Fiat promises a refresh for its charismatic city car in July 2015
Fiat will unveil a facelift of it's hugely popular 500 city car on July 4.
The timing is significant, in that it is the date that the original 500 city car was launched in 1957, and also the day when the modern version was unveiled in 2007. The 500 has been a massive success for the Italian manufacturer and is offered across the world, proving popular in Europe, Asia and the USA.
The current model, which shares a platform with the Ford Ka, launched eight years ago as a premium city car offering, with the emphasis on its distinctive looks rather than dynamic appeal. Combined with well-judged pricing, the 500 has broad appeal and some of the strongest residual values in its segment.
The 500 has spawned a family of products in addition to the original three-door model. The soft top 500C was first, followed by the more practical five-door 500L which offers space for a small family. A rugged Trekking version beefed up the looks a little to cash in on the trend for compact SUVs, although the recently introduced 500X does a far more convincing job. The compact seven-seat 500L MPW is the final model in the line-up, bringing the total number of 500 models to six.
The last tweaks for the 500 were in 2014 when a digital dashboard, engine improvements and trim tweaks kept it competitive with rivals.
It is unlikely there will be huge external changes this time around either, other than to tweak the appearance to better align it with the 500X. Internally, it is likely that cabin will be restyled to accomodate the smart, 5.0-inch touchscreen infotainment set up used in the small SUV too, and introduce some of the better quality materials which make the 500X cabin such a nice place to be.
The new Fiat 500 is likely to make its public debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2015.
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