Fiat's cheeky new topless bambino

The little Fiat will most likely spend most of its life on city duty, and its compact dimensions mean that parking - if you can find it - will be a doddle.

Buyers of small city-style convertibles tend to be young-at-heart professionals and stylish trendsetters, women estate agents, interior decorators, fashion designers and ladies hairdressers.

Posers cars, is how they are described as by the owners of more macho, faster and better performing cabriolets and convertibles.

Attention grabbers

However, if truth be known, all cabriolets and convertibles, irrespective of size and performance, are bought because they are attention grabbers, great fun to drive and particularly good to be seen in.

Moreover, this is where Fiat has hit the sweet spot with the reincarnation of its sixties icon, the 500 Cinquecento.

Fiat reshuffled its 500 range recently and chopped prices quite drastically, inter alia by converting standard specifications to optional extras.

When the revamped Fiat 500 range was launched in South Africa in 2008 there was widespread criticism of its pricing with some motoring media suggesting that the cars were over-priced by up to R50 000.

Fiat did the usual car manufacturers egg dance about why the range was so expensive but consistently low sales for the past two years must have become quite a persuasive factor - hence the reduced prices.

It comes with a pretty respectable range of features in a small package.

The entry-level 1.2 now costs R135 500 and the 1.4 Pop wears a price tag of R157 800.

Moreover, the price cuts came at the same time as the first new two-model Fiat 500's arrived in local showrooms.

The two new additions to the range offer the choice of an automatic gearbox in the 500 MTA and a drop-top in the 500C convertible.

No escape from the green tax

Both models are powered by the same 73 kW/131 Nm 1.4 engine that sips about 6 litres of fuel every 100 km. Just a pity that emissions of 140g for the convertible and 135g for the MTA won't escape the green tax, which is to be introduced here later this year for all cars with emissions above 120g.

Standard specifications in both models include seven crash bags, aircon, central locking, power windows, an electronic stability package that includes traction control, brake assist and gradient hold, chromed trim inside and out, 15" alloys and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls.

The new MTA version (Manual Transmission Automated) has a five-speed box that can be used as conventional manual shift or left to do its own thing in auto mode.

I drove the MTA through built-up areas, along open country roads and over the Franschhoek Pass - and initially I was not overwhelmed by its strongest marketing feature, the fancy new gearbox.

It sticks to the tar like glue.

At snail pace in town it's reasonably OK, but when you put foot to overtake, or push on a bit the gearbox starts hunting and seems to panic, not sure of which gear it wants to be in. The result is a fairly seesaw ride which both my co-driver and I found quite irritating.

However, when we hit the mountain roads the little bubbly baby's character changed as soon as we opted to drive it in tap-tap manual mode.

Cheeky

We loved the engine's crisp crackle and the cheeky way it blipped on every downshift…..quite nifty, that.

Clearly, it doesn't have the cling and go of a hatch but the brakes are good, the steering is fairly direct and it sticks remarkably well to the tar.

The rear seats are OK for small passengers over short distances and the boot is big enough for a briefcase, a newspaper and few shopping bags - actually not all that bad, considering the little Fiat will most likely spend most of its life on city duty.

Enjoy the sunshine, Sunshine.

At the Theewaterskloof dam, I swapped the MTA for a 500C convertible, which became my chariot for the rest of the launch drive down to Hermanus, along the coast to Gordon's Bay and back to Stellenbosch.

The first thing that one notices about the drop-top is that is nothing like a conventional fold-down roof. This one goes way back to the ‘50s in the style of the original 500 Topolino and the Citroen 2CV.

Enjoy the sunshine, Sunshine

The fabric top only makes up the centre panel of the conventional roof so that the side pillars and roof members remain in place when the canvas is rolled back onto the boot lid.

However, you can also elect to position the roof rather like an open sunroof by clicking the “Open” button once. The roof then slides open for 25cm. Click again and the blind-like roof moves a bit further back, but still not all the way. A third press gets the roof to fold down completely.

A leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls completes the driver's compartment.

click to enlarge

The roof can be operated on the hoof up to speeds of 60 km/h.

Not only is this canvas roll-top delightfully different, but because the entire roof doesn't fold down there is no torsional rigidity loss and the car gets none of the extra weight penalty usually required for body stiffening.

Another feature of the roof I really liked was that it can be folded up or down via a key when the owner is a few metres away from the car. Do die for, doll…

The day was chilly and overcast but I opted to drive al fresco and I was struck by the lack of noise and wind in the cabin.

The tiny tot behaved really well and even at high speed it was confident and steady on its feet, even in gusting winds.

Unlike the MTA version, the manual shift of the convertible is quick and smooth and the ratios well spaced match for the high-revving engine.

Er… about the price tag…

The 500 is never going to appeal to the masses, but with the addition of the new MTA and convertible models Fiat SA reckons annual sales could double.

With the price reductions of the lesser models and the attraction of the two new additions, this might well happen, although I have one reservation - both new models are priced at an eye-watering R197 600, which is steep in this competitive market.

What might ease the pain slightly is the fact that both new models come with a price-inclusive three-year/100 000km warranty (which includes three years on paintwork and five years on rust anti-perforation), as well as a five-year/90 000km service plan.

Fiat 500 Specifications