New Fiat 500 1.2 Eco petrol joins the range ~ station of gear

Fiat's facelifted city car gets new road tax exempt Eco 1.2 petrol, plus diesel variant now on sale

2016-01-20 12:50

Fiat has released a new, ultra-efficient 1.2 Eco version of its chic 500 city car. The VW up! rival dips below 100g/km of CO2 for free UK road tax, while at the same time the 1.3-litre diesel engine is added to the range.

The new additions follow the 2015 facelift of the 500 which brought along a fresher exterior, new infotainment and increased efficiency. 'Eco' spec takes the existing 69bhp 1.2-litre and lops 10g/km offf its CO2 rating, while improving fuel consumption by 5.6mpg to 65.7mpg. It's worth noting that the (pricier) 0.9-litre TwinAir emits just 90g/km, however.

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Fiat achieved this by adding start/stop, an efficient 'smart' alternator and low-rolling resistance tyres. The underbody has also been tweaked to make it more aerodynamic. These changes mean company car tax (BIK) liability is reduced from 17 per cent to 14 per cent.

The changes only add £100 to the list price of Pop Star and Lounge spec models, with the Eco starting at £11,865 for the hatch and £14,515 for the 500C Cabrio. Performance is unchanged for both, with the hatch managing 0-62mph in 12.9 seconds.

Buyers can also now order the 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine with 95bhp. Extra efficiency tech like a rapid engine warm-up feature and variable oil pump also help it achieve a claimed combined figure of 83mpg, up from 76.3mpg. It also emits just 89g/km of CO2, and costs from £14,165.

Read our full Fiat 500 review here...

Lawrence Allan

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