Fiat’s lovable 500 citycar is even harder to resist in 500 C convertible form. One of the most affordable routes to open-topped motoring is also one of the very best. Let’s check it out as a used buy.

What You Get

We call this a ‘convertible’: this 500C actually uses more of a giant fabric folding sunroof, retaining the same B-pillars, door frames and rear side windows as the standard fixed-top hatch. However far you retract it, the roof has a lot of material to fold. Actually we’ve found this more of a problem in the halfway-back position where the bulging creases create plenty of wind judder that’s only partly alleviated by the optional wind deflector that original buyers could purchase to mount behind the front seat headrests. With the top fully back, there’s a plump sandwich of fabric but the judders disappear and there’s more of a proper cabriolet feeling.

What To Look For

The 500C has earned a decent reliability record, helped in no small part by its reliable engines. The biggest reported issue to date has been premature ball joint wear and pressure plate issues – but this manly applies only to early models. Check for upholstery damage caused by child seats in the back, typical supermarket dints and scrapes, slipping clutches on the manual cars and ensure all the electrical functions – which can get surprisingly sophisticated on up-spec models – work as advertised as these can be expensive to fix. The 500C isn’t bad on consumables like brake pads and most people should be able to park it without nerfing the extremities.

Overall

We’re used to the idea of paying through the nose for convertibles, but Fiat’s 500C provides a welcome break from all that. Though the premium this soft-top model demands over its hatchback counterpart seems quite high, the overall package still represents pretty much the most affordable route into soft-top motoring.

Here’s a carefree car that’s free, sunny and open in its outlook – and very difficult to dislike with a sheer joie de vivre that’s central to its charming appeal, turning even the most mundane of commutes into something far more attractive: a journey to be savoured, rather than endured.