Fiat 500 StopandStart : STOP AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON

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Now we can do our bit for the planet even when we're not going anywhere with the Fiat 500 StopandStart. Steve Walker takes a look.

Maybe you thought Fiat's 500 was pretty economical. It's certainly small and the mainstream engines aren't too big or powerful. Well, it obviously wasn't economical enough for Fiat. The Italian marque has given its monumentally cute little city car a punt in an even greener direction with the inclusion of StopandStart technology. Could this be the 500 to have?

One day soon, it's likely that all cars, or at least all mainstream ones, will feature a system amounting to Fiat's StopandStart. Many of the manufactures offer it already on selected models, in one form or another. Basically, it turns off a vehicle's engine when it's stationary and automatically restarts it again when the driver wants to move off. Through this, the fuel that's burned and the emissions that are released while our vehicles are static with their engines running can be saved and a small contribution can be made to the planet's welfare, not to mention our own bank balances. It's the entry-level 1.2-litre petrol engine that has the honour of being paired with Fiat's StopandStart system in the 500. It's a 69bhp unit that can spirit the city car to 62mph in under 13s, then on to a 99mph top speed which is quite quick and will seem a whole lot quicker from within the confines of the diminutive 500. StopandStart is activated by depressing the clutch, as you would anyway when coming to a halt, then taking the car out of gear and lifting the clutch. When the clutch is fully raised, the engine stops. To restart it again, simply depress the clutch pedal and when it reaches the bottom of its travel, hey presto. If you don't want to use StopandStart, simply keep the clutch in when stationary or turn the system off completely via the button mounted on the centre console. Sensors tell the system if the engine is still cold and it will not operate until enough heat has built up. Much of the 500's underpinnings are based on Panda running gear - no bad thing as the Panda is a fun steer. Like the Panda, the 500 uses simple MacPherson strut suspension up front and a basic torsion beam at the back. A few centimetres have been added to the width of the car's track, giving it a foursquare appearance and Fiat claims that body rigidity is around 10 per cent better than the Panda. The car serves up a comfortable ride and nippy handling that's perfect for the urban environment.

"You're likely to be hearing a whole lot more about systems like Fiat's StopandStart in the future"

At 1.65m wide, 1.49m high and 3.55m long, the 500 doesn't take up a great deal of space. For reference, a MINI is 1.91m wide, 1.40m high and 3.68m long: in other words much wider, a little lower and a fair bit longer. Even Renault's second generation Twingo, at 3.60m, won't fit into some parking spaces the 500 will be able to squeeze into. Delicious design details drip from the 500. It's like a tiny pearl, especially when the ivory finish interior is specified. There's a very well-judged blend of retro chic and ruthlessly modern contemporary design inside, with circular head restraints, a glass roof and iconic 500 badging on the Panda-sourced dashboard. Chrome-ringed vents and a fascia that can be specified in the same colour as the body, mirroring the painted metal dash of the Nuovo 500, are just some of the interior design features. The exterior treatment is cool and clean with only the front grille and door handles differing significantly from the Trepiuno show car. Hats off to Fiat in this regard. So often we see cars that look fantastic as prototypes on a show stand only to arrive in production form virtually unrecognisable. The 500 StopandStart is based on the Lounge trim level and is priced the same as a 1.2-litre Lounge model. The difference is that a few items of the Lounge equipment including the sunroof are deleted from the StopandStart to compensate for the cost of the extra technology. Prior to the 500's arrival, the speculation was that it would target the kind of premium prices that BMW charges for its MINI but Fiat is sticking to what it knows with affordability remaining a key weapon in the 500's armoury. This is a far more faithful interpretation of a classic motoring icon than the Bavarians have been able to achieve. And, if you don't care about badge equity, don't mind about the fact that you only get three doors and get the right deal, the Fiat will make plenty of sense. The point of StopandStart is to lower fuel consumption and emissions, so how well does it do? On the combined cycle, there's a 3.5mpg improvement over a standard 1.2-litre 500 taking the figure to 58.9mpg with emissions of CO2 dropping from 119g/km to 113g/km. That's a useful amount multiplied out across a typical ownership period and the advantages are likely to be even more pronounced if you do most of your driving in congested urban areas where being stationary is par for the course. The 500 should prove a particularly cheap car to run - and not just because of its low fuel consumption. Insurance is in a reasonable group 4 for the StopandStart model while the 500's trendy image and desirability have propped up residual values very nicely. You're likely to be hearing a whole lot more about systems like Fiat's StopandStart in the future. The idea of cutting the engine while a vehicle is stationary just makes sense for too many reasons for it to fall by the wayside. The addition of the technology to Fiat's 500 city car doesn't revolutionise the vehicle but it didn't need that anyway. It provides a useful boost to economy that just gets bigger the more traffic you get stuck in. The 500 remains a very desirable city car option primarily because of that retro styling but also because it drives well and it feels special. Even with StopandStart technology, the 1.2-litre engine still isn't as economical as the diesel but it's quite a bit cheaper and if you're driving in town, it could well be a wiser choice. As these systems are made more user-friendly, they're likely to pop up with increasing regularity on small cars and bigger ones too.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Fiat 500 StopandStart
PRICE: £9,500 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 4
CO2 EMISSIONS: 113g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph 12.9s / Max Speed 99mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 58.9mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver and passenger airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 3550/1650/1490mm