THE swankiest hotels and top end restaurants may once have been graced with the kerbside presence of Bentleys, Rollers and Bavarian luxury limos.

These days though they are more often replaced by city cars that look streetwise and do just what it says on the tin.

They are nippy, brightly coloured, boast boutique interior styling and offer the sort of all-round visibility that makes them adept in busy traffic.

Cheap to buy and run - and environmentally clean too - they make proper economic sense.

And among the most interesting is a quirky character that's been around for the thick end of eight years, yet just keeps getting better - the Fiat 500.

With both petrol and diesel engines on offer, and five main trim grades, the 500 has always given small car fans plenty of choice.

What they couldn't harness though, outside of the sister Abarth range, was anything verging on sporty.

But along with a fresh suit of clothes and a new aptly-named Cult spec level, the little Italian received Fiat's higher-powered 105bhp 0.9-litre TwinAir Turbo engine and six-speed manual gearbox.

A displacement of 875cc doesn't sound much but it gives the 500 a real lift, it's 0-62mph acceleration time of 10 seconds feeling a lot quicker than it actually is.

Upshot is a car that's both exciting and enjoyable to drive. Better still, a stop/start system contributes to the S still being capable of returning 67.3mpg on the official combined fuel cycle, with low CO2 emissions of 99g/km.

If you're fed up with brooding, drab charcoal interiors then the Fiat can certainly lift your mood. Apart from a bright, two-tone interior with light alloy dash and billiard ball-style gearknob you also get a vivid cabin colour - at least in the newer Urban White, Smooth Mint and Electronica Blue shades - that matches the exterior.

That's in addition to a seven-inch TFT digital instrument display, developed in collaboration with Magneti Marelli.

Standard on 500S and Cult models - and optional on Lounge versions - its centre, which contains a digital image of the car, can be configured to show various trip computer readouts, such as distance travelled, instant fuel consumption and range.

The screen also reconfigures when the Sport button is activated on models equipped with the 105bhp TwinAir engine.

As a result the ‘eco' gauge, which measures how efficiently the driver is performing in real time, transforms into a turbo-boost measure.

Fiat 500 pricesstart at £10,510 for the 1.2 69bhp Pop, but this model came in at £13,850.

Standard equipment includes Start&Stop, electric windows and mirrors, remote central locking, a height-adjustable driver's seat and electric power steering.