Driver's Seat: Fiat enters the open-top small car arena

2012 Fiat 500C Lounge: It's Luigi from the Pixar hit Cars. What could be better?

Price as tested: $26,050 (Base price: $23,500)

Marketer's pitch: A new Italian classic.

Conventional wisdom: F.I.A.T. = Fix It Again, Tony?

Reality: Cute and cuddly. Economical. Pretty, with classic good looks and lots of style. But not as all-out fun as the Mini Cooper, or even the Ford Fiesta.

It's back: Fiat returns to U.S. shores as a part owner of Chrysler Corp. The 500 and 500C kick things off.

Big sunroof: I hadn't seen a 500C in person before the test vehicle. I was a little disappointed to find, as Motor Trend put it, that C is for Compromise, not Convertible. It's just a big canvas sunroof with framed doors and roof rails. Sure, it gives you three roof positions, and in the final one the rear window folds away, too, but it lacks the one-with-nature feel of the Mini.

My first night we had a terrible rainstorm, and more differences became evident: The Mini has a plastic liner inside the top, so outside noise was minimal. The 500C sounded as if I were driving in a tent.

Friends and stuff: The Fiat makes the most of its tiny package. Legroom is great for a small car, even better than the Mini. We put actual adults in the backseat and didn't hear complaints. Trunk space is as limited as in any other small convertible.

Power shortage: The 1.4-liter engine propels the car well but requires downshifts on the smallest upgrades at high speeds.

The less-upgraded Pop model offers a five-speed manual, but the Lounge comes only with a six-speed automatic with shifttronic. I would have liked to try the stick.

Two modes: If we're looking for nostalgia, the new Fiat brings back a classic Beetle handling. "Indifferent," "loose," and "quirky" were the notes I punched into my cell after my first drive.

I tried sport mode and tightened and quickened the moves. But I hit a couple of bumps in the Art Museum Circle and thought my fillings would come out. And the quirkiness remains, probably due to the car's height vs. length.

Tiny tires: The 15-inch wheels were a $300 option. I can't imagine what the 14-inchers are like, but I think a trip to the dentist may have been in order.

What a beauty: The interior was certainly striking. The hard-to-please Mrs. Passenger Seat loved the color scheme - cream and red leather (part of a $1,250 luxury leather package, which also added heated front seats and auto-dimming mirror). The seats were top notch, and not too small. The driver's seat even came with an armrest.

It's still a very small car, so everyone sits close together.

The plastic dash recalls the old metal ones, without all the disfiguring injuries in a crash. Craftsmanship was nice.

Outside, the tricoat pearl white ($500) on the round little ride left it christened "Eggy."

Lovely locks: The door handles themselves push in and pull out, locking and unlocking the doors. Brilliant.

Tough buttons: The steering-wheel controls don't work smoothly. They're flush to the wheel and need to be pushed in deeply, and it's hard to feel confident that you've actually set the cruise control.

 In and out: Accessing the backseat wasn't too bad. But the front seats would slide back and forth during entry/exit, which made it harder.

Lane-changing adventures: The driver's side rear-seat window was completely obscured by the pillars, so the driver can only see out the door window or in the mirror. An inset mirror helps, but it's important to monitor traffic from behind at all times.

Super sound system: The Bose radio offered some of the best sound I'd experienced in recent vehicles. Which is good, because the Fiat was noisier with the top up than the Mini with the top down.

Good mileage: The Fiat averaged about 32 m.p.g. while I had it, certainly respectable.

Where it's built: Toluca, Mexico

How it's built: Fiat remains unrated by J.D. Power & Associates.

In the end: The Fiat benefits from a lower price (just $19,500 base for the Pop) than the Mini, and it uses regular fuel, and four people can sit in moderate comfort in the sun. Still, given my druthers, I'd spring for the Mini, or hope that Ford tries a topless Fiesta. And I'm sure Luigi just zipped away and sulked.

Next week: Does a four-door Jeep hark back to the days of yore?

Contact Scott Sturgis at 215-854-2558 or ssturgis@phillynews.com.
Read his recent columns at www.philly.com/driversseat.