“ The interior is pretty luxurious to take in , though ; the tint found on the seats and door trim is an interesting cross between gingerbread and baseball glove .”
The latter I could skip — a tougher decision were it to involve the Garmin-based system found elsewhere throughout the FCA line-up . The 500 infringes a little on headroom , but it has such a tall roof that it really only bugged me if I had a hat on . Plus , doesn ’ t a proper sunroof just fit so well with the old-school , zipping through Milan under a golden Italian sun vibe ? I ’ d say so .
A word of caution , however : while headroom is just fine , taller drivers are going to wish the steering wheel telescoped as well as tilted ; they ’ ll likely have to jam the seat pretty far back on its rails , which makes for quite a reach to the wheel .
Sunroof or no , the 57 Edition is a cool-looking car . The real clincher are those wheels ; they may look old-school , but they ’ re advanced forged aluminum alloys .
Power comes from a Multiair 1.4-litre four-cylinder that produces 101 horsepower and 97 lb . -ft . of torque ,
enough to hustle the 1,074 kg 500 along with a modicum of gumption . Yes , there is a turbo engine available elsewhere in the line-up but alas , you can ’ t spec the 57 Edition package if you go that way .
In addition to the pleasant surprise of the 57 stylistic package , I was happy to find that my tester came equipped with the base five-speed manual transmission . Lightweight or no , just over 100 hp is quite small by today ’ s standards ( the 500 does seat five , after all , and can pack a surprising amount of stuff with the rear seats folded ) so being able to get the most of it often requires you to row the gears yourself .
Plus , again : doesn ’ t a manual transmission just fit the image so well ? If you don ’ t think so , an Aisin six-speed auto can be had for an additional $ 1,495 .
It ’ s a fun car , too . While the Abarth edition is a study in how a small , sporty car should handle , the 500 57 is no shrinking violet ; as the compact packaging and short wheelbase suggests , you can zip through bends ( and indeed , narrow Turin alleys ) with gumption , the 57 displaying go kart-like direction changes .
Steering feel is a little numb , but since there ’ s so much going on around you , I can forgive that . To be honest , finding a properly tuned steering rack is becoming harder and harder these days anyway , so it ’ s hard to fault what is essentially a city runabout for that .
Better still is the 500 ’ s ride quality attributes . Of course , a car with a wheelbase this short and a roof this tall will never ride like a luxury sedan , but the 500 ’ s MacPherson front suspension and twin-tube shocks out back makes it more than livable .
When it comes to the day-to-day , though , the 57 Edition gets top marks for putting a smile on your face pretty much every time you take it in , and all for less than 30-grand . After all , isn ’ t that the goal with a car like this ? TDM
26 THE DRIVER