Fun to drive, turns heads due to its design and styling - can the Fiat 500 tow? Towing capacity Fiat 500. Need a Fiat 500 towbar?

Fun to drive, turns heads due to its design and styling - can the Fiat 500 tow? Towing capacity Fiat 500. Need a Fiat 500 towbar?

The Fiat 500 continues to proudly show its retro style, and the economical engines, make it a strong city car.  More than a decade after its launch, or rather relaunch after the failed move to the Fiat 126 - the Fiat 500 is one of the best-selling city cars, due to its typically Italian, carelessly stylish about-town looks.  

The 500 is most at home when picking its way through crowded urban streets. This is thanks to its small dimensions and light steering, which can be made even lighter by pressing a ‘city’ button on the dashboard.  Fiat 500 owners find parking in tight cities is much easier.

Driving the Fiat 500 is simplicity itself – you sit quite upright with great visibility, and the small size and light steering mean it really feels at home in the urban jungle. It doesn’t feel out of its depth beyond the city limits either; all models acquit themselves fairly well on the motorway.

Inside, the plastics and fabrics used in the 500’s interior suit its retro image. The face of even the cheapest Pop model’s dashboard is finished the same colour as the outside of the car – a feature that really livens things up. The result is an interior that’s as bright and bubbly as if taken straight from a cartoon, and a real contrast to the drab dashboards of its rivals.

Every model from Lounge trim upwards gets a 7.0in touchscreen with Bluetooth, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. The screen is positioned conveniently high up on the dashboard and is relatively easy to use.

Although the front seats are mounted fairly high up, you’re only likely to have issues with headroom if you’re very tall. Likewise, the seats slide back far enough to just about accommodate long-legged drivers. Somewhat less impressive is the cramped pedal area, and the lack of a proper footrest – an omission that’s particularly annoying on longer motorway journeys. It's also easy to bash your left knee on the bulbous centre console.

Storage is in rather short supply; the glovebox is very pokey and the door bins are even smaller. At least there are two good-sized cupholders below the gear lever.

Getting into the back isn’t as easy as in many rivals because the 500 has only three doors. As with many city car rivals, there are only two seats in the back, but while two adults will fit, there isn’t as much head or legroom.

The rear seatback folds in one big lump on entry-level Pop trim, but all other 500s give you a more practical 50/50 split-folding seatback. It’s easy to use; simply push a button on the top of the backrest, push the seatback forwards and down it folds.

The 185-litre boot gives you enough room for a few shopping bags.  Fold down the rear seats and the space grows considerably. The seats don't fold totally flush with the floor, though, and instead, sit at a slight angle above it.  Need more capacity or to take your bikes along.  Why not fit a Fiat 500 towbar?  Check your owners manual for the tow rating - your should have at least 800kgs.

You can spend an awful lot of money on a Fiat 500, but it’s the cheaper trim levels that make the most sense. The cheapest is Pop, but it’s so sparsely equipped we’d recommend upping to Lounge trim. This brings better infotainment, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, climate control and some extra chrome detailing. Of course, whichever trim you settle on, there's also a myriad of personalisation options to make your 500 stand out from the crowd, with a huge palette of paint colours and a big selection of alloy wheel designs.

The initial Fiat 500 range included 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol versions and a 1.3-litre diesel. A two-cylinder 0.9-litre TwinAir model was added to the range later, and then there were a few changes over the years that boosted the power of the diesel and TwinAir engines. A 1.0-litre ‘mild hybrid’ engine was added in 2020, too.

There was a facelift in 2015 that changed the look very slightly, but for the most part, the 500 has had the same design all these years. This means even the early cars still look up-to-date and make a great used buy.

Fun and characterful retro looks, frugal engines with low running costs and a bright and cheerful interior are the main reasons why the Fiat 500 has been consistently popular among car buyers since this three-door city car was relaunched in 2008.

The Fiat 500 has style and image on its side and makes a great city car.  It'll probably be around for the next couple of decades, much like the popularity of the mini - although significantly lighter on your wallet.

Need a towbar for your Fiat 500 - we have you covered. 

Remember, the Fiat 500 also comes in a soft-top convertible - Fiat 500C, a performance 500S and the top of the line hot hatch named the Abarth 595. We almost forgot the discontinued 500L and 500X.  Yes, we have a towbar for each model - NB the towbars do differ, so choose your model carefully, or better yet, send us an email with your model and we'll let you know which is the perfect fitting towbar for your Fiat.  Order today.

Fiat 500 towbars
Fiat 500X towbars
Fiat 500L towbars
Fiat 500C towbars
Fiat 500S Sport Towbars
Abarth 595 Towbars