Pulling off an Italian Job in a Fiat 500 Hybrid | Editor’s Choice December 2025

It’s funny how certain songs can transport you back to an exact moment in time. One such song for me is ‘Big When I Was Little’ by Eliza Doolittle. I’m sure for many this song passed them by completely, but I remember it getting a considerable amount of airtime one summer when I was home from uni. Whenever it came on in the car radio, I would turn the volume up so it blared through the speakers of my Fiat 500. Although the song taps into an era a little before my time, I loved the sense of nostalgia, which is also what I loved about my little car.

I’ve always been a fan of 1950s style, whether it be Audrey Hepburn, Christian Dior’s “New Look” or the curvy cars in pastel colours. When Fiat launched the reborn 500 in 2008, it was like all my Christmases had come at once and I was determined to have one as my first car. Flash forwards a couple of years and I was in the showroom of a Fiat dealership in Ipswich with my sights firmly set on a bright blue 500 with a cream steering wheel and puppytooth upholstery. It was gorgeous. I particularly liked how true it was to the original with its bubble shape and body-coloured dashboard. Plus, it was packed with airbags, which reassured my parents I was in safe hands.
My 500 and I went on East Anglian adventures together for several years, but eventually my head was turned by a Mazda MX-5 and a whole new obsession began – though I still have a huge fondness for 500s. So, you can imagine my delight when over a decade later having found my way into the wonderful world of motor journalism, I was invited to drive the new Fiat 500 Hybrid in Italy.

This car was a particularly special because Fiat hadn’t intended to build it. When Fiat launched the 500e it expected the all-electric model would be the next reimagining of the iconic car and phased out the petrol-powered version completely. However, it turned out there was still appetite for a more affordable city car, so Fiat decided to reengineer the 500e to shoehorn in a mild hybrid petrol system. As a result, the Fiat 500 is back – again. And, unlike the previous version, which was made in Poland, this 500 is built in Fiat’s hometown of Turin alongside the 500e.
It was this very production line in Mirafiori, Turin where my test drive of the new 500 Hybrid began and the route even included driving around the legendary Lingotto test track on the roof of Fiat’s former factory. A surreal moment which 17-year-old me wouldn’t have believed I’d experience, and I felt like I had pulled off my own Italian Job style heist. What an unexpected plot twist! You can find out my full thoughts on the 500 Hybrid in the full review coming soon.

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