YONKERS, N.Y. -

Fiat’s first offering in the U.S. in almost 30 years has fetched some kudos from Consumer Reports, despite the fact that the publication said it could not bestow a “Recommended” tag on the Fiat 500 nor any of the other three fuel-efficient rides in the test group for its October issue.

Consumer Reports called the 500 “fun-to-drive” and “a likeable urban car,” comparing its handling to that of a go-kart. The publication also lauded its engine and the way its shifts gears.

The model’s overall fuel economy came in at 33 miles per gallon.

But the publication found a few flaws that kept the 500 from earning the Recommended distinction. Among other “shortcomings,” the publication found the car had limited rear seating and cargo area.

“The tiny Fiat 500 has agile, go-kart like handling, a rev-happy engine, and a crisp-shifting manual transmission that make it fun-to drive,” stated David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center in East Haddam, Conn. “But slow acceleration, a choppy ride, and a noisy cabin are demerits.”

An Auto Test Extra road test of the Chevrolet Volt is included in the October issue, as well. The test  (which was outside of the aforementioned test group) was after seven months and three seasons of ownership, officials noted. Consumer Reports indicated the fuel economy in the vehicle was wide-ranging, as it was influenced by weather and driving conditions.

It could be as low as 29 mpg when only gasoline is used, but comes in at the equivalent of 99 mpg when using solely electricity.

CR’s engineers found that the Volt is amazingly inexpensive to run on short trips, but when the gas engine kicks in and trips reach 70 miles, traditional hybrids catch up in running costs,” officials indicated. “While the innovative combination of a large battery, electric motor, and gasoline engine works well, the Volt suffers from some practical shortcomings."

Discussing the test group in more detail, the Lexus CT 200h hybrid hatchback, the diesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta TDI and the Honda Civic Hybrid were also included in the evaluations in addition to the 500.

The CT 200h earned the top score.

The publication called the vehicle’s 40 mpg fuel economy “impressive.” However, it stressed that its price was the steepest in the group.

Editors also noted that “none of these vehicles were on par with the Toyota Prius, the most economical five-passenger car tested by CR that doesn’t have to be plugged in.” Editors also pointed out the Prius has a 44 mpg overall average fuel economy.

"As the government recently pounded out an ambitious new fuel-economy standard of 54.5 mpg, proposed to kick in by 2025, automakers are working on the technology and design that will make that possible," editors shared. "The cars CR tested in this test group reflect some of the ways that manufacturers are stretching out gas mileage." 

But, as previously mentioned, none of the vehicles were Recommended. As far as the reasoning behind that, the publication said the CT 200h, Jetta TDI and Volt haven’t been out long enough for there to be enough reliability data, while the scores or the Civic Hybrid and 500 kept them from earning the Recommended tag.