 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
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Review and photos by Justin Mastine-Frost
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2013 Fiat 500 Turbo
My relationship with Fiat since its return to the North America, albeit brief, has been an interesting one so far. On paper these darling little tin cans seem like a refreshing twist on the entry-level city car, however with every testing attempt I always seemed to come away wanting more. With the base-trim Fiat 500 Pop the automatic gearbox stole away with what little power its engine had in the first place and its fun-and-funky white and red interior would have been better suited to a 16-year old girl. Once I moved up to the Abarth, performance definitely improved but the $11,000 price jump over the base model that paid for (among other things) fancy scorpion decals, a useless boost gauge and a shift light that liked to come on after I bounced off the rev-limiter a few times, well you can see where I’m going with this. When word finally came of a more reasonably priced Fiat 500 Turbo I couldn’t help but be optimistic that this would finally be the Fiat to win me over.
I’m a firm believer in first impressions, and thankfully for Fiat the 500 Turbo gets off to a good start. Although some of the changes are subtle when compared to the base model, the Turbo definitely carries a more sporting presence. From its blacked-out head and taillight surrounds to its aggressively styled bumper, side skirts, and rear diffuser, it’s easy to tell that Fiat went out of its way to shake off a bit of that “cutesy” brand image. All in all, the exterior package works quite well. Unlike the previously mentioned Abarth, the Turbo hits all the necessary style points to draw in an enthusiast crowd without being loud or over the top. This was exactly the kind of tweaking the car needed in order to go after potential Mini Cooper S shoppers, at least in the visual department.
   2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
Moving into the passenger cabin, the changes are even less noticeable. Aside from a leather wrapped shift knob and steering wheel, which are quite nice, the interior is more or less identical to that of the entry level Fiat 500 Sport. My tester was equipped with the optional Automatic Temperature Control ($195), which gives the centre stack a much cleaner look than the basic control knobs. As with every other version of the 500, the Turbo has Fiat’s brilliant hidden steering wheel buttons. Rather than loading up the steering wheel with so many buttons that it looks like a video game controller (Thanks Ford and Acura), Fiat got sneaky and hid menu and volume controls behind the three and nine o’clock positions on the wheel. These buttons may seem a bit tricky to use at first, but before too long their operation becomes second nature. Thanks to the optional Beats Audio premium sound system ($995) there’s no issue with hitting that volume-up button a few extra times to get your groove on as you hit the road.
 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
The one option on our tester that I expected to be far more pleased with was the leather-trimmed bucket seats ($800). In just about every other vehicle I’ve tested this past year, leather seats are a slick upgrade from the base trim, and just look way better than any cloth alternative. Sadly, with the Fiat this wasn’t the case. As you can see in the photos, the leather on the seats in my tester looks like a rookie job at best. On a car with less than 6,000 kilometres on the odometer there is no reason why the leather should be all puckered the way it is. I’m hoping this was just one bad install job rather than something systemic of the production process or materials, but having driven other examples with the cloth seats I’d save the $800, but still spend half of that on the optional seat heating ($400).
The biggest thing I’m not missing in the Fiat Turbo is the previously mentioned boost gauge and shift light equipped on the pricey Abarth model. Being a production model forced-induction car, the turbocharger boost pressure gauge is such a useless contraption that I still can’t comprehend Fiat ever wanting to install one. I get that the Abarth is meant to be their all-out performance model, and maybe that 18–25 demographic might get a kick out of it, but it’s simply unnecessary cluttering of an otherwise fairly sleek and straightforward instrument cluster.
Storage space is always a fun point of discussion when looking at the city car segment. None of them do exceptionally well, but given the Fiat’s dimensions its available cargo space isn’t half bad. With the rear seats up there is still enough room available for a reasonable two-person household grocery run; however, if you’re like me and wind up shopping for a bulk pack of paper towels and a new upright vacuum you’ll be stuck dropping the seats down. I don’t suspect many Fiat buyers intend on regularly travelling with four people in the car so this should be a non-issue, and once the seats fold down there is quite a bit of usable space back there. The built-in subwoofer that comes as part of the Beats Audio upgrade does eat up a little bit of useful real estate but not enough to make a significant difference.
  2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
Once out on the road and not looking at those awful seats, the little Fiat Turbo starts redeeming itself rather rapidly. For starters, power delivery from the little 1.4L four-banger comes on strong from roughly 2,000 rpm and maintains well into the upper register. However, there is an odd drop in power just before reaching the Fiat’s 6,800 rpm redline, though the powerband is still very usable in day-to-day driving. Although not as powerful as the Abarth, the Turbo definitely has that bit of “oomph” the base model is sadly lacking. 135-hp and 150 lb-ft of torque doesn’t sound like much by today’s 300+ horsepower standard of performance, but in a chassis weighing a meagre 1,124 kg the Fiat 500 Turbo is certainly no slouch. Whipping in and out of traffic is a real breeze, and as long as you’re on top of your shifts there’s always just enough power on tap. Fortunately the Turbo makes use of big-brother Abarth’s shorter ratio five-speed gearbox so falling out of the powerband is rarely an issue.
   2013 Fiat 500 Turbo. Click image to enlarge |
As I head out of the city to find some properly twisty tarmac and start hucking the little Fiat around the bends, the chassis differences between the Turbo and Abarth become easy to identify. The Turbo is equipped with the same sport suspension upgrade as the 500 Sport model as well as the Abarth’s lower control arms, but it doesn’t get the its rear sway bar. This isn’t a horrible thing for your day-to-day driving, but needless to say it can get a little roly-poly when you start driving with enthusiasm. The shocks and springs also seem a bit softer than the strung-out Abarth.
On a handful of my usual test circuits with the Turbo I was pleasantly surprised at how compliant the suspension could be. In the same stretches where I would feel like I was about to drop a tooth at the wheel of the Abarth, the Turbo rattled, bounced lightly through the ruts without feeling too disconnected. Unfortunately, softening the ride didn’t help when it comes to the handful of creaks and rattles in the car’s interior. I couldn’t, for the life of me, track down the source of one particular creak that was the bane of my existence during my test week, and I certainly hope Fiat’s technicians have sorted some sort of fix for it by now.
After my week of testing I’m happy to say that I’ve bonded with the Fiat 500 Turbo. It may have its quirks, but when you get right down to it Fiat has done an excellent job of finding the much needed balance between the two previous 500 models.
Pricing: 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo
Base price: $20,995
Options: $3,060 (Leather-trimmed bucket seats – $800, AC with auto temp control – $195, heated front seats – $400, security alarm – $175, Beats premium audio group – $995, TomTom Navigation with Blue&Me – $495)
Freight: $1,595
A/C tax: $100
Price as tested: $25,750
Competitors
Ford Fiesta ST
Mini Cooper
Volkswagen Beetle
Crash test results
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
