Motoring - Spoilt for choice with Fiat 500

Here's a number to get you thinking: 500,000. It's the approximate number of different Fiat 500 variants available. That includes all the colour, trim, engine options plus the tempting extras and the bits to help you personalise it.

With such a focus on the aesthetic angle, you get the distinct feeling that the 500 is something fashionable and expensive that you should wear. It is one of those rare cars, something that comes along only once a generation; it reinvigorates the maker in question and causes a stir in the market. It happened recently with another car, the Mini.

BMW proved that the formula of dragging a historic icon into the 21st century can work. Indeed, it's been a roaring success. The German firm's approach to marketing the car has been, well, typically German and cerebral - you either get it or you don't. If you were polite you'd say it was quirky.

Fiat's approach is pretty simple and typically Italian: it's all about passion. It's figured that once you've seen one and then driven one you'll fall head over heels for one. There's no question that the modern day 500 is a looker.

Sure the 500 is bigger than the car first launched in 1957, but not disproportionately so. Park it next to a regular car or watch it scythe through traffic and it still looks pretty small among all the "grown-up" cars.

Small is not a word you could use to describe the list of customisation options, though. This is one of the 500's strengths, and goes a long way to explaining the potential for around 500,000 different variants.

You want the key fob to match the colour of your car - no problem. Bonnet stripes, roof stripes, complete roof graphics, numerous interpretations of the Italian flag, different alloy wheel designs, a choice of seat fabrics plus a handful of leather options, body coloured instrument panel, it's all possible.

Everywhere you look, inside and out, the 500 feels like a premium product. The fit and finish is impressive for a small car, and when you factor in the modest pricing structure you soon find yourself mentally working out what's achievable within the budget of a more conventional compact hatch. And you know what, it's more than you think.

So we know that Fiat's 500 is small, stylish and boasting a vast array of options, but is it any good? Heads turn, fellow drivers smile and you get let out of junctions. So in a word, yes.

The cabin ambience - second only to the car's appearance - successfully blends the 500's common retro theme with modern controls and displays.

In fact, the car's main instruments are very modern, combining speedo and rev counter with a useful trip computer display all in one cowled unit. To the left and mounted high up is the more conventional stereo, with the ventilation controls - air-con or climate - located above the gearlever.

In essence the basic layout is very much like Fiat's Panda, right down to the high mounted gearlever, on which the 500 is based. As such the 1.2, 1.4 petrol and 1.3 diesel engines hold few surprises. That's actually a lie because the two smallest capacity engines easily duck under the magic 120g/km CO2 barrier, while 1.4 petrol can be viewed as the mild "performance" variant until the breathed on Abarth version appears.

On the road the 500 delivers a refined, measured experience. This is no sports car, but it makes no apologies for that fact: the supple ride, excellent cabin refinement and light but direct steering, raises seating position and good visibility all prove perfect attributes for city driving.

Faster roads are no barrier to fun, though. Speeds are no bother for the 500 and, especially in the diesel, maintaining a relaxed cruise is easy.

Somehow, with all the various options available and the huge potential for personalisation, it seems a little fruitless going through the car's specification.

However, for the record there are three trim levels: Pop, Lounge and Sport. Remote locking, folding rear seat, trip computer, and a quality stereo all feature, with air-con or climate control, alloy wheels, leather-covered steering wheel, glass roof plus a Bluetooth phone MP3 player connection all possible on the Lounge and Sport variants.

Conveniently you can have any engine with any trim level and a five-speed manual 'box is standard, with the 1.4 petrol gaining a six-speeder. Crucially in this safety conscious era, the 500 boasts five stars for crash worthiness and all cars come with seven airbags as standard.

For all the car's aesthetic appeal, there is no catch on a practical, day-to-day basis. The modern day 500 might still be a small car by current standards, but there's ample room up front for two adults and enough legroom exists in the rear to accommodate your friends on that short jaunt to the pub.

At the rear the boot is a decent size, and with the rear seat folded (either as one or 60:40 style depending on the model) you've got plenty of room for awkward items.

With the new 500, Fiat has created a modern interpretation of its classic icon that remains faithful to the original in so many ways.

There is no catch with this 500 either; it's a practical, affordable, well-built and entertaining proposition. It's hard to resist and rightly so - it's a mini marvel if you excuse the pun.