Fiat 500 acts a little naughty with new Cattiva

The Fiat 500 is nothing if not cool. In order to take that cool to a new level, or perhaps in a different direction, Fiat is introducing the 500 Cattiva. In Italian, the word Cattiva means naughty, or bad but not in a childish way, more of a cool way. If you have seen the Abarth commercials with the Italian model, you will understand.

Cattiva is actually a trim level for the 500 family. One can select the base 1.4 liter engine or the turbo. If you have never driven a Fiat 500 be prepared for a disappointment. Although the cars look like MINIs, they don’t drive that way, they are sort of like slower, more tippy, more loose MINIs. However, they do look good and the new Cattiva will make the car even better looking.

Cattiva adds a blacked out style. The headlights, taillights and signal lights are all smoked. The roof gets a black gloss treatment that Fiat calls Gloss Nero. In case you don’t already know, nero means black in Italian. The interior also gets the nero treatment, but with a little grigio (gray) added. The black and gray are offset by silver stitching and leather is available for a few extra dollars.

When selecting the 500, a customer can first pick from the Sport (101 hp regular engine) or Turbo (131 hp). Once they have chosen their power plant, they can then add the Cattiva treatment. The prices of these cars are shockingly low. Under $20K for the Sport based car and about $21K for the Turbo based model. A five speed manual is available, but we would strongly suggest customers try the stick and clutch version before opting for it.

The Fiat 500 is a good city car for those who want an inexpensive tiny car with some attitude. We cannot go along with the Fiat imaginings that the base 500 is sporty, or that the turbo is powerful as the advertisements and press releases pretend. However, the car does have personality. The new naughty version will be a great addition to the many special versions Fiat has dreamed up.