Your classic: Fiat 500 Giardiniera

| 20 Mar 2026

Even as a pupil at grammar school, I always thought older cars were somehow cooler than new ones, so I counted myself lucky when I later inherited a Volkswagen 1500 from my mum’s aunt, to become my first car.

To start driving with a VW was not unusual around 35 years ago; many people began their car careers in this way.

Towards the end of my studies, I had fallen in love with a 1303cc Beetle convertible with a used-car dealer in my neighbourhood, so I scraped together all my money for it.

I still own it, the first car I bought with my own funds, but unfortunately I drive it far too rarely, either because it’s raining or too hot to drive it roof-down.

The Fiat 500 Giardiniera has sliding side windows

As a student, which included some time in France, I made the acquaintance of an Italian and when we had both long since returned home, he called and told me about an Alfa Romeo Giulia that came from the estate of a fellow student’s grandfather.

That was around 1999, and at that time it wasn’t possible to send pictures back and forth quickly and easily via mobile phone.

Because a fast decision was required, two days later I found myself driving down to Italy, over the Alps, with a hired trailer and a friend’s tow car, and I bought the Giulia de facto, sight unseen.

To this day, I have not regretted it, even if the Alfa has needed some attention to the bodywork over the years. But the engine is a constant source of joy.

This Fiat 500 has a familiar face, but the Giardiniera’s profile can confuse passers-by

I like to use the Giulia in regularity rallies and it gets plenty of its necessary exercise in Germany and neighbouring countries.

I was finally infected with the Fiat 500 virus through my Italian wife’s brother – at first only he owned one, which we were always allowed to use on holidays in the summer.

Later, we found one for me, too: a one-owner, unwelded car with little more than 50,000km on the odometer.

It is hard to believe quite how much fun such a small Fiat with only 17.5bhp can be.

The Fiat 500 Giardiniera can muster all of its 17.5bhp to cruise at 80kph (50mph)

Driving pleasure is not simply a question of high performance or an expensive car.

The Fiat can be manoeuvred with the agility of a weasel in the city. In the midst of ever-larger SUVs, you can dive through the tiniest gaps and always find a parking space.

Two years ago, in Italy, my brother-in-law and I discovered a largely untouched example of a 1961 Fiat 500 Giardiniera, which I also bought.

Although they are no longer found on every street corner there, this small estate car is particularly rare in Germany and simply unknown to many people. Occasionally the name is not recognised at all: some even wonder if it is a Trabant.

The Fiat 500 Giardiniera’s side-hinged door opens to an impressive load bay

The side-hinged rear door, which is vaguely reminiscent of that of a Jaguar E-type, provides access to a not-so-small boot into which even large items of luggage can be stowed easily.

If the rear seat’s backrest is folded down, a completely flat load compartment is created – some of today’s estate cars don’t always manage this.

Thanks to the car’s extended wheelbase and the lower centre of gravity, due to the engine being tilted to one side, a Giardiniera drives much better and, if you can say it at all with just 17.5bhp, more sportily than a normal 500.

The Fiat 500 Giardiniera’s fabric roof rolls back to create a bright, airy cabin

What I particularly love about this diminutive estate is the large folding roof, which extends over almost the entire length of the car, and the rear sliding windows.

In summer, when it’s warm, you immediately get the feeling of being on holiday in the south.

The Fiat is perhaps at its best when cruising at 80kph on country roads, preferably at the weekend when there are no lorries sharing the Tarmac.

It is very important to realise that the joy is in the journey itself not the destination – after all, you are destined to be driving for quite a long time, so you may well reach your destination late, but with a grin on your face.