This badge was last seen on the tailgate of a five-door family hatchback which graced the price lists - with some distinction, it should be said - between 19. But what if you want something in which to transport five normally sized people and a big boot, but can't face any of the myriad 500s?Īs is its way these days, Fiat's new solution has an old name: Tipo. Its merits may be many, but the Panda is a small car. I can be nothing but positive about the Panda: conceived with clarity and executed with simplicity, it has a rare honesty of purpose and charm.
LIVIA COMISARIO MONTALBANO SERIES
Sicilian detective Salvo Montalbano drives a Fiat Tipo in the Inspector Montalbano television series - the perfect car for zipping between trattorias and crime scenes in a blur of gesticulations, malapropisms and misunderstandings with beautiful womenĪnd there is, of course, always the Panda. Aside from the army of 500-badged cars and the 124 Spider, I was surprised to find that Fiat still sells the Punto hatchback.
Unfortunately, the styling - to my eyes at least - doesn't quite work, which is a bit of a problem for a sports car where the MX-5 is purposefully shrink-wrapped over its mechanicals, the 124 Spider, with its long nose and tail, looks a bit out of proportion to its wheelbase.Īnd the jury is out on Fiat's wisdom to swap the high-revving, thrash-me-please non-turbocharged engine which is so central to the Mazda's effervescent appeal for a turbocharged unit. This new 124 Spider car had a difficult enough journey to the showroom - at one point it was going to be an Alfa Romeo - and on paper it would seem to have a lot going for it, being essentially an Italian-ified version of Mazda's MX-5. I wish them well.įiat also raided its back catalogue to name its new roadster, which it calls the 124 Spider, shamelessly harking back to the 124 Sport Spider which debuted in 1966. I really don't like the Fiat 500, as has been recorded previously in these pages, but I accept that plenty of people do. FIAT clearly reckoned it was on to a good thing when it revived the 500 nameplate, which perhaps explains the determination with which it has also attached the cinquecento name to a seven-seat people carrier and a four-wheel-drive crossover, writes William Scholes.
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