53 Fiat 500: Plenty of bounce for your buck

As constant at the Northern Star, the little 500 has been on Fiat's books since 2007, and is indeed really the car that saved Fiat from a major financial crisis and, eventually, gave it the financial wherewithal to buy out Chrysler and Jeep. In thanks, Fiat has recently given the 500 a major makeover (you can spot it by the larger low-set LED driving lights) and for a car approaching its 10th birthday, it still feels pretty brilliant.

Okay, so the rear seats are basically tiny, the steering isn’t great and the ride still has a whiff of the space-hopper-bounce of early models. The fact is that the 500 has what many cars don’t – charm, and that’s charm which is now backed up by much-improved build quality (why can’t Fiat make all its cars feel this good?) and some added optional niceties such as an excellent 7” uConnect touch-screen and digital instruments. Diesel engine is a bit pointless (although very economical), and TwinAir very pricey so just stick with the trusty old 1.2. Special order-only Abarth models are properly good fun, but can be eye-wateringly expensive.

Price range: €13,600 to €20,800

Co2 emissions: 89 to 110g/km

Which one? 500 S 1.2

PCP from €146 per month