Tiny footprint, sunroof, hybrid-assisted 1.0, the pick for a two- or three-night Podgorica anchor when multi-day drives aren't on the schedule.
Overview
Who it suits
Two or three nights in Podgorica with short afternoon hops to Perast and Prčanj, the 500 parks where mid-size cars wave and drive past.
- Short city-base stays
- Solo visitors on a shoestring
- Photographers doing short hops
On Montenegro roads
The 3.57 m length is the deciding factor: it fits the stepped terrace parking on the nearby villages waterfront and the shoulder-wide gap outside the Sea Gate that a Clio cannot. Underpowered for the Lovćen climb, so pair with cable-car transfers or keep within bay limits.
About this car
Behind the wheel
The current 500, the petrol mild-hybrid that is still made, not the BEV successor, is a tiny, stylish city car that Podgorica renters choose for reasons unrelated to driving. At 3.57 m long and 1.63 m wide it is shorter than a Smart, narrower than most modern hatches, and genuinely fits gaps that 95 % of rental cars cannot. The 1.0 BSG 70 hp mild-hybrid three-cylinder is noisy, slow, and perfectly adequate for the 50 km/h limited boulevards of the inner capital. The cabin is cramped; the boot is a glove-box; the ride is fidgety. None of that matters when you are staying in Stara Varoš for three nights and the Ottoman quarter's narrow lanes are the entire problem.
On Montenegro roads
The 500 is the car the inner blocks were built for. The lanes around the Sahat Kula clock tower, the angled bays outside Pod Volat, the constricted street behind the old bazaar, the 500 threads all of them without pulling mirrors. The 50 km/h boulevard loop along Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog and Hercegovačka sits in fourth gear at 1,800 rpm and returns 5.5 L/100 km in real use; the sunroof open on a late-afternoon drive over the Millennium Bridge is the most Podgorica-postcard experience a rental car delivers. It is emphatically not the car for the M-9 climb to Ostrog, the 70 hp struggles above 700 m, nor for the Smokovac motorway, where cabin noise at 120 km/h becomes unpleasant.
Space and load
The 185-litre boot is a genuinely tiny figure, smaller than a lot of shopping baskets. One cabin-size case fits flat; a second stands on its end but blocks the rear window. A weekly shop from the small Voli on Hercegovačka fits if you forgo wine by the case. For two travellers on a three- or four-night Podgorica city break that is enough; most of the luggage stays in the flat and the car is for short hops out to Doclea or up Gorica Hill. For longer rentals or anyone with a pushchair, checked bag, or serious hiking kit, the 500 is the wrong tool and a Clio or C3 is the step up to make.
Best for
The 500's Podgorica rental customer is the short-stay visitor who has done the maths and realised that ninety percent of their drive time will be on flat 50 km/h boulevards inside the city. Weekend city-break couples flying into TGD, business overnighters extending to three nights, solo photographers chasing the blue-hour shot from Gorica Hill or the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection, the 500 fits all of them. It also works as a second car for multi-week renters using a Golf or 308 for main-family duty and the 500 for one-person grocery runs to Voli. It is the wrong car for anyone older than 6'1", for four-up loads, or for inland day-trips above the snowline.
Practical notes
Petrol economy settles around 5.5 L/100 km, the mild-hybrid motor assists from a stop but does not move the fuel-bill needle meaningfully across Podgorica's flat grid. The 35-litre tank delivers around 600 km between fills; 95-octane stations are frequent along Cetinjski Put and at the bus-station Jugopetrol. Parking is the car's whole point: 3.57 m fits the free outer-block bays around Preko Morače with room in front, threads the Stara Varoš access lanes, and slots into the angled inner-zone spots on Slobode at €0.60/h without scraping. AC is adequate rather than generous on the 40 °C July afternoons that regularly make Podgorica the hottest spot in Montenegro; the small cabin cools quickly but the compressor load is audible on any climb out of the city.
Verdict
Choose the 500 when parking inside the Podgorica inner grid and the Stara Varoš lanes is the single variable that matters most and your drive time is measured in short hops along flat 50 km/h boulevards between the Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge and Hercegovačka. Skip it for any itinerary that includes the M-9 climb to Ostrog, a Durmitor weekend, sustained Smokovac motorway use up to Kolašin, or more than two people with luggage on board. A Clio or C3 costs only a little more and unlocks every one of those briefs without compromise.
Features
- Compact Size
- Easy Parking
- Sunroof
- Bluetooth
