Fiat 500 ‘Hey Google’ car series launched w/ cute tweaks and neat voice controls [Gallery]

Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Fiat has released three actual 500-series cars with “Hey Google” branding and integration directly with the Google Assistant.

The partnership was confirmed in an official blog post from Google and Fiat respectively with some tweaks that outline just how these 500-series Hey Google vehicles differ from the regular fleet. A refresh of the classic bubble car, the Fiat 500 has become an incredibly popular mini hatchback throughout vast swaths of Europe in recent years.

However, we never anticipated that we’d see this Fiat 500 Family Hey Google, which is a special limited edition of the classic Fiat 500. So it’s a hybrid car, but where does the Google Assistant integration come in?

Well, unlike just about every other Fiat car, you can ask the Google Assistant for key information about your vehicle with neat voice commands like “Hey Google, ask My Fiat what is my fuel level?” and get feedback on the current capacity. That’s not all, as you can even ask to turn headlights on or off, activate emergency lighting, plus control the in-car entertainment system.

Fiat has even added neat touches to the car itself to help distinguish it from a regular Fiat 500. There are “Hey Google” badges and Google’s colorful dot aesthetic all over a Fiat 500, 500L, or 500X model. Inside, the car upholstery also features neat touches with the colorful dots on all passenger seating and “Hey Google” tags on each headrest.

Each of the three vehicles — Fiat 500, 500L, and 500X — include 7-inch touchscreens with the Google Assistant built in. This can connect directly to the Fiat Mopar Connect system that lets you access and monitor all kinds of car stats and data points from your phone, tablet, or Smart Display. You can check where you’ve parked your car, just how many miles you have driven that day, and — my personal favorite — if your car is locked/unlocked.

The new Fiat 500 Family Hey Google will soon be available in three models — 500, 500X, and 500L —  in 10 European countries, including Italy, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland.

What’s more, if you purchase one of the limited-edition Fiat 500 Hey Google vehicles, you’ll get a goodie bag that comes with a limited-edition Fiat-branded Nest Hub (1st Gen), key cover, and a canvas bag. That’s the kind of swag you would only expect from such a partnership. Now, we’re just trying to find a way to get this in for review…

• Review: Nest Hub (2nd gen) sleep tracking ushers in a radically more pervasive Google Assistant
• Google Assistant using federated learning on Android to improve ‘Hey Google’ accuracy
• Google Assistant ‘Memory’ supercharges saving and reminders on Android, in development [Gallery]