Fiat gave the iconic 500 a huge makeover in 2020. It grew slightly in all areas, received a more modern design throughout, and controversially, it ditched any form of combustion engine. This new 500 also sat on a dedicated EV platform, which also went on to spawn the related, but way more mad Abarth 500e. In the few years that followed, Fiat did continue to sell the existing 500 hybrid, but this was discontinued in 2024.

Since the outgoing hybrid car was discontinued, Fiat did notice that sales did drop off quite dramatically. This was most likely down to the price of the larger battery car, which most people would probably go for. The larger battery version was priced at £27,995, although in 2023 Fiat introduced its own £3,000 'FIAT E-Grant' which dropped the price down to £24,995. Although this was probably too expensive for people, considering that the outgoing hybrid started at £16,790.

Fiat did see a small uptick in 500e sales in 2024, thanks mainly to some discounting, such as the aforementioned £3,000 'FIAT E-Grant', but in the few years since, they did flatline slightly. So, to pick things up, Fiat decided it needed a new hybrid version, but in order to do so, it would have to modify the dedicated electric version and retrofit an engine in, something that was pretty much unheard of in the industry - usually, things are done the other way around.

And this is where we find ourselves, with this brand new 2026 Fiat 500 Hybrid. This, and the electric 500e are practically the same price, or even cheaper which is the case with the 24kWh version. This hybrid version is looking to rival the likes of the Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo X and the Hyundai i10.

Design

Fiat has practically kept the same design that we've seen on the electric version, meaning we have that cute bubbly look that the car has had in some shape or form, since 2007. The main headlights are now LED as standard and are split into two sections, with the DRL 'eyebrows' located on the bonnet lid itself. The large chrome 500 badge is on the front too, and the whole car has a generally happy look. It manages to look very modern, yet it harks back to the 2007 version and the cars that came before it.

Like the 500e, the 500 Hybrid is available as either a hatchback or convertible.

One little change on the front though, is the moustache. This small air intake for the engine is the only visual tell-tale that this is the hybrid. Otherwise its the same as the 500e.

The base spec Icon and the limited Torino Launch Edition get 16-inch alloys, but the top spec La Prima gets some rather nicely designed diamond cut 17-inch alloys instead. Sadly on the launch, I didn't get the chance to try the entry level trim with the smaller alloys, but the noise levels and refinement on the La Prima was at a good level.

Rear design is also the exact same, with the only main difference being the hybrid badge on the back. All trim levels get rear parking sensors as standard, but the La Prima adds a reversing camera.

Fiat famously stopped the use of grey in its lineup a few years ago and thankfully this means the 500 coms in a bunch of fun colours, including Ocean Green, Rose Gold, Celestial Blue, Yellow Gold, Red, Onyx Black and Ice White. All colours are £750 extra, apart from Ice White which is the only free colour.

Engine and Drivetrain

The main thing that's new here is the engine, which is largely the same one found in the outgoing 500 hybrid. We have a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder unit making 65HP, which is actually down slightly from the 70HP in the last version. This is used in conjunction with a small 12V battery, to help give it some boost in certain circumstances.

The Fiat 500 Hybrid only comes with a six speed manual gearbox, with no automatic version available - although the electric version is also on sale too.

UK Pricing and Trim Levels

At launch, Fiat is offering three trim levels for the 500 hybrid with Icon, Torino Launch Edition and the top spec La Prima. The base Icon starts at £18,995 and comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, black mirror caps, cloth interior more. The Torino Launch Edition is also £18,995 but adds body coloured mirror caps, houndstooth seats and some chrome Torino badges around the exterior. As of writing in October 2026, it isn't clear how long this will be on sale for.

The top spec La Prima trim is slightly more expensive at £20,995 and adds the option of a two tone interior, which is available in either dark grey and ivory or ivory. This trim also adds a fixed glass sunroof with a sunshade.

Front Interior and Infotainment

This feels like it is going to be a recurring theme with the 500 hybrid, but the interior here is pretty much the same as the 500e. This means there's a very nice design throughout, with a plastic panel on the dashboard, which can either be ivory or colour matched to the exterior. I think this is a rather nice touch, considering the starting price of the 500.

Most of what is in here though is plastic, which isn't really a bad thing. The plastics do feel sturdy and good quality and not like tupperware, which is good. The dash has that colour or ivory panel and then some dark blue shiny stuff below, both of which help break up design - otherwise, it could look quite monotonous. The main takeway here is that the interior plastic don't feel cheap, it feels hard wearing.

The seats come in a variety of materials, with black fabric on Icon, houndstooth on the Torino Launch Edition and then on La Prima, you have the option between ivory and brown. On that top spec trim, the material is a plastic leather, which doesn't feel that nice. The seats are also not that forgiving either and the back rest is a bit hard and longer journeys might be quite fatiguing. The Kia Picanto, which is cheaper and roomier, has much comfier seats.

One area which hasn't been scrimped on is the technology. The 10.25-inch display has support for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, this La Prima adds a built in sat-nav system from Tom Tom, and it generally feels snappy, quick and responsive. I could nit pick here and say that the operating system is quite cluttered and some of the menus don't seem to make sense - but for what most people will use it for, it does the job well. The speaker system on La Prima is from JBL and sounds quite good too.

One area which Fiat was keen to point out is that there are loads of buttons in here, as this is paramount for the consumer at the end of the day. All of the main climate controls are physical buttons located underneath the touchscreen, which is honestly so refreshing to see. This La Prima trim also adds a wireless phone charging pad too just below those buttons.

The gorgeous interior here has been slightly overshadowed by the comparatively large gear shifter, which has seemed to eat up what little space was left here. The 500e has some nice simple P, D, N and R buttons, but the six speed shifter has encroached into the interior a bit more than you'd like. Also, the material around the shifter feels incredibly cheap and low quality, almost like a thin shopping bag, it also makes a ruckle sound every time you change gear.

One thing in here though which is beautiful, is the steering wheel. Like the seats, this is two-tone on La Prima and feels very nice in the hand with a flat bottom. There are some buttons on the wheel itself for various functions such as cruise control and the media. The stalks behind the wheel are a bit on the shorter side, meaning they are a little bit hard to reach without stretching your middle fingers.

The driver display is fantastic and not something you would expect to see in a car of this price. The display resolution is great, its vivid and very simple to read.

Rear Interior

The 500 has never been a super large car by any stretch of the imagination, and this means that rear seat space is a little bit on the compromised side. There are some ISOFIX connectors in the back, but it might not be the sort of car you regularly want to carry child seats in, due to the limited space between the front seats the door openings.

Boot Space

Boot space is quite good, considering the size of the car. With the seats folded up, theres 183 litres of boot space, with a small amount of space underneath the false floor. The rear seats will fold down, but not fully flat.

Driving

When you get the 500 out on the open road, its quite refined for a small car. The main thing you can hear is that little 3-cylinder engine, which isn't a massively bad thing, but on longer journeys it could get a bit tiresome as you need to rev it out, due to its limited power. Ride quality is also good, it goes down the road in refined and composed way and isn't too loud with a good level of sound isolation.

The driving position in a 500 has always been quite high up, and its no different in this one either. It has a lot of adjustment too, so no matter your height, you shouldn't have too much of an issue. There's also enough glass and general visibility is very good and perfect for driving in urban enviroments.

The Fiat 500 hybrid has just 65HP from its 1.0-litre 3-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, with a dinky 12V hybrid battery. Most of the time I was driving, the battery was very quickly cycling up and down, but to be fair most of my test route was up and down hills. Performance though is quite leisurely at best, and reminds me of the 60HP version of the Volkswagen up! from 2012. It takes a while to get up to the national speed limit, which on some country roads can be perilously slow, which means then that the 500 is better suited to urban driving. Which if that is the case, why wouldn't you just pick the electric version? It is faster, around the same price and will be significantly cheaper to run. Answers on a postcard.

0-62mph is handled in 16.2 seconds for the hatchback version, or in 17.3 seconds for the convertible.

The six speed manual gearbox is nothing special, the gear changes are slushy and wooly and are devoid of any feel, but that isn't really the point of this car and it isn't something I would expect.

But is the Fiat 500 easy to drive? As mentioned, the gear changes are quite mushy and sometimes changing them can be not as definitive as you'd like it to be, but it is something that would be easy to get used to. The clutch, brake and accelerator pedals are easy to get used to, as is the steering, which makes urban driving a doddle.

The steering itself doesn't really have much feel, but this is primarily designed for city use after all. However, the test route I used was on some country back roads and chucking it into some sweeping bends and tighter corners was quite fun.

Fiat is quoting around 54mpg, but during my 50 minute test run, I achieved around 39mpg. However this test route was hilly and because the car was struggling up those hills, it did need revving out a bit more than a typical drive would see. It would need a more balanced test drive to gather a more realistic picture of the ecomony levels.

Finally ADAS systems are generally okay, but it does have one or two flaws. The issues are mainly related to the accuracy of recognising speed limit signs. Quite a few times during the drive, it saw 60 signs as 30 and then bongs away telling you that you're definitely going too fast. This, however is the main ADAS issue and everything else seems to work well.

Conclusion

The new Fiat 500 Hybrid is a strange one, as Fiat has had to effectively shoehorn an engine into a car, that was never designed for it. However, there isn't much that gives away that impression, as the whole look and feel is 99% the same as the 500e. There obviously is that new gearstick in the cabin, which does take up more room, but that can't really be helped. The only tell tail signs on the outside is the new hybrid badge on the boot and the little moustache, which is more obvous on the lighter colours - not so much so on black.

Fiat has had to make this car to combat the recent slower than ideal sales for the 500e, but usually the EV version tends to be more expensive than its combustion counterparts, not so here which actually makes the EV even more appealing. I also mentioned that due to the 'not so huge' amount of power the 500 has, it might be more suited for urban driving - which is exactly where EVs thrive.

This will no doubt have its fans, it has the style, charisma and price to do so - but I can't help feeling that for those people who can charge from home, the EV might be more sensible - both for your wallet and the driving experience.

Verdict

Good

• Timeless, cute exterior design
• Light and easy to maneuver steering
• Fun colours, no grey!
• Great interior design
• Fast and responsive infotainment screen
• Vivid and easy to read driver display
• Relatively refined ride
• Good pricing

Bad

• Woefully slow
• Gearbox is a bit mushy and wooly feeling
• Gearstick and plastic area around it takes up too much interior space, compared to EV
• Seat material on La Prima is plastic like and isn't good enough quality
• Front seats are quite hard
• Pricing too similar to EV to justify
• EV version will be the much more sensible choice for a lot of people

Rating - 6.5/10

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