► 2020’s Fiat 500 update
► New mild hybrid powertrain
► On sale March 2020 from £12,665
Fiat is injecting a bit of modernity to its cute-but-ageing 500 city car with a new mild hybrid powertrain. The Fiat 500 Mild Hybrid model will cost from £12,665, the company has announced.
It and the Panda, which shares the new engine, are ‘the first steps toward electrification’ for Fiat, even if there’s such a thing as the 500e on sale in the USA. To celebrate, the brand has also announced a Hybrid Launch Edition.
See the new Fiat 500e at the 2020 Geneva motor show.
What makes up this new hybrid powertrain?
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is using its 1.0-litre, three-cylinder ‘Firefly’ engine mated to a 12-volt e-motor and 11Ah lithium-ion battery; a similar setup to the likes of Suzuki’s SHVS system. It’ll offer the gentlest of electrical assistance and provide smoother a smoother start/stop function at up to 18mph. The engine is also mounted lower by 45mm than before to help lower the car’s centre of gravity.
Performance specs? Few and far between, but Fiat says the engine produces an almighty 69bhp combined (and 68lb ft) – a whole one brake horsepower more than the boggo 1.2. The MHEV Fiat 500 also benefits from a six-speed box – something usually reserved for the Abarth versions.
Phwoar – colour me underwhelmed. Any other specs?
As the mild hybrid arrives, a Hybrid Launch Edition arrives with it. An exclusive colour called ‘dew green’ is applied, upholstery made of Seaqual Yarn – a material made up of recycled plastics. Oh, and a hybrid badge. That’s your lot.
What about a full-electric Fiat 500?
This is the big one – and we’ll see the new Fiat 500e at the 2020 Geneva motor show for that. We’ve already scooped it out testing in heavy camouflage here.
Fiat 500 hybrid: when can I buy one?
You can order a 500 Mild Hybrid from January 2020, with the first deliveries arriving in February.
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