Fiat 500 Cult

Taking over from the Lounge as the more luxurious trim in the Fiat 500 range, the Cult has a huge amount of standard equipment. So much so that the options list only really includes personalisation items such as colour finishes and stickers. Standard kit includes a fixed glass sunroof, alloy wheels, climate control and rear parking sensors.

Both the 85 and 105bhp versions of the 900cc TwinAir petrol engine are available in the Cult, with fuel economy figures of 70.6 and 67.3mpg respectively. However, buyers should note that the TwinAir has a tendency to underperform compared to these claimed figures.

There's also a 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is less fuel efficient but around £1,500 cheaper to buy than the TwinAir models.

The 500 Cult has the same dashboard as any other 500, but its analogue instruments have been replaced by a circular digital screen. The car has a funky, retro interior that's colour co-ordinated with the exterior paint finish. To make your Cult stand out, we'd suggest looking at the pastel colours on offer – our favourite being Smooth Mint Green.

A word of caution, however: the 500 Cult is quite expensive. Around £15,000 for a three-door city car seems like a lot when a high-spec, five-door Ford Fiesta Titanium costs around the same.

Good points

The 500's retro looks blend well with the Cult spec. The available pastel colours and colour co-ordinated dashboard make sure it stands out from crowd – and other 500s.We love the 500's capabilities as a city car. The light steering (plus an extra-light City setting) and comforting suspension mean it's perfect around town. The low-emission engines and good fuel economy figures make the 500 a cheap car to run, too.Fiat has made sure to keep the 500 up to date. The car's been on sale since 2007, but updates like the digital dashboard have kept it feeling fresh.

Bad points

There's no getting around the fact that the 500 is a small car. The boot is tiny – 185 litres is all you get – so you won't be carrying any big loads. The Skoda Citigo and its SEAT Mii and VW up! sister models trounce the Fiat in this department, with around 70 litres more luggage space.Unless you drive very carefully, the TwinAir engines tend to return significantly worse fuel economy than their claimed figures.The Cult in particular is creeping into larger hatchback territory when it comes to price. For the same £15,000, you could bag a more practical Mazda2 Sport or Ford Fiesta Titanium five-door.

What you get

• Alloy wheels
• Folding rear seats
• Panoramic roof
• Electric folding wing mirrors
• Alarm
• Rear parking sensors
• Tyre pressure sensors
• Passenger & Driver airbag
• Front side airbags
• Curtain airbags
• Front fog lights
• Auto climate control
• Leather steering wheel
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Front electric windows
• Single CD player
• AUX stereo input
• Stop/Start
• Bluetooth

Recommended optional extras

• Pastel paint finish

Our choice

The 85bhp TwinAir engine has lots of character to match the retro looks of the 500 Cult. It also has the best claimed fuel economy figure (70.6mpg) and CO2 emissions (92g/km) in the range.