Road test: Fiat 500 Twin Air

Right, the Volare Blue colour isn't me, writes Brian Byrne. And for a guy who really prefers cars more appropriate to his size, the Fiat 500 is not really on my radar.

But a motoring journo has to drive more than his favourites. So this powder-blue look retro came to be put through its paces.

Sure, I've driven other versions of this little one before. And in fairness, it's a really good example of what Fiat does best. Building small cars.

And in this case, taking a 60 years old cue and rebuilding it for the 21st century. To do for the Italian brand what BMW did for the Mini.

And, d'you know, they pretty well succeeded. The 500 has done quite well for the Turin boys and girls. It has turned out to be a real sweetheart. With a wide variety of style variants being aggressively promoted to attract the young lifestyle people. Teaming up with complementary brands, like clothing company Diesel.

So you get in the review car a houndstoothy pattern that looks smart. High quality mats that were never in the original six decades ago, with a funky graphic representing the nameplate for our time.

The ivory plastic on the centre stack and around the instruments is just like 50s Bakelite. An economy of design thought provided the best example I have seen of combining speedometer and rev-counter in the one sightline.

It's a small car, but there's surprising room in the back seats. Children really, though. And the boot isn't too tight a squeeze for most small car cargo needs.

This most recent 500 came to be parked outside my house because of its engine.

It's the 'twin air' turbocharged 2-pot powerplant that squeezes more out of less, and with fewer stops at the filling station.

The engine is tiny, a mere 875cc. With only two cylinders, it has to sound awkward. And it does, certainly at low revs and on the early windup. But once up at the high spin which it seems to love, there's a really great sound.

Good performance too, given what we're working with. An 11sec sprint is decent. As is the 85hp that makes it possible. That's 23 percent more than from the old FIRE 1.2 four that is the basis of most of the 500s on the list.

The twin air does this at a 15 percent cleaner way over the other engine, giving up to an equivalent of 70mpg, and a 95g/km emissions that doesn't even get a special dispensation on the Irish road tax system, even if it is the cleanest petrol engine in the world.

That frugality comes from a combination of things. The engine is exceptionally light, thanks to very precise engineering design. Then there's that small turbocharger, adding both efficiency and a level of torque that would be regarded with undisguised jealousy by many much bigger motors. A stop/start system adds its own contribution to greener motoring.

Fiat provides an Eco button that softens throttle and steering response. What used to be called the 'girly' button on Puntos of some years ago and since. I tried it a couple of times and didn't see the reason to bother again.

You get into a 500 from something around €13,000. Going twin air costs rather more, and the review car in 'Lounge' trim settled at €16,295. You have to decide, as with diesel cars, whether the extra over the relevant 1.2 four is worth the cost over the years of potential ownership.

But the car itself was frisky. Fun. I even got fond of it in a space of time that could only be described as seductively short.

It wouldn't be hard to live with, much of the time.

Though not in that blue, really...