This week I am not writing about a car. This is the Fiat Topolino. Legally, it’s a quadricycle, but I look at it and the word that comes to mind is toy! A toy I very much would like to have.
This is Fiat’s interpretation of the Citroën Ami. A much more appealing interpretation it must be said. Whereas the Ami looks, well, a bit strange, the Topolino is cute as a puppy. Topolino actually means little mouse, and it is a name Fiat first used on their original 500 model, between 1936 and 1955.
The most famous 500, the one launched in 1957 and relaunched in 2007, was actually called the Nuova 500, or New 500. That was the car that made Italians mobile after WWII, and it is a piece of human history.
The new Topolino has no such noble intentions. Although it costs only €9,890, it’s not for the masses. Being a quadricycle means it cannot go on the motorway, which immediately limits its use. But get this: depending on what you pay for electricity at home, 100km in one can cost between €1.30 and €1.60, which sounds incredible in today’s world.
This is, then, a vehicle to be used inside the city’s perimeter. Happily, it is a rather fun thing to muck about in. The Topolino is built in Morocco and, mechanically, it is exactly the same as the Ami. It has a 5.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack making a staggering eight horsepower. It takes around four hours to charge on a domestic socket if fully depleted, and it will then display 75km of range on the dash. Real-world range will be closer to 60-65km though.
Unlike the Ami, the front and rear panels are not the same, Fiat’s CEO Olivier François insisting the Topolino should have its own identity and dedicated bodywork. The doors, on the other hand, are the same modular plastic part, so while the passenger door opens like a regular door, the driver’s door opens in suicide style. Clever.
Inside, the cheap charm only the Italians know how to do lifts the Topolino above the Ami. It’s really just a bit of cloth with brown stripes, but it somehow makes the most basic cabin you can think of look that bit more special.
I drove around in a Corallo version, which is nothing but a standard Topolino with coral-coloured plastic panels. Looks just as good as the regular Verde Vita green one. What you will feel about this quadricycle depends on what you expect from it and what your approach towards it is. This is not a Smart ForTwo rival. This is a Vespa rival – one where you won’t get wet if it starts to rain.
There are no creature comforts whatsoever. AC? Sorry, not here. The heater does make funny noises, but the job of heating is better achieved with a thicker sweater. The ride quality is lacking in any real quality, and you can only stretch the Fiat up to 45km/h, which can be frustrating at times. If you want to listen to any music, well, may I suggest you sing.
Yet, as an object, the Topolino is a desirable thing that attracts many welcoming glances on the road. Amidst all the discomfort and the rattling noises and the lack of speed, I found myself having a blast at the wheel. At just 487kg, those 8hp are enough to offer an instant pick-up at a traffic light, roundabout or crossroads.
The Topolino is also much smaller than everything else on the road. At 2535mm-long and 1400mm-wide, it’s very easy to place and quite effective in zipping round corners. Progress is always fun.
In Portugal, it can be driven by 16-year-olds (hence why it cannot go above 45km/h), making it a cool machine for well-off children who already have everything else. Whisper it, but that 45km/h limiter is quite easy to remove and the Topolino can safely travel up to 65-70km/h. You didn’t hear it from me. Nor that I know someone who did 114km/h in an unrestricted one and lived to tell the tale.
My daughter is currently living in Milan, and I can report that over there the Topolino is just about everywhere. It has become part of the city, and nobody cares much about it anymore. It’s just a vehicle like any other, but one that makes the urban canvas look a lot more interesting, in my opinion. Over here, though, it’s still just a toy, as I mentioned in the beginning. Everybody looks, people point, smile and kids take pictures. For the four days I had it, I am sorry to say, I didn’t see another one on the road.
I understand it’s not a thing for everyone, but, surely, it must fit some local readers’ lives out there, as it does in Italy. I say, go out and try one at your Fiat dealer. I promise you’ll have more fun per km/h than in any other car. Even if the Topolino is not even one.
Read more from Guilherme Marques about motoring: Toyota – Right car at the right time
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