2012 Fiat 500 - Specs - Automobile Magazine

Italian style
For now, the 500's principal appeal is not so much as a gas miser or as a tear-around funster, but as a design object. The exterior styling is just right and will be augmented by an unusually large selection of colors, fourteen in all, as well as various graphics packages. The interior is far more highly styled than one usually sees in this category, with a big swath of body-color trim on the dash; large, upholstered door armrests; off-white switches; and a detailed steering wheel, yet it's far more logically arranged than the style-over-substance instrument panel of the Mini Cooper. There are also fourteen available interior colors, rather than the typical choice of tan or gray. Fiat says there are more than 500,000 possible ways to spec out a 500. Small car, big ambition
Fiat hopes to sell 50,000 cars in North America this year between the hardtop and the Cabrio that goes on sale this spring. For its part, Mini, a much more established brand, sold only 45,000 cars annually in the United States in 2009 and 2010, so even with the addition of the 500 Abarth next year and an electric 500 in late 2012, Fiat's goals are very ambitious. Whatever the volume, we're glad to see the 500 in America. With sales of the smallest cars in a long-term uptrend, we need more variety in the small-car arena and, in particular, more models that don't feel like lesser versions of larger cars. That's certainly the case here. 2012 Fiat 500 Base price: $15,500 (plus destination)
Powertrain: 16-valve DOHC I-4
Displacement: 1.4 liters
Power: 101 hp @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 98 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed manual or 6-speed automatic
Drive: Front-wheel
EPA Fuel Economy: 30/38 mpg (manual); 27/34 mpg (automatic) Chassis
Suspension, front: Strut-type, coil springs
Suspension, rear: Beam axle, coil springs
Wheels: 15 x 6.0 in, 16 x 6.5 in (Sport)
Tire size: 185/55R15, 195/45R16XL (Sport) Measurements
Wheelbase: 90.6 in
L x W x H: 139.6 x 64.1 x 59.8 in
Curb weight: 2350-2430 lb
Fuel capacity: 10.5 gallons
Cargo capacity: 9.5 cu ft