The cute little Fiat 500 has a charm to it. It stepped into India last year and with a stratospheric price tag of 15 lakhs, it managed to find 50-odd buyers. It has not been released in all Indian cities, Kolkota will be the next to get the Fiat 500 in the month of February.
Readers of the BusinessCar magazine in the U.K have voted the 500 as the "City Car of the year", snatches the crown away from contenders Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo. The Fiat 500 is available in both petrol and diesel variants in the U.K and starts at £8,100. This isn't the first time the 500 is winning awards. It's done it a million times before, and the best of the lot was the European Car of the Year 2008.
The Fiat 500 was launched in the U.K in a grand and unique fashion. It was unveiled on the London Eye. Yes, "On" the London Eye. One of the pods on the London Eye was specially fabricated to hold the Fiat 500 and it's wraps were taken off during the London Motor Show last year.
IAB Comment- The Fiat 500 is a symbol of the modern Fiat. It has impressed the public, the media and other car manufacturers. It's truly an example of retro, being cool.
Press Release-
Now into its second year in the UK, Fiat’s popular 500 city car continues to scoop top industry media awards. And the latest of these is ‘City Car of the Year’ from BusinessCar magazine.
The honour adds to the 500’s already impressive list of trophies which includes Car of the Year 2008, CAR Magazine Car of the Year, Fifth Gear Small Car of the Year and Auto Express Best City Car 2008.
“The Fiat 500 has captured both hearts and minds ever since it was first revealed,” says BusinessCar Editor-in-Chief Tristan Young. “The low emissions and great running costs combine with the 500’s desirability to make a worthy winner.”
“Once again the Fiat 500 has won an important industry award which we are, of course, delighted with,” adds Andrew Humberstone, managing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK. “More than a year in and the 500 continues to show us how much the media, the industry and, most importantly, our customers love it.”
Available with a choice of three frugal, ultra-low emissions, Euro 5-ready engines: 69 bhp 1.2-litre and 100 bhp 1.4-litre petrol, or 75 bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel, the Fiat 500 can be ordered in three different trim levels – Pop, Sport and Lounge.
With a starting price of just £8,100, the Fiat 500 represents outstanding value for money and positions the car well below its benchmark rivals. At the top end of the range, highly specified versions with a choice of the larger petrol or diesel engines cost only £10,900 – a price that includes air conditioning and alloy wheels as standard.
The BusinessCar Awards are the only awards in the market that are solely voted for by the readership.
