2012

Fiat 500 Cabriolet

I have waited a long time for Fiat to come to America and it's no shocker that I am an Abarth fan.  It is only fitting that I see what the 500 has to offer without the Abarth package.  The fun compact Italian design raises the bar and sticks to the Iconic Fiats of the day.  The Idea of the Fiat is fun and fuel,  making your commutes less of a chore.  The 500 cabriolet offers the retractable soft top that can be positioned like a sunroof or all the way down. 

The interior is very inviting with lots of circles and well crafted two tone designs.  The dashboards panel represents the old Metal panels of the old, well crafted and a great touch to heritage.  There is not fancy touch screen or huge multimedia player but there is aux and USB ports for your audio devices.  The Bose stereo option has great quality.  One tiny fault it the really neat RPM/MPH gauge that moves up side by side made me look twice to see my speed.  The Seats have a fun sporty look to them and are surprisingly comfortable.  Rear passenger room we thought would be non existent, my friend rode in back with the top down “the noise of the top down is not bad and there is a comfortable amount of room”.

Driving the 500c is very fun and brings back the basics.   the clutch is light and easy to use along with a basic shifter make you feel like you have been driving this car your whole life.  The suspension is kind of springy and sways a bit, sometimes it is nice to drive a car without feeling every rock in the road.  The Fiat fits like a Italian leather driving glove.  The 1.4l is smaller than most people are used too but being the car weighs less than 2500 lbs it is a perfect fit.  Keeping it at 3,000 RPMS will get you through traffic without much doubt.

Most of today’s gas savers have a price tag that seems a bit unrealistic for what you are buying (or saving on gas) but the Fiat comes in as tested at $21,750.00.  A very reasonable price matched with 30 mph in the city you are saving money and having fun with every drive.