September 11, 2007 9:29 AM PDT

The Mammoth Fiat 500

Posted by Wayne Cunningham

The Fiat 500 is much bigger than we expected.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Last July we wrote about the new Fiat 500, a modern take on a classic small car. Walking around the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, we saw it live for the first time, and didn't expect it to be so big. The Fiat 500 towers over the Fiat floor area, and could easily squash a Hummer. We're pretty sure European roads haven't gotten substantially wider, so we don't know what Fiat's engineers were thinking.

Ah, here's the real, actual size Fiat 500.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Oh wait, our mistake--the actual Fiat 500 was sitting nearby. The giant Fiat 500 is just a bit of booth dressing, although its pretty impressive. Fiat built a track through the big car, and has actual Fiat 500s pulled along on a slot through the left front wheel well, then out the other side. The real Fiat 500s on display look as good as the press photos.

We especially like the clean interior design. The white dashboard and smooth buttons make it look like an iPod. The navigation unit sits on its own pedestal, and can be removed. Dual-zone climate control is an impressive touch in an economy car. As we fiddled with the controls, we saw that the car also has Bluetooth hands-free cell phone integration, with information about the connection shown on the LED radio display.