Fiat 500C
Expert Rating:
What is it?
We could be facetious and say that the C stands for 'convertible' and leave it there. We won't, because the 500C isn't any ordinary convertible. Rather, it has a massive sliding section that leaves the support structure of the metal roof intact, which means it combines the best of the convertible (burnt bald patches and buff barnets), with the benefits of the standard hatch (structural rigidity and airbag-filled safety). So, the 500C really is just like the hatchback, except it happens to be convertible too. Or so Fiat claims.
Is it any good?
It is indeed. If you were expecting us to rubbish that entire opening paragraph as far-from-reality Fiat PR spin, prepare to be surprised. The 500C is very nearly the consummate small convertible. As we were saying, it doesn't simply lop off the entire top half of the hatchback; rather it takes a tin opener to the roof and cuts a big hole from the windscreen to the top of the boot. That hole is then filled in with a piece of fabric on rails, which neatly incorporates a proper glass rear screen and a brake light - the latter remaining visible with the roof up or down. How clever.
It means that the 500C keeps the hatchback's exact shape, but also that the all-important curtain airbags usually lost to a convertible conversion can stay, along with minimising the need for masses of chassis strengthening to stop the car from shuddering like an Eskimo at midnight. To you and I, that means the driving experience remains 99 percent intact, with poor open-top rear visibility the most notable sacrifice (your view is obscured by a concertina of cloth sitting in your line of sight).
But the arrangement keeps wind and cabin noise down to a pleasingly low level, regardless of whether the top is up or down (though these things are relative, of course), and there's a negligible performance difference. A press of a button is all it takes to get the roof partially or fully open, plus, because it's not stowed in the boot, luggage and passenger capacity stay virtually the same.
Our main gripe is with its driving position, which will bug taller drivers because it lacks adjustment; the seats are set too high and the foot well is cramped.
Should I call the bank manager?
For now, 500C buyers get the choice of every engine and trim level below Abarth (though that could happen later), which means the range is underpinned by a 1.2-litre petrol Pop model at £11,300 and crowned by a 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel in Lounge spec at £14,100. That represents a premium of about £3,000 for the fabric roof, though Fiat has seen fit to throw standard air conditioning in for that outlay, as well as slightly plusher seat coverings.
It'll come as no surprise that Fiat has once again been canny with the options list, allowing buyers to choose between a raft of personalisation options, each of which seem reasonably priced, yet can add up to take the 500C close to MINI price territory. That would take a concerted effort with a biro, though.
Which isn't necessary, because for our money the peaches are found at the lower end of the range. Sure, it's nice to have an unlimited budget, but the prudent will find as much fun in a 1.2-litre Pop with a couple of carefully chosen options (one being the essential alloy wheels), as they will in a near-£15k top end model. The 1.3-litre diesel is a very smooth, combining good low-end pulling power with a nice, barking engine note at higher revs and its 67.3mpg efficiency is impressive, but we preferred the petrol engine (55.4mpg) for its quieter, more free-revving nature.
The 1.2-litre unit is quantifiably slow, but it's not the kind of languid, frustrating slow that feels strained, and the trade-off is a car that feels lighter at the nose, and is thus that little bit sharper and more fun to drive. Avoid bigger alloys if you want to optimise ride comfort too; the C is always composed over any surface, but on smaller rims fewer thumps translate into the cabin.
Summary
The 500C has impressed us a lot, despite its imperfections, largely because it's got buckets of personality and its solution to open-top motoring is simultaneously quirky and pragmatic. It hasn't got the build quality, perceived engineering integrity or 'big car' feel of the MINI - in fact, it feels a whole class lower, and is priced as such - but it's still a very real alternative. Well worth a look.
