I’m converted. Utterly and completely and much to my – and my friends’ – surprise. Truth is, I’ve never been a lover of small cars.

I’ve written, time and time again, that big cars are my thing. The bigger, the beefier, the better. OK, so I love the Mini Cooper S. Any Mini, in fact, is a blast to drive, and on the tamer front I’ve always had a soft spot for Daihatsu’s Sirion.

But seriously small? Like Fiat 500 small?

Who'da thunk I would’ve fallen like a ton of bricks for this diminutive car? Not I. Actually, I’d only seen pictures of the car until I went to collect my test-drive baby.

And that was me: hook, line and sinker. Love at first sight.

As for the driving experience... I’d never have believed how much fun you can have in a car this size. Even though it’s a two-door, the 500 is so appealing, so cute, so pretty, and so different, it never bothered me at all.

This lovable retro-looking runabout powered by a feisty 1400cc engine (I was driving the 1.4 16-valve Lounge version) fits into any leftover parking space, has features such as a six-speed gearbox, crash bags front and sides, anti-lock brakes with electronic pressure distribution, a glass roof with a blind, power windows, and steering and a pretty impressive sound system.

It comes in colours everywhere, in the words of the old Beatles song, and you can choose your combination.
My little chariot was in a particularly fetching shade of pearl, with key to match – love the way the colour theme applies to everything from the cream/pearl fascia and binnacle to the gear-shifter's knob.

One complaint only, and it will probably affect all girl drivers: the seam on the front seats was so hard that even through skirts or jeans it dug into the back of my knees.

My 10-year-old daughter’s skinny little pins took particular strain and she would actually straddle the seat with her legs wide apart to prevent a deep red mark appearing on the back of each leg.

Or she’d simply climb into the back.

A pity, because the seats are particularly long and generous, given it’s such a small vehicle, and because otherwise I found absolutely nothing to fault on the car.

It's only 3.33m long, 1.63m wide and 1.49m tall and available in three options: 1.2 Pop, 1.4 16v Sport and the Lounge.

FIVE RIM STYLES

You can personalise your Fiat 500 to suit your personality – key covers, for instance, are available in nine configurations to match the body colours of the stickers and there are sticker kits available in various colours.

You can even choose from five styles of alloy rims for the Sport and Lounge models.

Top speed, girls, is 182km/h. It goes like the proverbial clappers, loves corners, stops beautifully and is, well, a fabulous little car.

Incidentally, you’ll find only the manual version in SA: auto is not an option here yet. And last but not least, it’s pretty damn expensive. You’ll get little change if you hand over R180 000.