Fiat Cinquecento vs. three Japanese little ones – From the Old Box

With the Cinquecento, Fiat made a golden move in the 90s. The smart and compact Italian appealed to many (especially young) people and here in the Netherlands no fewer than 28,478 of them were sold over the years. That he would do so well, however, was not immediately a given. After all, the competition was not tender, because especially from the Japanese corner there were already several cheap small ones on the market before the Cinquecento came. That’s why we threw the Fiat Cinquecento to the lions exactly thirty years ago, or rather, to the lions. He competed against the Daihatsu Cuore, Suzuki Alto and Subaru Mini Jumbo.

Especially the Cuore and Mini Jumbo proved to be tough opponents for the Cinquecento. The Alto slightly less, but that was the oldest of the bunch. Let’s start with what made the Fiat Cinquecento stand out in a positive way. He especially scored points with his appearance, especially in the interior: “We have not yet spoken to anyone who did not like the interior of the Cinquecento. It looks cozy and homely inside the smallest Fiat. What a nice pattern of an upholstery fabric can not do to do.” The seating comfort of the front seats was also good: “The two best front seats of these four (cars, ed.) are in the Fiat. These seats are the only ones to have some shape and support the body. The back in particular gets a helping hand, the legs a little less. At least it’s better than the furniture in the Japanese.”

Comfortable and slow

You might have expected it, but the Cinquecento still lost out to the other three when it came to powertrain. After all, the Japanese had eaten cheese from that. “The Fiat does not shift very pleasantly. The mechanics can be operated heavily (especially the fifth gear) and regularly has hook tendencies.” We also found the pedals of the Cinquecento a bit difficult to operate. The engine was also disappointing, although the Fiat had the largest engine: “The Cinquecento does not keep up with its Japanese counterparts. The car is not sharp, eager or fast and with a strong headwind we stayed on the highway once at 120 km /h, so an excellent protection against fines, such a Cinquecento.” We also tested the Cinquecento here with the 899 cc four-cylinder engine, still from the 127, later the 1.1 Fire engine would bring it a lot more life. Incidentally, we found the coupling to be striking in a positive sense compared to the Japanese.

In terms of driving comfort, the Cinquecento could better compete with the competition. He was even ‘by far the most comfortable car of the foursome’. However, the Daihatsu Cuore was a more inviting car in the corners. The Subaru Mini Jumbo was also quite comfortable, but largely offset that with the noisy engine. That was also the smallest of the bunch with 758 cc. We could be brief about the Alto: “It is in dire need of a facelift. Its low cost, durability and value retention are all right, but a little comfort isn’t too much to ask, is it?” The fact that a completely new Alto would soon be released was therefore no superfluous luxury. The Alto was the big loser in this multi-test.

Loser became winner

We concluded that Fiat had launched a nice attack with the Cinquecento, but that there were certainly things that the Italians had to work on to make it really difficult for the Japanese. We judged the engine, gearbox and also the space in the back seat as insufficient. “If that Mini Jumbo gets quieter and the Cuore gets better front seats, they’ll be unbeatable.” Things went a little differently. The Mini Jumbo passed the baton to the mischievous but less successful Vivio, Suzuki came up with the new Alto in 1994, which trumped the Cinquecento and Cuore in the Dutch sales figures. Fiat only got the upper hand here with the Seicento.