FOLLOWING fine performances last year Fiat is continuing its winning ways with the snazzy little 500 lifting the City Car of the Year title for the third year on the run in the 2011 BusinessCar Awards.
There’s no disputing that the 500 has won the hearts of private buyers throughout the UK, but it’s in industry and business that this popular city slicker continues to impress.
The multi-award-winning 500, which is into its fourth year on sale in the UK, already has an impressive list of trophies, including Car of the Year in 2008, along with several from the UK’s leading consumer and trade titles.
The car’s cheeky good looks, coupled with excellent running costs and residual values, made a big impression on the awards’ judges – the readers of BusinessCar reflecting the opinions of the market.
“Fiat’s 500 has once more proved that business cars can make sense to both the head and the heart,” says Paul Barker, editor of BusinessCar. “The 500 has great residual values and running costs combined with the ability to put smiles on faces, making it the perfect city car for the corporate market, something BusinessCar readers obviously echo in voting the 500 City Car of the Year.”
The 500 is available with a choice of ultra-low emissions Euro 5 engines - 85bhp 0.9-litre TwinAir, 69 bhp 1.2-litre and 100bhp 1.4-litre petrol, and 95bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel, the Fiat 500 can be ordered in three different trim levels – Pop, Sport and Lounge.
With a starting price of £9,665, the 500 represents outstanding value for money.
Words: Malcolm Robertshaw