Can't sleep due to awaiting surgery for a spinal injury after some dh hit me at 50mph, this is one of the channels that gets me through insomnia.

My father in law had a Fiat 500 and was caught speeding by the police. When he was told how fast he was going, he was totally shocked, he couldn't believe it. The police man laughed and let him off with a light telling off .

My late grandfather had a Zastava 750, which is basically a rebadged Fiat 600. I have so much fond memories playing with it as a child, it was so easy to work on even a 6 year old could do it! I remember taking the front left wheel off every other day, pretending I was a mechanic. It was a light blue that turned all chalky. I remember my grandpa telling me he bought it brand new in 1964. Sadly, it has been scrapped many years ago, since it was in a really bad state. Seems my family loves Fiats lol, thanks for reminding me of happy days with this pristine example of the Fiat 500!

I'd have one of those tomorrow if I had the money. I fell in love with little FIATs when I drove a mate's 126 bis.

These are so charming! Love these little 500's. When I was young a neighbour across the street had a Mini, Beetle, 2CV and a 500. He drove the 500 the most. Such a smart designed car for it's age, and it looks so cute. Never heard anybody say that they don't like it. Thanks for this awesome review Matt!

Not only is it the coolest little Italian car but it comes with a espresso cup holder and a cannoli bin under the dash! Brilliant! 🇮🇹

My dad was a student in Italy in the 70s he went through quite a few of them he even did cross Europe trips in these little things his first one a nuova drove it from Bologna to Paris

The speedometer goes up to 80 MILES per hour! It's got Kilometres in smaller units under the major ones.

One of the few classic cars that when converted to electric, you actually gain boot space. Somewhat more pep as well.

One of the cutest and cleverest little cars ever designed. It has transcended many decades and will always remain an icon. Love the colour combination on this one too. Espresso shelf - absolutely love it 🤣 Great video Matt.

One of those cars that you see, and immediately think of the country it's from. Like the Mini for Britain, the 2CV or Renault 4 for France, or the Beetle for Germany.

My brother bought one of these new in 1969 except in a teal blue. It was wonderful. I did some of my learner driving in it and it taught me how to 'heel and toe' down changes, an excellent skill. It would do 60 mph with a bit of a hill and a tail wind! This test brought back good memories. Cheers

I suspect they were easier to get in and out of when they had suicide doors. What a lovely little car and excellent video.

Thoroughly enjoyed the video. I have owned a 1958 Fiat 500 Nuova since 1986 and I never become weary of driving it. As you mentioned, it attracts so many smiles and has been the catalyst of so many conversations with complete strangers that I otherwise would never have had. Mine has the complete sunroof which is wonderful 9 months of the year here in Cape Town.

Picture the traffic jam scene in the original 'Italian Job' with the guy sitting on the roof, legs through the sunroof and foot on the horn. Perfect. Great review of a lovely little car, many thanks Matt.

I had a Fiat 500 van in the early 70's. It had the flat twin under the floor at the back and was incredibly noisy. There was also a wire operated throttle stop under the dashboard. We used to collect firewood from the beach and drive it up a one in three hill . (Millook) It was so under powered that I would put it in gear, pull out the throttle stop to full throttle and climb out onto the road as we reached the steep hill. Then walk beside it with a hand on the steering wheel through the window. I was so grateful when I could afford a Cortina. My hearing has never recovered.

Very cool. I had a ride in an Abarth mnay years ago. It was equally hilarious and scary at the same time. Mostly, though it was LOUD. Some of that may have been my screams. Crazy, brilliant, and unmistakably Italian. Fiat do small perfectly.

Nice example of this nifty little car! My Mom, back when she worked for her Dad in the foreign car repair business in Washington, D.C. (ca. 1950s) describes test-driving one of these delights, when the shifter came up off the floor! No problem; she just placed it back in the socket, and it shifted just fine!

When I first saw the video caption, and saw 500D, I thought no way? They made a diesel version lol... What a mint little car 😍

My first car was a 126. This car sounds identical (the engine looks near identical too!), and I can tell from your footage that the ride and handling are similar. The 126 benefitted from having the fuel tank under the car giving a larger front boot, the Bis gained one at the back too when they turned the engine on its side! The rear suspension looks like semi trailing arm; but it isn't. The axles still pivot from the gearbox, and for some reason manufacturers in the 60s thought that positive camber was a good idea! After my Fiat threw me into a ditch (yes, that positive camber will get you it you are not extremely careful, and no, the Fiat is not a strong car) I bought a RWD Skoda. The Skoda was a revelation! Sure footed, comfortable, lots and lots of space, 40-50 MPG, and still lots of fun. The Fiat is cute, and fun to drive; but they do bite, and you really wouldn't want to hit anything solid in one! Excellent review - don't add one of these to your fleet! Keep well. Gord :-)

Absolutely lovely car and a great video Matt! My mother had 2 of these, first a F and later an R. I grew up in these cars, she used to bring us to the swimming pool for lessons and we used it around town. Both cars still exist, the F is restored and owned by my cousin and the R has been converted to an Abarth lookalike by someone. The shelf under the dash was original by the way, and they never came with synchromesh, although a lot of owners are retrofitting a Polski 126 Maluch gearbox which is synchronised. You forgot to mention the manual rubber push button screen wash thing and the tiny interior light in the rear view mirror 😉 thanks for this great video. 👍👍

Very nice to see someone driving my daily commute to work :D And please have a word with the owner of that BMW 6series and rescue it. It's been sitting there forever (at least 6 years). Great content, stay safe!

I've always loved small vehicles, I used to own two 90's miatas and now these are my all-time favorites.

Lovely little cars. I've had three of them over the years. A 1967 'F' and two 1973 'L's. The transmission tunnel is actually the heater trunking. If you reach down behind you, where it disappears behind the rear seat, there is a valve flap that shuts off the heating. Useful in summer and makes the engine noise quieter in the cabin. Apart from rust in the sills, the common achilles heel for MOT's is the king pins. They need regular greasing or they seize and turn on the stub axle instead, causing wear, wobble and a failure.

Amazing to see some of the same controls in my 1977 Fiat 124. The door handles, window winders, and steering column with stalks is exactly the same. Of the two on the left side of the wheel, the forward one is strictly for the main beams and lifts up to activate or pulls back to flash.

Thanks for the vid, and especially for putting the car into perspective (people mover, icon!). The sunroof means less steel (which was expensive); the starter between the seat means less wiring. No joke. It was all about cost.

Just gonna point that out, the 1962 Rekord P2 have two "cupholders" in the glovebox lid. Very handy for a picnic but driving with a cup in them is not adviced

Fantastic video and really nice job! I love these old tiny cars and would love to drive a 500! A couple of (hopefully funny) thoughts for you: 1. A video over 20 minutes and a car about 10' long..... yes, you spent 2 minutes per foot of car. :) 2. When driving, your over-the-shoulder camera made every oncoming car look like it would be a head-on collision! Loved seeing the drive and hearing your thoughts, but I admit I was anxious for almost the whole time! :) :) :)

What a beautiful little car Matt and like the original/new Mini, its only when you see one next to its modern counterpart that you realise how tiny they are 😀🇮🇹

Beautiful colour combination. Really interesting to see one driven too; I wasn't expecting it to have such good road manners

That’s a great video. Cheers for the big smile it induced 😊 Grazie 🍷

I remember reading that when the Italian Job movie was being planned the film company was offered free of charge by Fiat Supercharged versions of the Fiat 500 instead of the Mini Cooper. The film com[any declined instead choosing the Mini, when they asked if they could have the cars for free or at a discount BMC refused charging the film company full price, for what must have been the greatest advert for a car of all time.

Iconic little car ,not many around, nice to see you putting it through its paces round London.

Another car, along with the Mini, the 2CV, the Renault 4, the Hyundai Atoz and the Badford Rascal that just makes you happy when you see it. I love the blue too. As for the horn, I'm sure it features in Summer in the City by The Lovin' Spoonful.

Superb little car! I can see how much fun you had driving around!

Nice one! I had a J Reg 500 same colour in about 1982 - it replaced my Citroen DS! The main thing I remember was the ride quality which was much better that the old mini thanks to its transverse leaf spring at the front. From memory I think mine was all syncromesh as I do not recall any crunching of gears. You could get a bit of oversteer on tight wet roundabouts which was fun! I felt safer driving it than a morris minor that I borrowed and regularly took it on the M6 though it was much a less busy road that it is today.

Absolutely adorable. I have a 2018 version and it’s still really cute. A smile a mile

Great video, Thank you. Amazing car, not only to drive around -- even for long trips.

Hi Matt,great drive on this Fiat 500f,the inside looks a bit small but goes alright,nice to see one on the road.

Happy memories of being a passenger back in the 70's when a friend who was driving rolled it on a turn. 4 people in the vehicle at the time, so was easy to turn it upright to drive it again :)

Iconic little motor, stylish Italian design that lives on to this day! You can clearly see the design heritage in the present 500 model. 😎👍 They even followed up with a more refined water cooled twin cylinder 875cc turbo charged engine, the Twinair 0.9. Same engine I have in my Fiat Panda 4x4, which is a surprisingly nimble car, you really can't tell it is considerably less than 1 litre and only 2 cylinders, mine developes 85bhp, more power and torque than the 1.2L4 cylinder model. Less moving parts and lighter engine, also way cheaper to service! There is actually a 100bhp version. Happy days!! 😎👍😁

Gorgeous cars - if you want more modern practical go 126 or 126 Biz ( means "encore" I believe) or, if you can find one a FIAT/SEAT/ZASTAVA 850 or the ultimate hidden gem a FIAT/SEAT 133.

This little car is a real credit to it's owner. Thank you for the video.

Surely one of the most charming and stylish cars of all time. The canvas roof was put on to save on steel which was very expensive at the time and you could buy spare parts like belts at the corner shop.

Great video - excellent filming angle from inside the car with the 14mm, felt i was in the passenger seat! Got to wonder who on earth downvotes these sort of videos...

I love the contrast colours of this vehicle: navy blue and pumpkin suit it perfectly! That agricultural drivetrain reminds me of HubNut's 2CV, and yes, I know the 500 has the engine in the rear. A very special vehicle, and another smashing video! Oh, and when you mentioned the 911, while driving, a modern 911 you were following, as well as a Mini Countryman on another part of the video during your drive. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not!

The stalks on the steering column, one closest to you is indicators and the one furthest away from you is side lights, dipped and high beams. A switch on the dash turns on the wiper.

Mama mia! Is it really 40 years ago since the great fire at Alexander Palace. Went there a couple of days later with my brother to view what was left of the building. You were near to my childhood north London stomping ground. Great times, great little car, I always think of the original Italian Job film with the traffic jam in Milan.

Fab. The ultimate Noddy car. Great review Matt. It looks in great condition...so cute.

What an absolute hoot this must be to drive! Bellissimo Fiat! Replaced by the 126 in 1972 but Fiat used up a stock of 500 parts so kept it going until 1975 if I have my facts right.

Sat my driving test in my 500L in the 70s. Think the examiner was impressed by my double de-clutching.😂

I got a speeding ticket in a Fiat 500 doing 112 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. I'm very proud of that!

Oh, yesss!! Matt driving one of my favorite cars! :D Loved this one Matt! I hope to own one someday, but their prices are on the rise, so I'm planning on importing a FIAT 126p here to Nova Scotia instead...similar driving experience, less cost, also an interesting history as Poland's 'people's car' :) As for transmissions in 500s with synchromesh - you're mostly right - all 500s did not have any sycnros at all, EXCEPT, I'm pretty sure the 500R at the end of the production run got the engine and transmission that were going into the forthcoming FIAT 126 at the time, didn't it? The 126 DID have synchromesh on all but first and reverse, I do believe, so the 500R had that as well. Also, that's an 80 *MPH* speedo, the kph are the smaller numbers on the center ring (a heady....and wholly impossible-for-a-500 speed of 120kph)! ALSO also, the 'transmission tunnel' you mention in the center wasn't just for strength, it's also the duct for heat coming from the engine to enter the cabin to the front vents! Behind you on the floor in front of the rear seats is a handle that opens or closes heat from the engine at the back! :) Amusingly coincidental for me to see this video pop into my feed as I actually just did some digital art not long ago of the classic 500F's speedo on my RedBubble shop! Always loved the styling of them, they almost remind me of a well-made little pocket-watch or the like! :) www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/49622815

Hi, great video. Do you happen to know the tires on this? 135? seem a touch larger but still have a nice small whitewall

So lovely,,Fiat really nailed it with this one, what a lovely example, great review-thank you

Lovely car and very enjoyable review!

In 1987 I bought a mint 1970 Fiat 500 in the exact same colour as that car, but with black seats and trim. I used it in the summer as a fun city car, I can tell you that at that time it was not considered cool. Mine has no rust outside, but had a rust hole on the dashboard which was annoying. I sold it to a friend, can’t remember how much but I think about 150 quid. Oh how I wish I’d kept it!

My mum had one, earlier model than this - '64, I think. I was 17 and it was the first car I drove. At 6ft 1in tall, I found that, with the roof open, I could sit on top of the seat back, my head out of the open roof, and still reach the pedals. From that viewpoint, it felt as if I was driving an egg.

Always wanted one. And fit a tunes 704cc 126 engine. Another great video

Nice to see you driving somewhere different Matt.

...Actually, it's an "F"...with 'wrong' "L" hubcaps and bumpers! ;-) My dad had a '70 "L" in blue with a red interior! Lovely lovely, sweet little car!!! Beautiful video my friend. Thanks!

I don't think the 500 ever had an all-syncromesh gearbox. That only came in with the 126 that replaced it, which is part of the reason why upgrading these with the 594 or 652cc air-cooled 126 engine (a further development of this engine) and relevant gearbox is so popular. They do also offer a significant performance upgrade too, but performance is still a relative term. Having said that, and having had various 126s down the years, including as my first car, you can have a lot of fun in one of these little air-cooled FIATs without having any great likelihood of disturbing the speed limit. Just be careful driving in snow, where, basically, they just don't turn until you bounce off something...

ALL car reviewers are picking up the "THHHHIS!". I love it.

Lovely video , I am searching for the right one at the moment .

My first car was a 1994 fiat Cinquecento. It only had 40hp but was so much fun. Its nice to see it's ancestor was probably even more fun to drive. The key is it's simplicity. You expect an expensive GT car to be fun, but a cheap city car built to a shoestring budget, somehow is more just as much fun in its own way

my dad had one when i was borned then we later had a Giardiniera as the family car (both the same navy blue as that one) he always told me they were syncro on 2nd upwards

I have the 2015 retro version and I love it. Your video was very informative and interesting but slow down a bit! Lol

I didn't know these were even offered in right hand drive! Only ever seen left hand drive ones.

No syncromesh on 1st gear iirc, the other 3 gears did, I had one in the early 90s, back when you could buy them for 500 quid lol.

Living here in the US, I love my Fiat 500 Gucci edition! Such beautiful little cars! 👌

Oh, Mr Richardson! I take it that you enjoyed your visit to the Alexandra Palace area of London in a 20th century icon?

Charming wee car, bet with it being tiny it's like a wee go kart. Cracking review as always

I had a fiat 126 kit car, all mechanically identical to the 500 except for the 600 engine, what I found was the main problem running one was the parts quality nowadays is appalling, I had 2 dizzy caps break, a new carb that had a crack across the lid and worst was a front leaf spring that broke after 2 weeks

This is a lovely gem of a car...!!! 😀👍🚗💨

My dad bought me a 1970 Fiat 500 L in 1987 when I was just a boy. I loved that car. It broke my heart when in 1989 we lost our storage, and I had to sell it. I wonder what happened to it. I desperately want another 500.

I love this tiny piece of Italian engineering! 🇮🇹

Lovely little car and great review. When will we be seeing more of the R8 Cab?

I remember a friend arriving in one , and my neighbour rudely pointing out that his '56 V8 Dodge Royal had a STARTER MOTOR that was slightly more powerful than the Fiat's engine ...

I have a 2016 one. The thing I love about these, is that it still looks similar! When did they move the engine to the front, I wonder?

Amazing small car, very nice test drive.

I had one years back ,fantastic car.

It's a superb car. I loved driving this car back in the 60's.❤❤❤❤

6:53 beep! beep! (What a very cute horn!)

Not designed to do more than 40 mph? Based on what I saw in Italy in the early 70s, nobody had told the Italian drivers about that! First gear sounds like it has straight cut cogs. Thanks very much for the video.

Great little cars I have one must restore it my sister got a a white left hand drive it's fab they are easy to get parts for and your one was nice colour wonder what's shade or code is it I enjoyed video

I had one of these back in the early 80's, great little car that I wish I still had, but sadly it rusted so badly that another MOT would have cost me more than the car was worth!

Actually reminds me of a street legal go kart. With that little engine screaming away and threading between narrow streets and parked cars the feeling of speed must be tremendous

Did I spot Alexandra Palace? Brings back memories of living in Muswell Hill in the '70s :)

6 days ago I was at the beach in Sardinia for holiday and i saw an old 500 parking perpendicular between 2 cars parked in parallel

Someday, I'll own one. Any year would be great. They're all awesome.

I would love to see you review a Vauxhall Sintra!

A beautiful and rust free example. A neighbour of mine has 3. Red, white and dark blue like this one. They are so sweet.The blue one's for sale.

In my country Croatia, which was a part of Yugoslavia, this car was "redesigned" and sold under the license as Zastava 750.

Awesome. I have a 1972 500f- yes, with the 17hp 😬 The only thing I would change from your car- is that plastic fuel filter- they can fall apart and a fire will occur. They sell nicer glass filters that are a little more expensive but way better quality.

Out of curiosity how tall are you, as a tall car guy I always enjoy seeing how people of different sizes actually fit in cars.

That color combo is 😷 looking on that Fiat. Great little cars, fun to drive and enjoyable to own.

My friend has a 500 with suicide doors in need off probably a re shell, right hand drive. I think its one of 4 or 5 left in the country, been here all its life. I think its going on bangers n cash

I think it is now Piaggio scooters around Rome. I was there some time ago and I remember going around a roundabout and a guy had his girlfriend on the back of one, but she was sitting backwards and reading a book. I had to look twice, but it happened.

The original city car. Looks like incredible fun! I just wish right hand drive examples weren't so bloody expensive now. There was a time when they could be picked up for as little as £50 in running condition.

My aunt had a red one in the 70s . She used to regularly go on motorways in it , flat out at 50 mph ! 😳