2010 Fiat 500C Convertible First Drive

Just as Mini's Anglo-German marketing machine shouts loud and proud, "We're ever so cute and cheeky and hip!" so, too, the image-masters at Fiat shout the same message — only with an Italian accent and better food. No one on the planet does super-mini cars like Fiat, and the 2010 Fiat 500C Convertible is a wet dream for those who like their cars cute and cheeky and hip.

Ironically enough, when Fiat introduced the Nuova 500 on July 4, 1957 to replace the original Topolino (the people's car of Italy, first commissioned by Mussolini in 1930), it was launched as a ragtop, with the hardtop coming only later on. Powered by a rear-mounted 479cc two-cylinder engine that was good for 13 horsepower, the Nuova went 53 mph, recorded 60 mpg and offered upholstery for the rear seat only as an option. The car went on to become the symbol of postwar Italian economic success.

At the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, Fiat launched the 500C with one of the most bewildering and impertinently artsy press conferences that we can remember. But our drive on a warm summer's day at the Balocco proving ground not far from Fiat headquarters showed us a beautiful little car that drives about as well as it looks. The car, at least, is neither bewildering nor impertinent.

And North America should be getting this Fiat 500C in some guise from Chrysler by 2012, lucky us. It won't be pure badge engineering, but it'll be close to it. And why not? Look how cute it is.

Open for Bi'ness
In the truest of senses, the 2010 Fiat 500C Convertible is simply a Fiat 500 without the roof. We're not being obtuse, really. Fiat has decided to retain the sides of the hardtop and simply integrate a giant, fabric-covered sunroof, and not just because both the Topolino (the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) and Nuova 500 used this configuration.

With most of the structure of the metal hardtop in place, the 2010 Fiat 500C's crash safety is largely maintained, as is the overall structural rigidity necessary for a good driving experience — the lack of the latter being something we're forever ready to criticize in a topless car. Fiat has also reinforced the windshield header, while also increasing the height of the windscreen itself. Not only did we neither feel nor hear any crickety-crack from the 500C's bulkheads due to chassis flex, but the visibility is nicely enhanced even with the roof stretched shut. Good rear-passenger headroom has also been maintained with this setup.

By our counting, the power-operated roof opens to its first stopping point above and behind the heads of the rear passengers in 10 seconds. Pressing the button again, the roof goes the rest of the way down in back using 6 seconds more. The closing thereof uses three stages: Stage I raises the roof back to the rear spoiler level in 6 seconds; Stage II brings it forward in another 6 seconds to within 10 inches of fully shut for safety reasons (hands and stuff poking above the roof line); and finally, Stage III gets the top all the way shut in 5 more seconds.

The forward section of the fabric roof can be adjusted at will all the way to v-max (113 mph for this flagship model with its 99-hp 1.4-liter engine), while the rearmost section in back can be adjusted only below 60 km/h (37 mph). The unit works as advertised.

Ironically the roof system is supplied by Magna Car Top Systems, a division of Magna, the company that outbid Fiat for Opel/Vauxhall in the wake of the bankruptcy of GM. And you can order this ironic roof in three colors: ivory, red or black. When the top is fully open, cargo space is not affected, so you still get 6.5 cubic feet, which increases when the rear seatbacks are folded forward.

Open Season
At any speed beyond 30 mph, the noise created when the roof is open in the intermediate position is annoying. If it's not the 1-inch wind-stopping deflector in front making too much wind-stopping racket, it's that ear-popping turbulence from the air being scooped into the cockpit. So we either live with the wind-stop white noise or we throw open the front windows to relieve the pressure and leave the wind stop out of it. Either way, a pain in the ear.

The only way to live full-time with the roof peeled back is with the roof peeled all the way back and the wind stop out of action. It's a pity about this, too, because the 500C is at its most adorable with the roof open in either position.

Then again, once the roof is fully opened, the stacked folds of the fabric get too high in back to let us see anything with the rearview mirror, constraining us to rely solely on the sideview mirrors. Keeping cargo space in the trunk is cool, but losing rearview visibility is not cool. So the best compromise is ultimately with the roof opened to the intermediate position and the wind-stopping deflector flap fully deployed. Earplugs might be worth a try, since cuteness of this magnitude is worth meeting halfway.

Open Road
Our top-of-the-line, front-wheel-drive 2010 Fiat 500C has its 1.4-liter inline-4 mounted transversely up front and it provides 99 hp and 97 pound-feet of torque both nobly and readily. While the flat-out dash to 100 km/h (62 mph) does take up 11 seconds of our life, the engine does a great job tugging us through all the curves at Balocco as long as the revs are in the midrange (the redline is 7,300 rpm) and the Sport button is pressed and stability control is disengaged. Pedal placement with the five-speed manual also allows some really nice heel-and-toe moves into all these curves.

We noticed distinctly better chassis behavior in the 500C versus our first drives of all trim levels of the 500 hardtop two years ago. Fiat reps edified us that there is a new anti-sway bar in back borrowed from the drawing boards at Abarth, the high-performance subsidiary of Fiat. The difference really is fantastic and it's good to see this sophisticated handling even on the base cars. Fiat responds to our next question by assuring us that at this point an Abarth program for the 500C is not planned. Oh, yes, but it will be.

The steering is relatively numb on all standard 500s, but you get used to dealing with the understeer part — just take that wider line. Sometimes we use body English to encourage the car, although we must report that the highly stylized seating of the 500C is not very supportive, though it looks marvelous.

We do not like the optional five-speed Dualogic automated shift system, with or without the optional steering column paddles. Even in Sport mode the action is lazy and grunty. Sometimes revs get held when high, sometimes the upshift just happens unforeseen. We ran back to the car with the five-speed manual transmission.

Our little hottie had been shod with the optional 16-inch wheels, styled in a way that hearkens back to a simpler time when really complicated spoked wheels were the sporty norm. With the 195/45R16 Bridgestone Potenza treads wrapped around them, cornering that was already better than expected got better. Ultimately this 3,100-pound beach-and-city minicar really impressed us. And the 500 already has the highest five-star crash rating in Europe, so she is a safe wee thing.

Close the Deal
The 2010 Fiat 500C Convertible will be delivered first in France, Italy and the U.K. on the traditional birthday of the Nuova 500, July 4. By the end of 2009, the 500C will be delivered to all 59 markets currently selling the lineup of Fiat 500s. Pricing in Europe starts at the U.S. equivalent of $19,700 and goes as high as $28,900, though if it were on sale here in the U.S. right now, prices wouldn't be anywhere near these numbers.

And this makes up a big part of Fiat's business-case conundrum for America. Because the U.S. dollar is one of the weakest currencies in the world right now, no foreign manufacturer is getting rich selling cars to us. So if the Fiat 500C comes to us in 2011 or 2012, it will have to be a Chrysler-built vehicle in order to make any money for the new company. Barring a sudden surge in our dollar's value, that is.

Fiat counts an amazing 360,000-plus 500s already sold in the car's 59 existing markets. The 500C is projected to make up between 15 and 20 percent of total Fiat 500 sales.

Think small, America; Fiat's going to make this cutie work over here one way or the other, sooner or later.

Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.