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By Jonathan Crouch

Fiat's pretty little 600 family hatch is at its most affordable in petrol turbo 100HP form. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 29

This basic unelectrified Turbo 100 version of Fiat's 600 supermini might just be all the small car you really need, if style is as important to you as sensibility.

Backgroundword count: 77

The Fiat 600 is a car that ought to sell better here than it does. And maybe it still might. In this more affordable unelectrified base petrol form. This is the 600 variant to have if you like the look of this supermini but don't want to pay the price for the Hybrid or EV versions of it that Fiat offers. Might it be all you actually need if a stylish Italian little hatch takes your fancy?

Engines and Tech Specword count: 361

The 100hp three-cylinder unit on offer here comes paired with something increasingly rare to find these days - a manual gearbox, this one with six speeds. There's no auto option. And not a great deal of pulling power, though the 205Nm generated will probably be sufficient for the suburban life most petrol 600 models are likely to lead. It's the same engine used in base versions of the Jeep Avenger and uses a freshly-developed variable-geometry turbocharger, has a relatively high compression ratio, an efficient Miller cycle operation, a high pressure direct injection set-up and offers a robust so-called 'silent' timing chain system. 0-62mph takes 10.5s en route to 114mph. As with other 600 models, if you come to this car expecting it to feel like some kind of Fiat 500 or - which is less likely - like the agile, direct small Uno and Punto superminis that Turin was making at the turn of the century, you'll be somewhat disappointed. Sadly, the Italian brand has long stopped making five-door models like that - and this one has moved so far towards the softly-sprung comfort-orientated end of the spectrum that it reminded us more of a small Citroen than the unlamented third generation Punto model it's theoretically supposed to have replaced. We don't necessarily have a problem with that; in fact, the supple ride is well suited to our nation's often terrible tarmac and copes well with the speed humps and pot holes of urban travel. But whereas in this segment, say, a Volkswagen Polo manages to deliver much of that kind of supple demeanour without undue roll and pitch at speed through the bends, this Fiat achieves a rather less successful balance when things speed up and the road gets twisty. It doesn't wallow about - or roll quite like, say, a Citroen C3 might - but there's no incentive to push along and even enjoy yourself at the wheel of a 600, not helped by the rather lifeless steering feedback. But there are compensations. Refinement may not be class-leading but of course it's in another world from Fiat superminis past, which makes this a car better suited for longer journeys.

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