Fiat 600 long-term test: report 6
Fiat hasn't traditionally focused on building SUVs, but the 600 is its latest small SUV offering. We're living with one to find out how it stacks up with everyday life...
The car Fiat 600 1.2 Hybrid 48V La Prima Run by George Hill, Used Car Writer
Why we’re running it To find out whether this small SUV can be a successful urban commuter car
Needs to Be easy to drive, comfortable and cheap to run, but also practical on trips out of town
Mileage 3370 List price £27,350 Target Price £24,742 Price as tested £28,000 Official economy 57.6mpg Test economy 47.8mpg
18 May 2025 – That’s infotainment
No matter how much I try to resist, I find myself very reliant on my iPhone. I turn to this for socialising, travel and fitness, just to name a few examples. It’s got to the point where I almost need to restrain myself from using it most of the time.
I know I'm not alone in this respect, which perhaps explains why in-car infotainment systems are increasingly trying to be like smartphones. Not just with the content they offer, but also in the way they operate.
My Fiat 600's is no exception. It features a touchscreen that’s packed full of features for phone, media and navigation. It even has an app section with games like hangman, although I suspect these might be aimed more at those who own a Fiat 600e electric SUV, so they can keep themselves entertained while waiting to charge.
On the face of it, the system – called UConnect – sounds impressive, but there are a few issues with it. The main one is the relatively slow responses of the touchscreen, which means I often find myself repeatedly jabbing and swiping it. The screen in the rival Renault Captur is far snappier.
The layout of my car's menus isn’t that simple, either. There’s too much going on in a relatively small space on the screen, plus the functions don’t seem to be grouped especially logically.
On the up side, however, Fiat has borrowed an idea that Apple long-since abandoned – but that works brilliantly here – and put a physical home button below the screen. As a result, you can easily get back to the main menu.
Unlike the facelifted Ford Puma (and indeed an increasing number of modern cars) my car has physical climate controls, too. These are really easy to operate while driving, so it's just a shame the controls for the heated seats aren't among them; instead, those are on the touchscreen.
Taking everything into account, I can't imagine the team behind the Fiat 600's native infotainment system are going to be poached by Apple any time soon. As a result, I'm finding that I often bypass their efforts altogether and just rely on my car's standard-fit Apple CarPlay.
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