With smart new clothes and a bigger engine the small Fiat is out to impress. Why does this small car make so many people smile ? Roberto Giordanelli finds out.

Topolino (little mouse) - as the 500 was originally called - sixty years on, and it still looks like a little mouse. Like the original the new Cinquecento has four watercooled cylinders. Lets hope the days of the noisy, vibrating, water-cooled, two-cylinder engines are gone for ever.
Small fun cars are coming. Renault have the Twingo, VW are trying with the Chico, Mercedes will make the Swatch (now known as the Smart). the Japanese have been making terrific little 550cc whizz-bangs for their home market, like the Suzuki RS-R Works, for years now. While multinational Fiat has been criticised for designing cars biased toomuch towards its home market, it certainly has a winner in the Sporting. Fiat is doing what it does best, it is doing it well and it seems to be ahead of the game. Last year Fiat turned a seven hundred million pound loss (1993) into a seven hundred million pound profit (1994). The Punto could turn out to be the company's biggest hit ever while dazzling new models just keep on coming.
In the six thousand pounds range, the Sporting is the best value maney car on the market. Nothing else gets you within a mile of it. What can you compare it with ? A base model Fiesta 1.1 (credless and it actually costs you more)? No thank you. Maybe a Mini (O.K. if you're into 1950's technology)? er..... maybe not. What about a Citroen AX Debut ? (Good effort from the French but lacking that certain Je ne sais quoi). I know a base model Kia Pride or a base model Skoda Favorit? Bought by the same people who buy supermarket own brand lager, no doubt. I don' think readers of this magazine do. No nothing gets close.
The Cinquecento can only be criticised for its name. The Anglo-Saxon tongue often finding itself blowing the odd raspberry when pronouncing it. The Sporting (ah, thats easier) costs a few hundred pounds more than the base model or SX. Believe me, go for the you'll never regret it, its money well spent. Compared to the previous models, it rolls less, the ride is lower and the suspension is stiffer. Unless you are off roading the Sporting is better in every way. They come in only three colours: Sporting Red(obviously), Pow-Wow Yellow(they call it Broom Yellow), and Black(i'm not sure about Black).
The styling features, both inside and out are superb. Compared to the cars previously mentioned, it would be like comparing Armani with Woolworths. The door mirrors, assymeric front air intake, the oval tail-pipe and the exposed towing eye look very racy. The Sporting has deeper, colour-coded bumpers giving the car a chunkier look, while the attractive alloy wheels and lower suspension improve its stance. With these subtle changes the Sporting looks better than the base and SX models, especially from the front and rear. Fiat quote a Cd figure of 0.33, which is first rate for such a short car. Multiply this figure by the frontal area (A) and you get CdA, the real aerodynamic drag figure. This is how only 54 bhp gives 100 mph.
Inside its a masterpiece of design and tardis-like space utilisation. Despite being able to reach across to the passenger side to adjust the door mirror, the car somehow feels as roomy as an Uno. The doors are big and open wide. Access to the rear is not trouble, thanks to the clever tipping seat design. Front seat passngers need not compromise their comfort due to adquate rear space. Moreover, there is space under the front seats for the rear passengers feet. The interior paintwork, yes paintwork (also to be seen on the new Fiat Coupe), imparts flair rather than austerity. Whether it is capable of withstanding impacts from careless seat-belt flingers will have to be seen. Seats are supportive and comfy with an excellent sitting position. All the controls are well laid out with clear instrumentation and a rev-counter with the red line at the top, very sporting.
Central locking, electric windows, sunroof, pull-out stereo, leather steering wheel and gearknob are standard. An un-necessary luxury is the power-operated headlamp angle adjustment. Build quality (always battling with weight saving) is commendable. The most silly thing on the car is the hooter tone which is very silly indeed. Maserati twin air horns don't cost much.
I remember being un-impressed last year when I drove the first Cinquecento (899cc). Not that it did any thing badly, it just lacked that sparkle. Before I drove the new Sporting I expected it to be little more than just a face-lift. I was to be proven wrong.
The new FIRE engine, 13bhp more powerful with an extra 15lbft of torque , has transformed the Cinquecento. Minute as these figures appear, they're up by around 30%, wile the overall weight increase is negligible. Fiat has reduced engine vibration by the clever use of crankshaft weights, dampers and block design, consequeently the Sporting is no buzz-box. The new Punto five speed box has a low first gear (good for town work) and a higher fifth (for quieter motorway work).
Driving the car brings on a smile. Its one of those cars that's hard to road test. It just does everything properly, what can you say? Its light weight and sports suspension mean that courage or visibility limits your cornering rather than the car's engineering. The large (Tipo sized) servo brakes (no ABS) stopped the car (three-up) stably from a near 100mph emergency stop (editor panicing badly at this stage). While the more responsible or 'Greens' may shudder at such antics (and why not?), they may take solace in the that all the Cinquecento's components are recyclable. Fiat quote 95% of all harmful exhaust gases are removed. Which reminds me; why do we talk in percentages? A, just as efficient, 2litre car producing twice the pollution. A, just as efficient 4litre etc etc.. As with the wage increase staistics of the rich, we should not be hiding behind percentage figures, lets quote amounts.
There is always a design problem when it comes to making a light car ride well. The ratio of sprung-weight to unsprung weight, the spring-rate frequency and many other, infinitely variable, factors are huge tasks for the suspension designers to struggle with. The Sporting's excellent suspension compromise must have taken considerable development. It rides like a larger car and copes silently with pot-holes. Pushed to the limit, it runs wide with progressive understeer - cured by lifting the throttle. Maniacs can throw the car around happily as it just as it cocks a rear wheel into the air.
It feels quicker than the performance figures suggest. Top speed is quoted at over 93mph, (our knocked on the door of 100mph). While 0-60mph in 13 seconds although hardly neck snapping, is still 'Sporting'. In fact, its the same 0-60 time as an MGB, if youre not too young to remember. To indicate how technology has advanced, the same MGB had twice the fuel consumption of the Cinquecento on its road test. The Cinquecento Sporting is a champion, albeit a champion with a squeaky voice. The hooter is its only shortcoming. Peep Peep.

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