The Fiat 500 has collected yet another prize to pop into its stylish boot, with the hot-selling 500 taking the prize for the greenest supermini on the UK market in the 2008 ‘What Car?’ Green Car of the Year Awards.

The Fiat 500 has collected yet another prize to pop into its stylish boot, with the hot-selling 500 taking the prize for the greenest supermini on the UK market in the 2008 ‘What Car?’ Green Car of the Year Awards.

What Car? and its associated web sites are consulted by more than a million UK car buyers looking for advice on what car to buy and its exhaustive road tests are renowned for their commitment to finding the best car buys.

This award is the latest in a long line of awards that the 500 has collected, topped by the European Car of the Year prize, while sales demand for the 500 is still at remarkable levels with more than 100,000 outstanding orders from markets around the world.

What Car? Green Car Awards - summary 'supermini' category

Best buy - Fiat 500 1.2 Pop

You won't need to hear about the Fiat 500's environmental credentials to want one - its cute retro looks have made it the must-have fashion accessory of 2008. The baby Fiat isn't just a pretty face, though - it's one of the greenest cars around.

The 1.2 Pop emits just 119g/km of carbon dioxide, putting it in tax band B. Plenty of new cars puff out even less, but most are diesels with fairly high nitrous oxide emissions. This Fiat is a petrol and its NOx output is just 0.034g/km (with the Dualogic semi-automatic gearbox) - five times lower than the average new car. Because it's not a diesel, there are also no particulate emissions.

Clearly cute looks and green credentials aren't enough on their own, but the 500 is a fine car in other respects. It's bigger inside than a Mini, it's reasonably refined and the super-light steering makes parking a doddle. It's also one of the safest superminis around, with a five-star Euro NCAP crash rating. The 1.2-litre engine is gutsy enough - especially around town - and because it doesn't emit much CO2, you'll pay only £35 a year for a tax disc.

That's not much good if it costs a bomb to buy, though, right? Good news. The 500 is cheap as chips - £8100 to be exact. Don't think its petrol engine means you'll pay at the pumps, either - the 1.2 Pop will average 55mpg. Find a diesel that's as frugal, and it will cost you a lot more to buy. Petrol is also a few pence cheaper at the moment. The entry-level Pop trim is the one to get. It's the cheapest by £1400, and comes with central locking, front electric windows and a CD player. You might want to fork out another £500 for air-conditioning, though.

The Fiat isn't as much fun to drive as a Mini and the build quality is a bit rough round the edges, but it's a lot more affordable and more exclusive than its rival. So, not only will you be driving one of the trendiest cars around, you'll also have a queue of buyers lined up when you come to sell it on. Still not persuaded? Then why not shell out a little bit extra and really make your 500 stand out from the crowd by having an Italian flag painted down the side, or a barcode on the roof - cast-iron proof that green cars don't necessarily have to be dull.

The Fiat 500 is already on the used market, but it comes at a premium. There's a waiting list for new cars, so dealers can charge close to list price or maybe even more for used examples. There are also opportunistic private sellers who reserved a car early and now fancy making a fast buck.