A step back that is discussed

The reason? Sales data. Because an object, however cute, does not sell if it costs a blind man and takes three days to recharge. The buyers fled, the concessions yawned and Stellantis said it was: «What if we had left the 1.0 Firefly engine?» After all, sleeps hot. So this is the Fiat 500, once again a car in the thermal city, certainly with a suspicion of electricity, but above all with a lot of pragmatism.

Don’t expect environmental miracles. This 7 -cylinder 70 horsepower petrol supported by a slight 12 V hybridization is not lightning. It is there to control a regulatory box and incidentally reduce consumption in the city a little. A real hybrid is like an electric bike that pedals alone. Here, we only give you a clearer fan and a more aggressive start and detention.

But the admission is clear: The electric at all costs is over. Launching the place to accessibility, the return to reality and the car that costs less than an oven built at the top.

Mirafiori Factory – returns to the bases and as for the Fiat 500 hybrid

In this case, Fiat also treats his image. Reviving the production of this 500 thermal in Turin, in the legendary Mirafiori factory, the brand revives its DNA. It is here that entire generations have seen the birth of the 500 of the past, the real ones, with the smell of ricino oil and the optional noise.

Today we are talking about modernity and industrial transfer. Stellantis goes so far: 5,000 units produced by the end of 2025. The goal? Go up to 100,000 cars per year if the sales follow. In other words, a low risk operation : A small local production, a pinch of narration «made in Italy» and a production line that allows you to sell the actions of the thermal engines without shame.

This maneuver also has another advantage: It gives a job to a factory that has transformed into a slower. In a world where the automotive industry loves to move, this is an approach that, at least on paper, deserves to be praised.

What does it have under the hood and inside?

Come on, we are honest: If you expected a futuristic racing car, you immediately rest this brochure. The new Fiat 500 hybrid is mechanical simplicity in all its splendor. A 3-cylinder Firefly 1.0 engine, 70 horsepower (downhill with the wind in the rear), a 12 V-type micro-hybridization and a 6-speed manual gearbox. No turbo, no change of car and even less to mix the bitumen.

But it is light, long lively in the city and parks in a hole in the mouse. In short, a real inhabitant of the city as we no longer do. The goal here is not to impress the gallery, but to offer an economic, reliable and fuel saving vehicle. On this point, the promise is kept: about 5l/100 km in urban use, without too much effort.

And inside? The surprise is more pleasant. A 10.25 -inch Uconnect 5 Central Touchscreen (however), Auto and Apple Carplay without Android compatibility, wireless driving assistance (emergency braking, line crossing notice) and all in a cabin that plays the retro chic card. Bonus: The good old lever of mechanical gears is still there, for the nostalgic for metal «clack-clack».

Questions that bite – price, competition, strategic consistency

Here is the big question: Why buy this Fiat 500 and not a Sandero Dacia Stepway or a Toyota Aygo X? The answer is the price. Fiat turns to a label under € 18,000, in which the hybrid urban inhabitants often start higher. The idea is simple: to offer a cute, cheap and well equipped car, without the constraints of electrical or delusional prices of the «ecological-premium» models.

But there is a wolf. The slight hybrid system is particularly there for green the technical sheet. It does not allow you to drive 100 % electric or to frankly increase performance. A hybridization of a showcase, rather than a real revolution. Fiat plays here a skilled marketing partition: make believe the technical renewal while the known recycling.

Finally, You can ask yourself the global strategy. Stellantide put both electric (with the 500 °) and on hybrid thermal (with this 500 thermal relegated). One foot in every world, waiting to see first which collapse. It can be intelligent, it can be opportunistic. Or, it’s just a piroette while waiting for Europe it makes its carbon ambitions revive downwards.

Keep

• Fiat relaunches the 500 thermal hybrid After the relative failure of the 100 %electric version.

• The Firefly 1.0 engine of 70 HP With light 12 V hybridization, it remains simple but effective for the city.

• Transfer production to the Mirafiori factorysymbol of returning home and made in Italy.

• Call rate under € 18,000A key topic in the face of more expensive hybrid competitors.

• The Stellantis strategy remains unclearBetween ambitious electrification and economic pragmatism.