FIRST reintroduced to the Australian market in 2008, Fiat’s perennial 500 micro-car has gone largely unchanged for the better part of the last decade, until now.

Whether you think the 500 is a quirky and cute throwback to Fiat’s iconic past, or just the automotive equivalent of Ariana Grande’s latest bubblegum pop chart-topper, the Italian marque has refreshed its micro-car range with slight appearance tweaks and more gear.

While there are no major mechanical changes – the range is still powered by either a 1.2- or 1.4-litre naturally aspirated engine, available with a manual or automatic transmission – Fiat has also realigned prices and variants to move the car more upmarket.

Is this light facelift enough to keep the Fiat 500 competitive with a rapidly changing mirco-car segment, or is its styling and technology showing its age?

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