Fiat 500C

Fiat 500C

Test Drive Notes Library
  • Pros

  • Loveably cute and original. Fun just to look at.
  • I think this is what they mean by "European Flair."
  • Fun car to drive.
  • Super easy to park.
  • Neat, airy, simple interior.
  • Very impressive tracking and handling for its size.
  • Surprisingly stable stance.
  • Very comfortable (optional) leather seats.
  • Did not feel mortally imperiled driving it, even driving at fast highway speed.
  • Nifty, powered, roll-back, canvas top. When the top is back 2/3rds, entire roof is open, but you still can see out the back through glass window. Benefits of a convertible without the structural weakness.
  • Cons

  • Good, but not great mileage for its size.
  • Dealers still few and far between.
  • Fiat has a long history of producing hopeless rustbuckets.
  • Doesn't feel unsafe, but objectively, it's very small and wouldn't fare well in a crash with a bigger car (i.e. practically every car)
  • Not a performance car in any sense of the word.
  • Very poor visibility out the back with the rollback top fully down.
  • Propensity to hydroplane at higher speeds.
  • Not a full convertible feel with the rolltop down, due to A, B, and C pillars at the front, middle and back of the passenger compartment.
  • Back seat is okay for a very short drive, lousy for a road trip. Another two inches of length would have made the back seat more comfortable.
  • Sure to be called a "chick" car.
    "It's a winner in our book."

Test Drive Notes Library

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