THE new Fiat 600 is surely a record- breaker.
I can’t think of any car, now or in the past, with as many nametags on it.
You’ll see “600” plastered everywhere – on the wheels, bumpers, lights, door sills, seats, dash, steering wheel, centre console, carpet mats . . . I stopped counting at 21.
TWENTY-ONE.
That’s more labels than your PE kit and plimsolls at primary school.
Why has Fiat done this?
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So we don’t confuse it with a 500X.
Which is exactly what it is.
The new bigger and fatter brother to the electric 500.
Also, because there’s a massive trend for reviving old car names that evoke good memories.
Think Ford Capri, Vauxhall/Opel Manta and the Renault 5.
So Fiat has tapped into the 600 name from the Fifties and Sixties.
Surprisingly, the new 600 uses hardly any parts from the 500.
Beneath the skin it’s actually more closely related to the Vauxhall Mokka and the Jeep Avenger.
There’s a 100hp petrol hybrid coming in June from £23,965, which is £6k less than the electric 600.
If you want a petrol-powered 500 you’ll have to settle for the old-shape 500 that’s been around for 15 years or so.
Because the new-shape 500 is electric-only.
Still with me? Just.
The 600 does have the same cheery smile as a 500 but is half a metre longer with five doors and five seats.
Not three and four.
The boot is double the size at 360 litres.
So it’s more suited to young families.
HOP IN AND GO
Except there’s a problem.
Where are the kiddlywinks supposed to put their drive-thru drinks?
There are no cup holders in the back.
Actually, there’s nothing to love here at all.
No grab handles. No USB ports. Not even an interior light.
How are you going to find little Jimmy’s dummy when he spits it out at night?
This car clearly wasn’t designed by a parent.
You will be happy up front, though, as the 600 is easy peasy to drive – just hop in and go.
Acceleration is smooth and nippy in town.
RETRO WHEEL
The steering is light. The suspension is cushty.
There’s plenty of storage under that flip-up 600 cover in the centre console.
And there are drink holders.
We like the oval-shaped dash, a nod to Fiat’s old roof-top test track in Turin, and the retro two-spoke steering wheel.
This (RED) Edition, part of a tie-up with Bono’s foundation, is the cheapest 600 but still nicely trimmed.
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The posher La Prima trim has synthetic-leather seats, smartphone-charging pad and other trinkets and costs another £3k.
They could have made both cheaper by deleting some of those nametags.
