Used Fiat 500C 2009-present review

The Fiat 500C is a city car for those who like the cute retro styling of the standard 500, but with an al fresco twist. You see, the 500C has a full-length canvas top (which replaces the metal roof of the normal car) that can be retracted at the touch of a button. This means drivers who want to savour what little sun we get in this country can do so in their car in seconds.

Open-top city cars are rare. The main competitors to the 500C are the Peugeot 108 Top, Citroën C1 Airscape and DS 3 Cabrio. Like its rivals, the 500C isn’t technically a full convertible because there are still roof pillars in an attempt to maintain structural stiffness.

The entry-level Pop model goes without niceties such as air-con and alloy wheels. If you want those, you’ll need to opt for mid-range Pop Star. Top-spec Lounge cars come with useful extras such as rear parking sensors and extra adjustments for the driver’s seat. There are also a number of special-edition versions that could be worth a look, provided the price is right.

The interior uses lots of bright colours and the dash front is painted to match the exterior colour – all of this makes for a bright and attractive environment. It’s not up to the same quality as a Mini, but it’s in keeping with its rivals. The driving position won’t suit all drivers, since the steering wheel only adjusts for height, not reach.

Engines include a tiny two-cylinder Twinair 0.9-litre petrol, an economical (and noisy) 1.3-litre diesel and finishing with a 1.4-litre petrol. The biggest seller, though, is a 1.2-litre petrol; despite not being the fastest, it is more than capable of keeping up with the cut and thrust of town traffic and is even reasonably refined.

Out on the open road, the 500C can be a bit out of its depth. Wind and road noise make their presence known, although this is true of most cars with a canvas roof. The steering is rather heavy for a small car and it springs back to the straight ahead quite quickly – this takes some getting used to. The ride can be a bit bouncy and crashes into potholes more than it should. Grip levels are good, though, and the car will hang on well in the bends, even if you do take a corner a little too quickly.

But the 500C is most at home at lower speeds on city streets, where its diminutive size makes parking a breeze. Rear visibility can be compromised if you have the top fully down because the folded roof blocks most of your rear vision. You might find it’s better to have the roof partially up because this allows you to utilise the rear window.

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The Fiat 500C has been on sale for a long time now and early cars are cheap. A 2009 example with lots of miles will set you back £3000. If you’d like something a bit newer and less leggy, then a tidy 2012 car in 1.2 Lounge spec with 40,000 miles can be found for around £4500.

If you’d like a 500C with a Twinair engine, then a 2011 example with 40,000 miles is £5500. Facelifted cars from 2015 onwards start from around £9000. If you fancy something a bit younger, a nearly new 500C is around £15,000.

To keep up to date with used 500C prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you are getting the best deal.

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Fuel economy and emissions figures for the 500C are similar to those of the standard 500, despite the weight penalty of the soft-top due to extra chassis strengthening and the heavy folding mechanism.

The worst-performing 500C is the 1.4-litre petrol, which has an average fuel economy figure of 48.7mpg and costs £140 to tax. The 1.2-litre petrol is the most sensible option. It has an average of 58.9mpg and costs £30 to tax, improving to 65.7mpg and free road tax with the Eco version of that engine.

The Twinair unit has some excellent economy figures on paper, with 67.3mpg for the 104bhp version and 74.3mpg for the 84bhp car, although the likelihood of achieving those figures in real-world driving is low. Both do break into the free road tax band, though.

If you’re interested in the diesel version, early cars with the 74bhp engine had an average figure of 67.3mpg with £20 road tax, while later cars with the more powerful 94bhp engine had a figure of 76.3mpg and free road tax.

It’s worth bearing in mind that if you buy a 500C that was registered after April 2017, it will cost £140 a year in road tax because of the change in the tax system.

Insurance costs and servicing costs are in line with rivals, both in terms of fixed-price packages and standard servicing.

The 1.3-litre diesel and 1.4-litre petrol are quite rare on the used market. The 0.9-litre Twinair also isn’t that popular, so we’d recommend going for the 1.2-litre petrol. While it’s not fast, it is much more refined than the two-cylinder Twinair – which can be rather rattly – and copes well in town.

The 500C is well equipped in Pop Star form, but the top-of-the-range Lounge variant seems to have sold better. Since Lounge can often be found for very similar money to Pop Star and comes with rear parking sensors – which help alleviate some of the visibility issues with the roof down – it’s worth looking for if you want a used 500C.

Our favourite Fiat 500C 1.2 Lounge

Open-top versions of the Citroën C1 Airscape, Peugeot 108 Top and Toyota Aygo are more practical than the Fiat 500C because they can at least be had with rear doors. However, they aren’t as cute to look at and the interiors of these cars are nowhere near as stylish.

The DS 3 Cabrio has a similar roof arrangement to the 500C in that it folds down into a creased heap where the back window would be on the ordinary car. It’s a bigger and more practical car than the 500C and it has a range of larger, more powerful engines, making it a better choice for those who need a convertible for longer motorway journeys.

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