Fiat 500 Options by VIN: What Set Each Car Apart
To see which options a specific Fiat 500 left the factory with, enter its 17-character VIN in the VIN lookup. When a factory build sheet is on file for that car, it lists the installed equipment line by line, each with a sales code and a short description, so you can confirm the trim, body style, transmission, paint, interior and any added equipment. On the 500, most equipment came with the trim level. What usually separates one car from another of the same year is a short list of choices: hatchback or 500c, manual or automatic, color and wheels, and a few comfort, audio and appearance extras. The record shows what was installed, not what any of it cost, and some VINs return no record.
Trim first, options second
On a North American 500, the trim line on the record explains most of what the car has. The names you'll see most often:
- Pop: the entry trim. Through the 2017 model year it used the non-turbo 1.4-liter MultiAir four-cylinder; for 2018 and 2019 the Pop and Lounge came with a turbocharged 1.4-liter instead.
- Sport: a sportier look and firmer suspension tuning.
- Lounge: the comfort-oriented trim, with brighter exterior details and more interior equipment.
- Abarth: the performance version, with a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine and its own suspension, brakes, exhaust and styling.
The lineup changed over the 2012 to 2019 model years, and for part of that time a 500 Turbo sat between the regular cars and the Abarth. Trim content also shifted from year to year, so compare a car with others of the same model year rather than assuming two Lounges from different years were equipped alike.
The choices that set one 500 apart
| Choice | What to confirm in the record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchback or 500c | The body style built at the factory | The 500c's power fabric roof retracts toward the rear while the side roof rails stay in place, giving open-air driving without a full convertible body. |
| Transmission | A manual or automatic transmission line | Affects how the car drives, what it's worth and which parts fit. |
| Engine | The base MultiAir engine or a turbocharged version | Through 2017, separates a Pop, Sport or Lounge from a 500 Turbo or an Abarth. For 2018 and 2019 the regular 500s were turbocharged too, so the model and trim lines carry the distinction. |
| Paint and interior | Exterior color and seat trim lines | Reveals a repaint, wrap or seat swap, and gives you the color for touch-up paint. |
| Wheels | The factory wheel line | Aftermarket wheels are a common 500 change, so the record shows what the car originally rolled on. |
| Sunroof (hatchback) | A sunroof line | A power sunroof was offered on certain hatchback trims; it's easy to confuse with a 500c in photos. |
| Comfort, audio, navigation | Seat, climate, audio and navigation lines | Heated or leather-trimmed seats and premium audio depended on trim and year. |
Not every line on a 500 record is equipment. Order, emissions and production codes sit alongside the options, so look up an unfamiliar code in the sales code navigator before treating it as a feature.
Abarth: the real car versus a dressed-up one
The Abarth is the 500 most often imitated. Scorpion badges, Abarth-style body kits, wheels and exhausts are easy to buy, and a regular 500 wearing them can look convincing in photos. The factory record settles it: a genuine car should show the Abarth model and its turbocharged engine, not a Pop, Sport or Lounge. The same check separates an Abarth from a 500 Turbo, a separate, lower-output model. Abarths were built as hatchbacks and, in some model years, as 500c cabriolets, so confirm the body line as well as the model line.
The 500e: fewer choices, different lines
The first electric 500e was sold for the 2013 to 2019 model years in a limited number of states. With one electric drivetrain and a single trim, its record has no engine or transmission choice to confirm; paint, interior and the few extras offered carry most of the information. The current-generation 500e, which arrived for the 2024 model year, is a different car built in Italy rather than Mexico, so equipment details from the earlier car don't carry over.
500L and 500X: the same name, different option lists
Fiat used the 500 name on two larger models that share little equipment with the small hatchback. The 500L is a tall four-door built in Serbia, sold with trims such as Pop, Trekking and Lounge. The 500X is a small crossover built in Italy on a platform shared with the Jeep Renegade, and depending on year and trim it came with front- or all-wheel drive. On those cars the useful questions change: drivetrain and driver-assistance equipment matter more on a 500X, cargo and seating features on a 500L. Read their records on their own terms rather than against a 500 hatchback's, and see Fiat options by VIN for a step-by-step way to check any Fiat listing against its record.
Frequently asked questions
Can the VIN alone tell me whether a 500 is a 500c or an Abarth?
A basic decode identifies the model and model year and often reports body style and other encoded attributes, but some fields come back blank or generalized. The factory record is the more direct confirmation, because it lists the body, engine and trim the car was built with.
Does the record show what the options cost?
No. The build sheet lists equipment without prices, and the lookup doesn't provide MSRP for Fiat models. For what the rest of the record contains, see the Fiat 500 build sheet page.