TEST DRIVE: Inhabitat Takes a Summery Yellow Fiat 500 For a Spin

We had the privilege last week of driving "up north" in a summery yellow <a title="Fiat 500" href="http://www.fiat500.com/int/" target="_blank">Fiat 500C</a>, the reinvented Italian people's car. We traveled straight north to the Mackinac Bridge, the point between Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas (think 150-year-old fudge shops, parasailing, sugar-sand beaches, and breathtaking sunsets over birch and pine forests). It was the perfect car for the perfect summer trip: the little Fiat packs a lot of style into its 95% <a title="Inhabitat: recyclable" href="../index.php?s=recyclable" target="_blank">recyclable</a> and economically-sized body, with a soft top that retracts all the way to the rear, Euro style looks, an adorable tiny trunk, and an interior with heated leather seats and many of the comforts of a much more expensive <a title="Inhabitat: vehicle" href="../index.php?s=vehicle" target="_blank">vehicle</a>.

The front of the Fiat Euro stylish, but big enough that we felt comfortable driving on the highway for long periods. The car feels like a scaled down high-quality compact, not like screaming along on a tractor mower as we expected.

Just layer luggage and people in the Fiat with care: we had to pack a toddler and adult in the back seat, positioning their feet just so before locking the front seats in position to load more folks into the front. A little small for the large adult male of the species, who becomes grumpy after the novelty of scratching his head through the roof wears off.

The interior of the Fiat is well designed and functional, with a leather-wrapped steering wheel, easy-to-use satellite radio, high-quality A/C system, and an automatic gearbox that shifts to manual with a flick of the gear lever. We found this feature, plus the Sport button, to be essential in moving the little car out of its laggy lower gears and into the fun zone.

All in all, the Fiat 500 was a fantastic little car for running around town and for the longer jaunts of our road trip up north. We imagine this car would be perfect for designers, stylish single women, or single moms who want a fuel-efficient car with personality. For those who want the same size with a little (or a lot!) more zip, there is an Abarth model coming to the U.S. in 2012 with 175 horsepower, nearly double what this little guy has. We expect you wouldn't average our 40 miles per gallon in that version, though.

The trunk of the Fiat holds only a small suitcase and two paper grocery bags of cargo, but flattening one rear seat can double that capacity.