Fiat went on and revealed the facelifted 500 today, announcing all the details about its refreshed baby.

Eight years since we first saw it, the hugely popular Fiat 500 receives its first, major facelift with the Italians calling it the ‘new 500’. Fiat has decided not to mess with the exterior styling too much since the 500 is one of their best-sellers, having 3.8 million units sold since its original launch, and over 1.5 million since the new 500 came to the spotlight in 2007.

Despite the limited aesthetic differences, Fiat claims 1,800 changes have been made to the 500. A set of new front headlight with incorporated Daytime LEDs now features a unique lighting signature while the rear LED clusters are also redesigned. A tweaked front grille and slightly redesigned front and rear bumpers complete the minimal exterior changes.

The changes are more significant in the cabin, with the new 500 now featuring an integrated 5-inch Uconnect infotainment system. The refreshed layout is complimented by more premium materials and new trim options according to Fiat. The more expensive models come with a digital seven-inch TFT instrument cluster. Fiat also says that they have added more soundproofing for extra refinement and comfort.

The entire engine line-up is now meeting with the upcoming Euro6 regulations. The petrol engine range consists of the 68hp 1.2-litre and the turbocharged two-cylinder 0.9-litre Twinair which is offered in 85hp and 105hp guises. The latter now returns less than 90g/km of CO2 in both power versions with Fiat claiming for the 85hp version a fuel economy figure of just 74.3mpg UK (3.8lt/100km).

The 1.3-litre Multijet engine is the only available diesel engine and produces 95hp and 89g/km of CO2. A new ‘Eco’ version of the petrol 1.2 model is coming later, which will offer 99g/km of CO2 with the use of a more slippery body kit and low-resistance tires.

Also updated is the Dualogic automatic transmission, a robotised version of the manual gearbox with Fiat adding shift paddles to the steering. The Italian company also claims improvements on the chassis, without specifying further details.

Fiat has not released any info about when the hotter Abarth versions will receive the range update.

PHOTO GALLERY