Fiat 600 review

Choosing a Fiat 600 is a bit like moving to a bigger house down the road – not necessarily because your family has grown, but simply because you want more space in an area you like.

You see, the 600 is positioned above the compact Fiat 500 Hybrid in the Italian brand’s line-up, so it’s designed to appeal to those who like that car’s cutesy styling but want the benefit of more interior space.

Despite their family resemblance, the 600 isn’t closely related to the 500 under the skin. Instead, it shares parts with several other small SUVs including the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008 (they're all part of the Stellantis range).

Usefully, their underpinnings cater for hybrid and fully electric power options, so as well as the mild-hybrid versions we're reviewing here, you can buy a Fiat 600e electric SUV.

Read on to find out how we rate the Fiat 600 against rival small SUVs, including the Ford Puma, Lexus LBX, Renault Captur and Volkswagen T-Roc...

What’s new?

• August 2024: Engine line-up revised, with the 600 gaining a hybrid with two outputs (100bhp and 136bhp)

There's a choice of two petrol Fiat 600s – one with 99bhp, the other with 134bhp. Both use a 1.2-litre engine, a 21bhp electric motor and a tiny 0.89kWh battery. Whichever you choose you get a six-speed automatic gearbox.

Most cars with mild-hybrid tech can’t run on electric power alone, but the 600's motor is punchy enough to drive it at up to 18mph for up to 0.6 miles without the engine's help.

The 99bhp version is quick enough, with 0-62mph taking 10.9 seconds officially. Sure, there’s a slight delay from the gearbox and engine if you’re accelerating out of electric-only mode, but otherwise it pulls strongly and there’s a good amount of mid-range shove for overtaking.

The 134bhp officially takes 8.5 seconds to sprint from 0-62mph, which is quicker than equivalent versions of the Ford Puma and Lexus LBX. In real-world driving, the delay between pressing the accelerator and making progress means it doesn’t feel as fast as its performance figures suggest, so we’d stick with the 99bhp car.

No matter which Fiat 600 you go for, it doesn't feel particularly smooth as you drive along. That’s because the engine is quite abrupt when it chimes in and out, with a noticeable shimmy as it fires up.

What’s more, the 600 isn’t as quiet as an LBX when running in electric mode, due to the motor whirring and the exterior pedestrian warning, and there’s more wind and road noise at motorway speeds than in rivals. The VW T-Roc is generally quieter to drive around in.

The 600 is most at home driving around town, where its light weight and tight turning circle make it easy to manoeuvre. It handles pretty well, with good body control during sharper turns. The only thing that really lets it that the light steering doesn’t really give you any feedback as you turn in to corners.

The ride has some cushioning to it thanks to chunky tyres on all models, but the suspension set-up is on the firm side. As a result, while body control is quite good over undulating roads, small imperfections cause you to move around in your seat and larger potholes create a thump.

All 600s come with a regenerative braking system to charge the hybrid battery. It slows the car down as you lift off the accelerator, reducing the need to press the brake pedal as frequently (although there's no one-pedal braking so it won't come to a complete stop).

Unfortunately, the regen braking is very strong and it’s not adjustable, so it takes a lot of getting used to and makes smooth driving more of a struggle. On top of that, when you need to brake, the pedal has quite a lot of travel before there's any bite.

“I found the Fiat 600 generally easy to manoeuvre. However, the electronic gear selector can be slow to flick between drive and reverse, which can be a nuisance when parking. ” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

Unlike in the Lexus LBX and some other small SUVs, you sit up high in the Fiat 600 and get a great view forwards, helped by the slim window pillars.

Visibility backwards isn’t as clear, with a high window line and wider pillars, but thankfully all cars get rear parking sensors as standard. The La Prima trim goes one step further with 360-degree parking sensors and a reversing camera. 

The front seats have neat Fiat logos stamped on them, and are very adjustable and comfortable. Entry-level cars come with manual adjustment but miss out on adjustable lumbar support, a shame if you often go on long drives.

If you want lumbar support, you’ll need La Prima trim, which also adds electric seat adjustment and a massage feature. The steering wheel moves in and out, and up and down, with plenty of movement.

The design of the 600's dashboard is similar to the one in a Jeep Avenger, with the same touchscreen, climate controls, central storage cubby and gear selector. There are lots of buttons and switches, including for the climate controls, which are easier to use when you're driving than the touchscreen controls in the Ford Puma.

Speaking of which, the 600's 10.3in infotainment touchscreen protrudes from the dashboard and is easy to see from the driver's seat. While the system looks sharp thanks to its crisp graphics, the menus are not very logically laid out and the touchscreen response is slow. The screen in the Renault Captur is much snappier.

There’s also a 7in digital driver's display that can be operated using buttons on the column stalks. It’s pretty basic, showing functions such as your fuel economy and trip information, but it’s very easy to use.

Like the petrol Fiat 500, the 600 has a bright interior with an oval dashboard insert that matches the exterior colour on entry-level cars and is ivory coloured on top-spec models. It’s a pleasant change from the mainly black interior of the Peugeot 2008.

Despite its showroom appeal, interior quality isn’t a strong suit of the 600. Nearly all the interior plastics are hard and scratchy to the touch, and it feels built to a budget. The only soft-touch areas are the padded arm rests on the centre console and doors. The Lexus LBX, Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Roc are plusher inside.

“The Fiat 600’s infotainment system can be frustrating at times but one feature I did appreciate was the physical home button below the screen. It’s especially helpful when you get lost in the maze of menus.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

The Fiat 600 is not ideal for carrying lots of adults. Sure, there’s enough head and leg room for two six-footers to sit comfortably in the front, but in the back it’s much tighter.

Rear head room is okay for taller adults but leg room is almost non-existent if you’re sitting behind a six-footer. The Ford Puma and VW T-Roc are more spacious in the back.

More positively, storage space is really good. There’s a huge lidded cubby at the bottom of the dashboard, and in La Prima trim is has a wireless phone-charger inside. There are also two cupholders, a cubby under the centre armrest and a phone-sized rubberised storage tray under the centre air vents.

The 600 has 385 litres of boot space. That's less than the Puma and the Lexus LBX offer but at least the boot is square and has room for plenty of shopping.

La Prima models get a handy adjustable boot floor, and in its highest setting it reduces the lip at the boot entrance, making it easier to load in heavier items and giving you plenty of space underneath.

You can fold down the back seats in a 60/40 split so you can carry longer items. Most small SUVs have the same set-up – although the T-Roc adds a ski hatch for more versatility.

“With four people inside, the Fiat 600 is quite tight. I’m 6ft 2in and I had to slide my seat uncomfortably forward to make sure a rear passenger could get in.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

The Fiat 600 is competitively priced against its competitors. The Renault Captur and Skoda Kamiq are slightly cheaper, but the Ford Puma, Jeep Avenger, Lexus LBX and VW T-Roc are more expensive.

Along with that, the 600 should be cheap to run. Officially, it can average 58.9mpg, which is better than a mild-hybrid Puma or a 1.0 TSI petrol T-Roc. The LBX is slightly more efficient.

As a company car, the 600 is cheaper than non-hybrid alternatives thanks to its official CO2 rating of 109g/km. However, you'll pay much even less BIK tax for the fully electric Fiat 600e (or any other electric car for that matter).

In entry-level 600 trim, it comes with a reasonable amount of kit as standard, including 17in alloy wheels, LED headlights, rear parking sensors, climate control, a faux-leather steering wheel, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

If you can find the extra cash, we'd advise looking at La Prima trim, which still undercuts equivalent versions of the LBX and T-Roc. It gets 18in alloy wheels, keyless entry and start, faux-leather upholstery, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, a powered tailgate, adaptive cruise control and the additional parking aids. 

At the time of the writing, the 600 hasn't been tested for safety by Euro NCAP so we can't tell you how well it will protect you in the event of a crash. It comes with automatic emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist and pedestrian detection, but if you want blind-spot monitoring and automatic high-beam assist for the headlights, you’ll have to step up to La Prima trim.

The 600 was too new to feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Fiat came a disappointing 25th place out of 31 brands ranked. That's worse than most rivals, including Ford, Lexus, Peugeot and Volkswagen.

To give you some peace of mind, Fiat offers a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty. That’s not as good as Hyundai’s five-year, unlimited-mileage cover, or Kia’s seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty but it’s pretty standard.

“On my 12-mile commute through London, I averaged 53.2mpg in the Fiat 600. That’s pretty impressive and not far off the car’s official  figure.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

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