quirky styling than outright driving fun.

This car will appeal to the same sorts of people won over by the cute stylings of the 500, but beyond the expensive marketing the exterior design doesn't really break the mould, and it's not as good to drive as several other small SUVs.