New Fiat 500 Hybrid: iconic city car celebrates anniversary by returning to petrol power
Formerly electric-only Fiat 500 has received a 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine, and a six-speed manual gearbox
The original Fiat 500 was unveiled exactly 68 years ago today, and the Italian outfit has marked the occasion by unveiling the long-awaited, petrol-powered version of its beloved city car – backtracking on its decision to make the latest incarnation electric-only.
Under the stubby nose of the new Fiat 500 Hybrid is a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated ‘Firefly’ three-cylinder engine, with a 12-volt mild hybrid power boost and stop/start capability coming from a belt-integrated starter generator. It’s paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.
This is a tried-and-tested powertrain that was used in the previous generation Fiat Panda and 500, and typically produced less than 70bhp. However, Fiat hasn’t shared any power, performance or fuel economy figures for the new 500 Hybrid yet.
The price tag hasn’t been announced either, but considering the electric 500e is currently being offered for just over £25,000, the 500 Hybrid will be priced from well under £20,000. It should cost closer to £15k, considering the new Grande Panda Hybrid is going to start from a little over £18k.
The new Fiat 500 Hybrid will be available as either a hatchback or Cabrio convertible though, and equipped with a 10.25-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a seven-inch digital driver’s display and a full ADAS suite, including lane-keeping assist and traffic sign recognition.
Production is due to start this November, but a few examples have already been built, showing us that the hybrid and electric 500 look almost identical. There is, however, a thin slot on the face of the hybrid, presumably to feed air into its minute engine, and obviously the dashboard has been revised slightly to accommodate the manual shifter.
Fiat 500 Hybrid couldn’t come soon enough
The latest iteration of the Fiat 500 was introduced in 2020, and is an undeniably sweet car. However, it has only been available as an EV until now, limiting its appeal and sales, which it seems the brand is now willing to admit was a mistake by fitting the mild-hybrid set-up that, in its own words, “brings the 500 back to the people, blending the heritage and technology developed with the electric version into a more accessible form”.
Head of Fiat Europe Gaetano Thorel told Auto Express earlier this year: “The new 500 is one of the best cars Fiat has ever had from a design and technology standpoint. The fact that we have limited the possibility for the majority of consumers to enjoy the new 500 really makes me very sad. So when the engineers found a way to put the engine inside, giving us the go [ahead] for the new 500 hybrid, it was one of the best days of my life.”
To do this, Fiat’s engineering team has had to rework the latest 500’s electric architecture to shoehorn the powertrain of the previous 500 hybrid – which has been off sale in the UK for nearly a year – into the nose.
“It was an engineering challenge,” admitted Thorel. Removing the battery has not freed up any additional cockpit or trunk space, Thorel asserts, with the main interior difference being the installation of a manual stickshift. It’s possible the name ‘Hybrid’ may also change to ‘Ibrida’ (Italian for ‘hybrid’) – as fellow Stellantis brand Alfa Romeo has done with its new mild-hybrid Junior Ibrida.
Interestingly, the 500 Hybrid is not using the same mild-hybrid technology that Fiat’s parent company Stellantis has installed in numerous models, including the Fiat 600 compact SUV, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa. They use a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor, which can propel the cars for short distances on pure electric power.
Don’t get excited thinking the six-speed ’box presages an Abarth replacement for the 595 hot hatch either. Speaking to us on an earlier occasion, Thorel emphasised that the engine was more for affordable motoring than performance: “The new 500 hybrid that will be built in Mirafiori [in Italy], its micro hybrid engine [is] nothing spectacular.”
Instead, the company is pouring investment into new models: a mid-size SUV and Fastback, plus a Grande Panda 4x4. Those cars, along with the 100 million Euro investment in the 500e that includes redesigning its platform and potentially fitting new battery tech, rules out an indulgence such as a new baby Abarth.
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