Driven: The Fiat Topolino Is Terrible. I Love It

The Topolino is slow, impractical, and hilariously compromised. But it has so much personality that I can't help but want one.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

By: Jeff Perez

Nov 6, at 9:00am ET

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Modern cars are too powerful. Nobody needs 700 horsepower to make a grocery run, or a 200-mph top speed to get to their doctor’s appointment. It’s all a bit excessive.

What a good chunk of the population actually needs is something simple and affordable. A no-frills, no-nonsense vehicle that gets you from point A to point B without breaking the bank. Rising costs have all but killed that idea for most, granted, but there are still a few options if you’re willing to make some compromises.

Enter the Fiat Topolino. Technically, it’s not a car at all. It’s a Low-Speed Vehicle (LSV) that’s legal to drive on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. Still, starting at a surprisingly reasonable $14,985, there’s at least an argument for considering one as a weekend runabout.

But also, there are plenty of other reasons why you might just be better off with a golf cart.

Street-Legal, Just Barely

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Again, yes, the Topolino is technically street-legal. When it debuted for 2026, not every version was legal for road use straight off the lot; it wasn’t equipped with the proper equipment for a true LSV. Fiat fixed that for 2027 with a no-cost conversion kit atop essentially every model sold in the US.

But street-legal doesn't mean highway-legal. Hell, it doesn't even mean you can drive it on most roads. The Topolino has a top speed of just 25 mph, and like many road-legal golf carts, it cannot be driven on streets with speed limits above 35 mph.

If you can live with those limitations, here's what you get: Eight horsepower from a single electric motor, 46 miles of range from a 5.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and a charging time of roughly four to five hours using a standard 110-volt outlet. Fiat also sells a 240-volt adapter that cuts the charging time to less than an hour and a half. It costs around $100 extra, which seems like money well spent, assuming you have a 240-volt plug available at home.

The result of those earth-shattering specs is... pretty much exactly what you'd expect.

Photos by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

But street-legal doesn't mean highway-legal. Hell, it doesn't even mean you can drive it on most roads.

The Topolino is slow. Excruciatingly slow. Mash the accelerator, and the little Fiat huffs, puffs, and whines its way toward 25 mph before the speed limiter steps in.

There is one other thing worth mentioning here before you reach that top speed. Federal safety regulations require street-legal LSVs to produce an audible warning sound at lower speeds to alert pedestrians and other road users to their presence. The Topolino does just that, playing its warning sound as you accelerate up to around 22 mph before cutting off.

The sound is untenable; truly one of the most obnoxious things to reach my eardrums in recent memory. It’s reminiscent of the heavenly hum of a hybrid reversing mixed with some unnecessarily campy Italian cutesiness for added flavor. It's annoying.

Expectedly, there’s no power steering here. It’s not truly a problem, though; the Topolino is light enough, and the tires are tiny enough, that it’s easy to navigate around tighter parking lots. I even had no problem cranking the wheel from the outside of the vehicle while it was parked.

Charm Over Comfort

Photo by: Fiat

The cabin is about as bare-bones as it gets, but that's hardly a surprise at this price point. In fact, there's something almost charming about it.

A small digital instrument cluster displays your speed and remaining range. Beyond that, there's little in the way of technology. Instead of a central touchscreen, Fiat gives you a simple phone mount for your iPhone. I'm not complaining. A vehicle like this doesn't need a giant touchscreen, or a touchscreen at all.

The good news is that you can at least listen to music. Fiat partnered with Monster Electronics to equip the Topolino with two magnetized Bluetooth speakers that attach to either side of the cabin. They're removable, too, so you can take them with you to the beach, the lake, or wherever else your little Fiat takes you. It's a neat touch.

The seating position, on the other hand, is unbelievably awkward. I didn't fully appreciate just how strange the seating position was until I climbed into the Topolino for the first time. The seats are essentially positioned on top of the rear axle; it took a moment to recalibrate my brain before setting off.

Photo by: Fiat

I didn't fully appreciate just how strange the seating position was until I climbed into the Topolino for the first time.

That unusually far-back seating position also makes forward visibility a challenge. The upright windshield and flat front end help somewhat, but there's still a surprising amount of dashboard ahead of you. I'm six feet tall, which isn't exactly giant territory, yet I found myself looking up and through the fixed glass roof just to see traffic lights. Odd.

The seats themselves feel like a cross between premium lawn chairs and fancy stadium seating. Just three small patches of faux leather separate your backside from the hot, hard plastic underneath. At least the driver's seat slides forward and backward. The passenger seat doesn't.

The manually adjustable side mirrors are cute, but they're not particularly good at, well, being mirrors. And thanks to the fixed storage compartment mounted at the rear, visibility through the rearview mirror is practically nonexistent. Thankfully, Fiat equipped all 2027 models with a rearview camera, which makes things considerably easier.

It should also be said: there’s no AC or heat. The open-air Dolce Vita, as opposed to the standard model with fixed doors and a roof, might be the better option for my fellow Floridians.

Verdict: Objectively Bad. Subjectively Adorable.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Here's the thing: For all the negatives, I can't stop thinking about this little thing. It's not a good vehicle. Full stop. But it's also one of the most ridiculously charming things I've ever had the pleasure of putting my butt in.

The design is almost impossibly cute, and the driving experience is oddly lovable. Even as the fixed glass roof baked my ass in the Florida sun, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I'd love to take one home. Just pick it up and put it in my pocket.

Fiat offers three versions of the Topolino for 2027, up from just two in 2026. There's the standard model, which comes with fixed doors and a roof; the Open Air, which gets a retractable fabric roof; and the Dolce Vita, which ditches both the doors and roof entirely for those who really want to embrace the Key West lifestyle.

Photos by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Regardless of which version you choose, the Topolino starts at $14,895. Adding either of the two paint options—Corallo Orange or Luna Greige—costs an extra $295.

What do you think?

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Comments

Yes, nearly $15,000 is still a lot of money for what essentially amounts to a golf cart with a bit more personality. Especially one with just two seats, questionable visibility, and an awkward seating position.

But on charm factor alone? The Topolino is priceless.