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02/06/2011
REVIEW By EWAN KENNEDY
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Let’s start my road test with a rave review from my partner, Julie, very much the typical buyer of this tiny Italian runabout with its huge opening roof:
It's so Cute! I know that cute is not a description that everyone likes but I defy you not to think it when you see this car. It is just so Cute. It is also stylish and retro and fun and zippy and perfect for the Gold Coast.
I can drive Fred (the Fiat) with the top down when I have just blow dried my hair and my hair does not get messed up! I drive him with the top down everywhere unless it is raining - day or night. When it is cool I just put the heater on my feet. And even in light rain I just open the top a little way. You can have it as open or as closed as you want!
I have decided the 500C is an Italian boy - Alfredo or Fred for short.
Fred is so much fun. He is responsive and zippy and fits just about anywhere, yet I have quite comfortably sat in the back seat when there were three of us in the car. I can drive him manually (without a clutch pedal - hooray!) or automatically and either way is good.
I usually drive him around town and to the beach but I have had him on the highway and he is just fine sitting on 120 - oops, sorry, 110.
And the attention he gets. And not just from women! I have had men swoon because a Bambino was their first car. I have had women cross the road to tell me that they really weren't staring, it was just that their mother used to have one.
I have even had road workers give me the thumbs up. Everyone likes this little car. It's so Cute!
And inside he is cuter still. The best retro interior I have seen.
Do you want style? Want fun? Want easy cabriolet motoring? Go the Fiat 500C!
Julie
Wow! OK that was Julie; now onto my, less breathless more technical, review of the Fiat 500C convertible.
The 500C isn't a convertible in the usual way, instead it has a huge soft sunroof that slides all way back. It pays homage to the original 1957 open top Fiat 500 and is very versatile. The folding soft-top has a glass rear window which is great when the weather is bad as it doesn’t reflect in multiple directions as do plastic rear windows.
Headroom is adequate for the average height person (or infinite with the roof open!). The cloth seats are slightly firm and are narrow backed, but the side cushions provide good lateral support. The front seats are higher than normal to make as much room for those in the back as is possible in a car of this size. The pedals are close together and slightly off to one side, but you will soon adapt to this.
It comes as no surprise that there's limited legroom in rear seat of this little convertible, but a couple of kids will love sitting back there watching the world go by through the open roof, adults are more comfortable than you would expect in such a tiny car.
Boot space is comparable to the Fiat 500 hardtop and is easily accessible. If the top is down, pressing the boot opening button signals to the roof to partially close so it does not impinge on access to the boot. The luggage area is big enough to take a week’s supermarket shopping.
We liked the feel of the leather-bound steering wheel which includes Bluetooth and audio controls. The single round dial of the concentric speedo/tacho pays tribute to the simplicity of the original Fiat 500. It’s not always easy to note the speed at a quick glance. This is of little importance in Italy where drivers are trusted to choose the correct speed for the conditions, but in Australia...
The ease of driving and parking makes the little Fiat perfect for crowded inner-city areas, it’s only 3550 mm long and 1650 mm wide so squeezes into kerbside parking place other drivers can only dream about. On the downside, we did find opening the wide doors a hassle in tight places.
The Fiat 500C has a 1.4-litre 74 kW engine alongside either a manual with six speeds, or an automated-manual DuaLogic gearbox. Like others of its type, the Fiat automated-manual has the irritating features of having a mind of its own, and not being particularly smooth in the lower gears. Once it’s up in the higher gears the DuaLogic is almost as good as a conventional auto. Of course you can make all gear changes manually and the fact there’s no clutch pedal makes this simplicity itself.
Fuel consumption is impressively low. We typically used only seven to eight litres per hundred kilometres around town, and it’s easy to get into the fives in country driving.
The little Fiat convertible buzzes around corners neatly and is a ton of fun with plenty of Italian verve. Rough road surfaces can upset the ride, but we have felt worse. Noise generated on coarse-chip roads means you need to crank up the audio system to drown it out.
Recommended retail prices for the new Fiat 500C begin at a modest $28,990 for the six-speed manual, making it the cheapest convertible on the Australian market. That is if you can class the big sunroof as making it a convertible. The 500C with DuaLogic transmission has a tag of $30,990.
Finally, when I described my partner Julie as being a typical 500C buyer, I can report that she is madly saving her pennies and a Fiat called Fred may soon have a permanent place in our garage.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Fiat 500C Lounge 1.4-litre three-door convertible: $28,990 (manual), $30,990 (automatic)
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: Not offered
Dual Front Airbags: Standard
Front Side Airbags: Standard
Stability Control: Standard
Traction Control: Standard
SPECIFICATIONS (Fiat 500C Lounge 1.4-litre three-door convertible)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.368 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.8:1
Bore/Stroke: 72.0 x 84.0 mm
Maximum Power: 74 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 131 Nm @ 4250 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Five-speed
Final Drive Ratio: NA
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 3546 mm
Wheelbase: 2300 mm
Width: 1627 mm
Height: 1488 mm
Turning Circle: 9.3 metres
Kerb Mass: 930 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 35 litres
Towing Ability: NA
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, lower wishbones, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Torsion beams
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h: 10.7 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/02): 6.3 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 7.5/10
Air Pollution Rating: 6.5/10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000 km |
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