There was an awful lot of fuss about this little car when it was launched earlier this year – this latest in a series of retrospectively styled design icons of that include the Mini and the VW Beetle, had been eagerly anticipated by industry, press and prospective punters alike. Even before the UK launch there was an unprecedented number of advance orders for the little car.

I was in Northern Italy several months before the UK launch just in time to coincide with the 500‘s launch in its home country. I was over in Modena by invitation to meet an entirely different car; the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and despite my awe-inspiring tour of the famous factory in Maranello and my introduction to the breath-taking Scud, I found myself embroiled and completely fascinated by the local culture that surrounded not only the legendary original 500 but also the resurrected and cutting-edge modern version of the same car.

There were bill-posters everywhere celebrating the newly launched car. The simple, utilitarian, yet still sort-of cute ancestor of the new car is close to the hearts of the Italian people. It saw them through the post-Mussolini and World War II depression that hung about for decades. This was a cheap, compact, easily repaired and extremely versatile car that kept running right through the tough times and they‘re still a common sight in all parts of Italy that I‘ve been to.

I attended a local launch some months later and was surprised to see that Fiat was making nearly as much of hoo-hah as it did on the 500‘s home turf. The famous chef Aldo Zilli prepared an Italian feast for guests and Mika performed a live synchronised performance that played on a video screen just before the cover-sheet was whisked off.

There‘s no doubt that the 500 was designed to capture the less-wealthy end of the Mini market in the UK and it was cleverly marketed and it needed to be to beat the genius behind the BMW-backed Mini campaigns. It does beat the Mini on a few scores though – it‘s fresher, cheaper and has a bigger boot. It may also be slightly cuter...

Inside the cabin, it‘s just as endearing and thoughtfully designed as the retro-inspired exterior – there‘s an illusion of a simplistic body-coloured ’metal‘ dash that actually turns out to be a shiny well-finished plastic, a dash-mounted ’stick complete with good change action and large nostalgia-inspiring dials and switchgear.

Safety-wise there‘s seven airbags including front, side, knee and curtain and it‘s attained a 5-star NCAP rating. Standard equipment on the entry-level ’Pop‘ includes iPod connectivity, colour-coded bumpers and electric mirrors. Air conditioning, fogs and alloys only become standard on the next step up, the ’Sport‘ and the top-of-the-range ’Lounge‘ will bag you split/folding rear seats.

There is little doubt in my mind that the Fiat 500 has been a success so far. This little car may well capture some of the market that Mini felt assured of but probably won‘t be too much of a threat in the UK. The original Mini was developed and launched at about the same time as the Fiat 500 and most people in Britain look upon it with the same reverence and nostalgia as the Italians do with their own national automotive icon.