The retro-styled Fiat 500 has been one of the biggest success stories for the Italian brand in recent times, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see it lean on that model’s style for arguably a more important new car: the firm’s small crossover called the 600. Even Fiat’s marketing around this model makes it clear that it’s a relation of the dinky 500. Thankfully, the five-door 600 has a lot more space on board, and it shares a lot with the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008 built on the same platform. As in those, the 600 is offered with electric or mild-hybrid petrol power, and while it’s not particularly interesting to drive, it is smooth and comfortable.

The Fiat 500 is sold in two distinct varieties that share little other than vaguely similar retro styling and their names. The first, powered by a 1.0-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine, can trace its roots back to the 2007 reinvention of Fiat’s iconic Bambino. It’s offered in three-door hatch and convertible body styles and they’re cracking runabouts to this day. The other is the more sophisticated, more spacious and more expensive electric Fiat 500. This also can be had as a cabrio and, while it gets a small battery for a modest range just north of 300km, it feels worth the premium over its petrol-fuelled sibling.