Fiat 500 (2008-2024) - Reliability and safety
The 500 Hybrid remains rather popular with customers, but it’s not the safest city car
When it was first launched in 2007, the Fiat 500 Hybrid scored the maximum five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests, but it was re-tested in 2017 under the organisation's tougher test regime and lost two stars.
Fiat fits driver, passenger, side, curtain and driver's knee airbags as standard, making a total of seven, which is impressive for a city car. ABS brakes and ISOFIX child seat mountings feature, too. The hazard lights come on under hard braking to warn traffic behind but the trigger point is over-sensitive.
The older 500’s last appearance in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey was in 2021 where it placed 67th out of the 75 best cars to own. In our most recent best manufacturer rankings, Fiat finished in a very poor 31st place out of 32 brands.
Warranty
The 500 Hybrid comes with a three year/100,000-mile warranty. That’s par for the course, although Hyundai offers five years with its i10 and Kia offers an impressive seven years on the Picanto.
Servicing
All 500 Hybrids need to be serviced every 12 months or 9,000 miles, whichever comes first. Fiat offers fixed Oil Care and Service Care plans at an additional cost.
