The cost of looking cool

By CHRISTOPHER TAN

Whatever the people at Fiat have been taking, it must have given them quite a trip. Because they have deemed it fit to price the new 500C at $105,900.

Based on the playful and retro 500, the 500C is cute, has a retractable canvas canopy and is not half bad to drive. But $105,900 is a princely ransom for the tiny car, even one from a group that owns Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia and Chrysler.

Without having to stretch the wallet at all, you can get a far bigger and more accomplished ride, such as the Volkswagen Golf 1.4, the VW Beetle 1.6 and, if you bargain hard, even the BMW 318i.

Even when compared with the hardtop Fiat 500, the 500C is a tad rich. The former is $10,000 cheaper.

Of course it is a given that a convertible always commands a premium (I think they should be priced lower in a hot and humid place such as Singapore, but that is another story).

Strictly speaking, the 500C is only half a convertible. It is actually a 'targa' soft top, meaning the roof frame is still in place after you have retracted the canopy.

Driven thus, with the windows up, the Fiat 500C whips up such a storm in the cabin that occupants are safe to yell out their darkest secrets without risk of shame or condemnation. Perhaps then the C in the 500C might actually stand for 'confessional'.

In truth, this is not the best example of a convertible. Even with its top up, the car lacks styling finesse and engineering precision.

For instance, it will not escape you that the canvas is not completely taut when shut, leaving visible grooves on either side where roof meets A-pillar. This will drive nitpicky neat freaks like me nuts.

But for Fiat fans and lovers of things Italian, it might just be another trait that contributes to the car's 'character'.

On a positive note, the 500C has indeed lots of character. It has the same funky, adorable fascia found in the 500, with knobs and buttons fashioned as fastidiously as in the days when cars were special.

Everywhere you look (well, everywhere but the canopy), the cabin exudes a sense of occasion. In many ways, the car has the same charming ways about it as the celebrated Mini.

But it moves to a different beat altogether. With a modest engine mated to a clutch-actuated manual gearbox, the Fiat is anything but brisk. Driving it like a manual helps. As would hitting the Sport button on the dash.

Even so, the Fiat thrives on revs and is most rewarding when the tacho spins past 4,000rpm.

Being so compact, it is as nimble as a mouse in a maze although I find the steering a bit twitchy.