V1 of which famous Fiat? The Fiat Ecobasic Story

The Fiat Ecobasic concept was styled under the same stewardship as the infamous Fiat Multipla, and so may be considered to be a bold, exciting new shape, or a bone-headed ugly design, depending upon which side of the fence you’re on. But like the Multipla, the Ecobasic was an innovative car with some very clever features. It had ultra-low fuel economy - around 100mpg (2.9L /100km), and an ultra-low price. If it launched today, it would cost around the same as its cheapest modern rival, the Dacia Sandero. So, what became of this funky car, and what popular car did it morph into?
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Sources:
web.archive.org/web/201704120...
web.archive.org/web/201608092...
www.archivioprototipi.it/itali...
ricerca.repubblica.it/repubbl...
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z...
web.archive.org/web/2003121704...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Mi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Panda
www.automobile-catalog.com/ca...
#bigcar

[@BongoBaggins]

People who hated the Mulitpla never owned or drove one. A genuinely fantastic car. People laughed at it for daring to be different, which is why every car these days is an identical box in various shades of grey. Thanks, everyone.

[@strongereveryday2302]

Different is one thing, embarrassingly hideous is another.

[@Its-Just-Gizmo]

They didn't buy it because of how disgustingly ugly it is.

[@BongoBaggins]

@@Its-Just-Gizmo Tell me you've never driven one without telling me you've never driven one. Who cares what it looks like? The driver doesn't have to look at it

[@Its-Just-Gizmo]

@@BongoBaggins some people don't care what a car looks like. They end up with a fiat multipla lol..I've had numerous Fiat's, grew up with them too. My father had Uno's, Pandas, as well as a Barchetta and a Couple. The multipla is one ugly piece of design. 👍

[@BongoBaggins]

@@Its-Just-Gizmo It clearly isn't, it's just different. Taste is subjective though I suppose. Very few have it 🧐

[@JK061996]

Fun fact, the 2003 Panda was originally called Gingo before entering production. The name was changed due to the public's backlash but also because it was too similar to Twingo

[@jaceq9]

True! Fiat went to the point of producing a share of P R materials before changing their mind five to twelve. Was lucky enough to get the Key chain labeled Gingo at one of Tour-de-France stages which fiat sponsored at that time.

[@pistonburner6448]

Were the other Fiat models supposed to be called Glio, Gegane and Gafrane? Apparently they also changed that intended model's name to Ecobasic at the last minute after the original name Pollutioncomplicated was deemed to be a bit off.

[@DaleSteel]

Gringo would of been better

[@Ildskalli]

Talk about an unfortunate name! I can easily picture the nickname "gingo" being given to owners of the car, if they were known to hit the bottle a little too often 🤣

[@baronvonjo1929]

Sounds too close to gringo which is normally used as a derogatory term. At least in the US. It would have just been plain weird in Latin America I think.

[@grahaml8838]

It seems like now is the perfect time for a fairly priced and innovative car like this

[@Predic94]

I love both Multipla and Panda. You can say a lot of things about Multipla, but once you sit in it and drive it for 10mins, you will be in love with it. It just makes sense.

[@positronicfeed]

I saw this in the metal along with the Downtown in Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile Torino. Reminds me of the times when concept cars were trying to be inventive and come up with pragmatic solutions instead of trying to look cool and agressive.

[@cicalinarrot]

In my families, we've had two old-style Panda, two Punto and two second gen Panda. If this was a thing, we would have surely bought a couple. My father dreamt of a Multipla but thought it was more than we needed (we were just a family of five, after all...). He loves quirky and innovative design ideas, he would have absolutely loved to own this.

[@theothertonydutch]

One Panda, Two Panda, Infinite Panda. There is no plural. Panda is Panda. Panda is one, Panda is all.

[@cicalinarrot]

@notfiveo well, Americans' idea of "tiny" was longer than most european sedan from that era and had 4 litres engines...

[@x.x..x.x]

I'm sorry

[@cicalinarrot]

@@x.x..x.x why?

[@H.K_R]

EcoBasic does sound like a washing machine, looks similar to one too, especially with that clear fluid door.

[@zorktxandnand3774]

To be fair, most washing machines have a way more sophisticated design.

[@Alpostpone]

Fitting, because the concept is a home appliance for transporting people.

[@tvdinner325]

Efficient doesn't have to be ugly.

[@niklaswejedal463]

I absolutely love the Ecobasic! (saw it on the 2000 Paris show)- But I love the Multipla too, so... Anyway - I think it is a crying shame that innovative designs like this, which focus on actually inproving cars are so hard for the public to accept, but cars that are only styling with zero improvement for the users are hits (I'm looking at you, Toyota CHR)...

[@MrMarnix]

There's to much of that yes. I saw a video of someone putting a Kubota diesel enginge in a small coupe car to get outstanding gas mileage. And an engine that basically runs forever. We could make simple cars that last a lifetime - but it doesn't serve the vanity of most consumers.

[@MegaSockenschuss]

@@MrMarnix The channel "Robot cantina" is the one with the Kubota Diesel in a Saturn - for everyone who's interested. He's even developing it further with Turbo and stuff.

[@miskatonic6210]

Maybe because Fiats are utter shitboxes while Toyotas are reliable. The CH-R Hybrids are still great at fuel saving.

[@mipmipmipmipmip]

"Let's make a car for families with kids, and reduce the rear seat window to the size of a postage stamp"

[@niklaswejedal463]

@@mipmipmipmipmip - the rear seat of the CHR: the dungeon of dispair...

[@quercus5398]

The multipla was a very roomy and practical car,the shape was a daring shape,but once you drove it,you simply loved it!

[@arevee9429]

Love the Ecobasic. It looks practical and . . . different but in a good way.

[@zzhughesd]

Astounding. You’ve got me. Never heard. Did think Multipla when saw the prototype

[@CurioByBSpokeDesigns]

I bought an old Panda (169) 1.3 diesel as a second car - I use it more than my main car - brilliant bit of kit!

[@IronShocker77]

Fiat makes some great little cars! We bought a Siena (178) flex fuel 1.0 in 2005 that's still going strong today, with basically nothing replaced.

[@smada36]

We are heading to heavy, enormous, and battery, but I still think that light, small, and plastic is the way to go. I'd like to see more of this idea tried. Keep on chipping away until the public got used to the idea.

[@mattevans4377]

I blame financing. Now every idiot can pretend to afford a high end, large car, for their d*ck measuring contest.

[@IronShocker77]

I think a solution would be to make different rules for "city use" and "travel" cars, like some places use for long-distance travel trucks and the smaller ones fit for small city streets. Smaller city cars wouldn't need to be engineered to withstand high speed collisions, and therefore would be way cheaper to design and produce. Would also help the electric cars market, as you wouldn't need to carry 200mile+ battery capacity for your 10mile everyday commute. Maybe even keep combustion engines for "travel" cars and make city cars all electric. That way both engine types can coexist, fitting the niche they excel at. Also reducing pollution around cities while minimizing the huge ecological impacts caused by mining for rare-earth metals. Unfortunately road infrastructure is not built around that split, and it would be awfully hard to change public opinion :(

[@mattevans4377]

@@IronShocker77 Small cars can still work on the motorway, even electric ones. They can go just as far on a smaller battery, and it's actually bigger cars that struggle long distance with batteries, as they are inefficient. Plus with hybrids, you only need a small ICE motor anyway nowadays, even for the motorway.

[@timjohnson67]

Thank you, I wasn't aware of the Ecobasic before, it makes an interesting story. I did own a Fiat Multipla with the less controversial front end. What an excellent car! 6 full size seats and a big boot, excellent ride and higher ride height, very good to drive and economical, all within a modest footprint. Only changed after many happy years because a necessary replacement ECU would have cost more than the car's value. Had I won the Lotto then I would have had it converted to an EV - a car I still miss very much.

[@burtbacarach5034]

The EcoBasic's design reminds of an old worn out shoe.But it did have some pretty neat interior design features.Sad Fiat couldn't put it into production,the world needs small quirky cars!

[@RobSchofield]

I must be the only person on the planet who find both the Multipla and the Eco to be attractive as a potential buy! I drove the 1st release Multipla for a week or two about 6 months after it came out - it was quick, practical and it had so much room I usually regretted being the named driver from the pub... A great car, wish I'd bought one.

[@raypurchase801]

Yes, you ARE the ONLY person who likes those cars. You weirdo. I'm as bad, I like the Renault Avantime...

[@badbusdriver7160]

Loved the Ecobasic when it first came out and, with a different powertrain, I'd have one now. Similar thinking behind the Citroen Oli.

[@florianwagner7279]

Thx for this nice video about an almost forgotten concept - Well made 👍

[@JeffKing310]

Very funky - thanks for the interesting back story on this quirky car

[@matteogilles4238]

Great video, great car, great sketches and great era! Giolito and the team really pushed innovation in those days.

[@ianfindlay3450]

Always great and a lovely edit - and as always , makes me say 'no way' at some point 👌

[@applejuice5272]

I remember reading about the Ecobasic in Autocar and WhatCar? at the time! Trip down memory lane! Thank you 😊

[@pizzalover3]

Another great video thanks, excellent research.

[@nickwebb9290]

That was really interesting as I’d never heard of the Ecobasic 😳 great research as always, thanks 🙏

[@albertseabra9226]

A great vídeo, featuring an intelligent vehicle and the intelligent and pleasant star of the show, Ms. Big Car. Thank you , A.

[@mr.b6789]

Aha! You mentioned the Audi A2, so that is a confirmation that you are aware of its existence 🤔😉

[@BigCar2]

😂

[@andrewnorth4857]

Another great video. Thank you so much. Have you made a video about the Renault 9 and 11? That would be good to see.

[@MartijnterHaar]

2019 Concept Centoventi had customizable panels again. It's something that keeps coming back.

[@robertkimber822]

Thank you for all of your entertaining and informative videos. Especially for drivers like myself, living in the middle of the USA, where we don't see many every day European cars. Yes, Fiat has been trying trying to sell cars for the past decade, but after the initial sales largely on the 500's retro cool appeal in 2014, sales figures can be politely described as 'plummeting'. Currently, Fiat USA is only offering the 500X. Any average customer here would tell you that cute sells for a while, ugly doesn't. The Spider was a good idea, but why buy that when its cousin, the more handsome Miata, is available? Take note, Peugeot, Renault and, especially, Citroen!

[@BigCar2]

You can still buy a used 500. They're a great car (I've driven a couple).

[@jagboy69]

@@BigCar2 They don't survive in my west texas town. They fall apart.

[@1zanglang]

I really liked the second generation Panda. And I see no reason to dislike the Multipla.

[@Gliese380]

does it run on fabric softener

[@AlmirTaranis]

This is car that should have been catapulted in Top Gear 😅

[@0Sirk0]

I like it. SIng me up. Elio motors, where'd you go?

[@onlinesongscs]

I would love to have one of these!

[@Its-Just-Gizmo]

No mention if the "mighty" panda 100bhp? 😏😅 Ive owned a few Puntos myself. The best was the last one, a Grande Punto Spirting Tjet, basically an insurance friendly abarth lol..amazing car, mine had all the options, and the panoramic roof was just the best thing ever. I miss it so much.

[@Larry]

I like the look of it, would be great to reuse as a budget electric vehicle, like the citroen ami or the renault twizy.

[@kamelkgb618]

Thanks

[@jaywalker1233]

I love the Panda and am on my third - all 4x4

[@bidensucks6792]

Looks better than the Smart for 2 that's for sure!

[@katiecannon8186]

It’s adorable. I love it.

[@yissibiiyte]

Thought that meant a V1 engine for a second 😂

[@dewaldcarstens3380]

Somewhat off topic but is there an episode about the peugeot 1007? Would love to know more about is

[@jochenstacker7448]

I had a Panda 169 and i loved it to bits! This thing would not appeal to me, since the Panda is so simple and easy to work on, any fool could service it themselves. I dislike this sealed engine bay nonsense, which didn't catch on for obvious reasons. We bought a Dacia Spring and the Panda had to go, because our second car needed to be something bigger, so we got a Dacia Lodgy. Very happy with this combination of daily electric runabout and larger petrol car to haul stuff and drive longer distances.

[@danielaumlaut6852]

You definitely should do the Audi A2 story..

[@Yanate1991]

I kind of like it, look at the massive wheelbase for the size?

[@sos.ziodj7749]

The design reminds me more of the Fiat Doblò than the 2nd gen Fiat Panda, with that strange bonnet and straight trunk

[@colrhodes377]

I had a Fiat once. Great to drive on the flat but it died on hills. My gorgeous little Punto just wasn't made for the Yorkshire hills.

[@TheTalkWatcher]

It's too bad that a car with 97 mpg has never made it to the market. I think it would sell, if it were marketed on mpg alone.

[@IronShocker77]

Kinda similar to the Multipla: full of great ideas but got killed by its design.

[@christophermorin9036]

No lie, I still want a Multipla someday lol.

[@tvdinner325]

When GM released the EV1 in 1991-ish, I saw a cut-away car at the car show. Super aerodynamic, alloy unibody with plastic panels, and LEAD batteries. I thought then, put a tiny aluminum engine in it. It will return 70+ MPG!

[@tjn1017]

can you do video about history of citroen xantia

[@jabezhane]

This is all I need! Small, cheap safe and economic to run. Driving for fun is over! But I do want cheap and safe personal transport that will get me where I want to go when I want. I dont need masses of electronic gadgets or even electric windows. I don't need or want an EV either. I dont have £60,000 to spare every 7 years.

[@randomthingsstuff6591]

As an half Italian i actually never heard of this Fiat

[@oliverkumbrink87]

Remembers me a little of my Audi A2

[@colintwyning9614]

great car, and i loved the original multipla, also audi a2 OK maybe i'm weird 😄

[@Thomas-lk9ok]

I would have bought an ecobasic if I could! pretty smart "just what you need" and economical! funny how so many people profess to want to be greener but when given the option won't buy it

[@JParkes43]

3l per 100km was also achieved by the lupo 3l that went into production

[@rafaelfiallo4123]

The plastic and space frame concept was pushed and toyed with by a bunch of different manufacturers, I would have mentioned GM and Saturn in there with the "Zed One" and Smart since they actually made millions of plastic bodied space frame cars not just a handful of roadsters.

[@mySelf-yx4hw]

i remember seeing something about the original Panda, i thank that it was designed to have plastic panels 😎

[@quercus5398]

In southern Italy as soon as a Panda enters the sales market,it’s quickly bought.....it’s a tank,and you can’t kill the engine even if you try!

[@SmallBlogV8]

I love the look of the Ecobasic, a great exammple of turn-of-the-century Italian product design translated to a city car. It does a lot of the same things as the BMW i3 but so much more smoothly and joyfully. I also think the Multipla aesthetic is easily fixable (and not by Fiat's own facelift which only succeeded in making it look dreary) by replacing circular lights with rectangular ones. The thing car companies haven't worked out yet is how to get the average person interested in overtly efficiency-led design/engineering. The Panda is fine and lasted ages but advanced nothing about city cars, but cars like the i3, Audi A2 and first-gen Honda Insight were excellent works of engineering problem-solving for the real world that most people just don't care about. Sadly a production Ecobasic would probably have added to that list...

[@connclissmann6514]

It would have been wonderful to see on the road. With Chinese small cars on the way, i hope we end up with something more imaginative than motorised EV wardrobes that i have seen so far at the lower cost end.

[@andrewcocos]

The look reminds me of Citroen C3 Picasso.

[@Rafagafanhotobra]

For the era of when it was launched, it was at the tail end of the "toy-like", retro-looking and playfull innocent looks. Fiat did it right by not releasing it that way, as the latest one of those with similarities was the Mini...but the twingo era was done.

[@saurannuraliyev1695]

I'm watching your video although Doug Demuro has launched 5 minutes earlier

[@alejandro_mery]

I do see a similarity with the Centoventi concept

[@nickjung7394]

A worthy successor to the Multipla!

[@dk-dr4yl]

Fiat oltre and why IT didn't go in to production

[@planestrainsdogsncars4336]

Looks like it morphed into the Skoda Roomster to me.

[@thomasfrancis5747]

If I squint really hard I can see some of the exterior styling themes carried over to the Lancia/Chrysler Ypsilon.

[@mattshiz]

I feel like the Skoda roomster got a bit of inspiration from this car.

[@camrunner6633]

Honda civic story? Vtis is an odball version crx?

[@johanwejedaldesign]

YES!!!!!

[@chintangandhi1]

Please give a rain check to your tata nano pricing. My family personally bought the stripped down version of the car for 1.32, It was 32% higher than the cost initially intended for Nano.

[@semirhuskic8028]

wow, actually a Fiat Panda story in disguise!

[@extrasupermorgen]

where to buy?

[@davidt-rex2062]

That's an awesome car. Like those looks.

[@MTSVW]

Reminds me of Chrysler’s bargain CCV concept-an affordable car resembling the Citroen 2CV for developing countries. It was made of plastic and was supposed to have a Vtwin air cooled engine. Although a brilliant idea, it unfortunately evolved into the disaster-of-a-car PT Cruiser

[@matthewstellmacher4349]

Would be a head choice, not a heart choice. Despite admiring the design, and engineering boundaries pushed, not sure I'd actually choose to drive one. Then again, I'd probably not take a Porsche or Ferrari. Keep coming up with ideas Fiat! 😁

[@twentysevenlitres]

"Fill it with petrol" I hope not 😂

[@BigCar2]

Doh!

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

I would buy the Ecobasic as a new car even today, which means Fiat was 25 years ahead of the curve.

[@sbomorse]

Fiat must have been pissed when the Skoda Roomster came out and stole the design!

[@thescotsmantechnologyrevie2138]

0:28 - you mean ultra-high fuel economy, not ultra-low.

[@Rori1987]

I see bit of a Skoda Fabia and Roomster

[@howardlake6178]

I think 1985, Ford’s new diesel range, actually Peugeot engines. I am sure the Orion could do 70mpg. The Escort more. The Fiesta slightly more again. I did most of my lessons in a Fiesta diesel. No turbo, I think 17s to 60mph rings a bell. These eco strap lines go back quite a way. So Ford’s ads read 70mpg……and I think it was actual

[@jamesengland7461]

I think your quoted 97mpg is Imperial, not US gallons, which would be about 80.

[@BigCar2]

I always quote imperial. I should maybe put a note on the videos to that effect. But saying "imperial" every time would get annoying.

[@I_hate_Vegemite]

@@BigCar2 Litres per 100km would be much preferred by your audience outside of the US/UK.

[@BigCar2]

That's in the subtitles. I always put conversions there.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Well, US gallons are not used anywhere else, even the few countries that still use gallons us Imperial.

[@jamesengland7461]

@@owenshebbeare2999 well, he's in Seattle, so... just clarifying. Also, I think he said the real mpg was 66, which may have been US gallons? Seems a more likely result.

[@warren6815]

Ever get the feeling that the industry needs to look backwards? Cheap to buy, very economical to run using existing technology is what we need. Not increasingly huge compromised EVs which are expensive, not all that much cheaper to run and a lot more inconvenient to 'fill up' unless you're lucky enough to not only have your own off street parking and charger AND a cheap energy tariff.

[@runoflife87]

Well, the design certainly influenced future Lancia cars. But other ideas are questionable.

[@jameslewis2635]

If a modernised and re-styled version of the Ecobasic was still on the market over the last few years I think it would probably be selling like hot-cakes when you consider recent fuel prices. My initial impression is that it fell victim to bad timing (in terms of when fuel prices went up) and poor styling.

[@vassabatielos4740]

Well done Fiat I never thought it was possible to make an uglier car than the multipla but you guys nailed it

[@nigel_davey]

Anyone else see a striking resemblance to the Skoda Roomster?

[@Alby_Torino]

You're right

[@vincentl.9469]

why was the Multipla 'infamous' ? I remember some reviews saying what a good people carrier it was

[@govind9402]

Sealed engine is a good idea

[@smorris12]

If it's guaranteed to never need working on, possibly. Otherwise it's a pointless exercise in doing things for the sake of it.

[@andrewsalmon100]

I think the BMW i3 inherited the ideas in the Ecobasic.

[@rob5944]

As far I can tell, the Dacia Sandero has gone from 7k to 12k. We had one as it was great valu, but I guess they've tried to go upmarket (coupled with the general rise in prices). I thought bargain basement was what they were all about?

[@tubybubi]

Are there any cheaper cars in the market? In Germany Sandero is the cheapest and way better and bigger than the Mitsubishi Space Star.

[@rob5944]

@@tubybubi I'm not sure, it's a bad time to buy really...

[@megansavage7152]

I want it

[@NeroVingian40]

Damn, it looked stupid af, but it is crazy efficient, a designer’s dream!

[@heitorbernardes7977]

1:33 this looks A LOT like the Fiat Mobi.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

I think this should've been productized and made to sell, it'd work.

[@winrampen1174]

Perhaps you've just announced anther good story for a future video - the Audi A2.....

[@csm0772]

Looks like Homer Simpson designed that too.