Last year, somewhere deep in the bowels of Fiat's Ufficio Stampa in Turin, Italy, an employee had a problem. On the screen was a news release about the first load of Serbia-built Fiat 500Ls arriving from Montenegro to the Port of Baltimore. He or she was obliged to write something pleasant about the car's driving.
去年，在意大利都灵(Turin, Italy)菲亚特公司(Fiat)新闻办公室(Ufficio Stampa)深处的某个地方，一名员工遇到了一个问题。显示屏上是一篇新闻发布稿，报道的是在塞尔维亚制造的首批菲亚特500L型汽车从黑山(Montenegro)运抵巴尔的摩港(Port of Baltimore)的消息。他或她不得不对该车的驾驶性能写点中看的东西。
The 'North American Fiat 500L delivers excellent performance and great driving pleasure,' this person perjured blandly. 'These enviable characteristics are made even more interesting by typical European handling and precise, responsive steering.'
Dan Neil/The Wall Street Journal 图片：“小丑车”菲亚特500L“北美版的菲亚特500L拥有卓越的性能表现和极大的驾驶乐趣，”这名员工满不在乎地杜撰道，“加上典型的欧洲车操控及响应灵敏的精准转向性能，这些令人羡慕的特征显得更加引人入胜。”

Hmm, not so much. Actually, the 500L (front-drive, five-door liftback) corners like the world's smallest '65 Pontiac Bonneville. At engine speeds below 2,250 rpm, there is no one home torque-wise. You hit the gas and time stands still, a la 'The Matrix.' And the six-speed manual gearbox is the vaguest, wobbliest such mechanism I've encountered since I was winning dance contests in my three-piece suit. This thing isn't a transmission. It is an intermission.
唔，哪有那么好啊。实际上，这款菲亚特500L（前驱、五门掀背车）仿佛是世界上最小的1965款庞蒂克·博纳维尔汽车(Pontiac Bonneville)。发动机转数在低于每分钟2,250转时，车就没有了充足的扭力。你脚踩油门，而时间却像电影《黑客帝国》(The Matrix)里那样凝固了。那台六速手动变速箱是自打我身穿三件套西装赢得舞蹈比赛以来见过的最不清晰、最摇摆不定的系统。这玩意儿哪是传动装置啊，它是阻断传动的机构。
And yet it is fair to say the 500L drives exactly as designed. Indeed, the 500L's best qualities -- a hip, high-stye interior with scads of flexible space and utility -- are aimed squarely at consumers who are, shall we say, driving-agnostic. Our test car's cabin, upholstered with handsome charcoal cloth with rich brown, faux-leather gussets, sets a table of big, usable; affirmative-feeling switches and controls; respectable soft-touch materials; and lively graphics. The rear seats and front passenger seat all have tilt, tumble and fold function that allows loading of large items. IKEA, here we come.
然而，公平地说，菲亚特500L的驾驶感受完全符合它的设计初衷。这款车最突出的品质是，新潮时髦的车内拥有诸多灵活的多用途空间，这一品质就是冲着那些可以说对驾驶知之甚少的顾客而设计的。我们测试车的驾驶室椅套是美观的碳纤维布，并接上深棕色的三角形人造革，驾驶台配置了一系列大方可用、触感良好的开关和控制元件，以及体面的软性材质和生动活泼的几何造型。后排座椅和前排乘客座椅都具备调整倾斜角度和翻折的功能，以便装运大件物品。宜家(IKEA)，我们可要开着车来了哦。
The product brief for this car privileged, above all else, interior space, as in raw cubic feet, inches of headroom, legroom, seat travel, low floor height and flexible capacity (the 'L' is supposed to suggest 'Lounge,' or 'Large,' but no one in Turin seems to be sure). The 500L encloses a volume of 121.1 cubic feet of interior space, piled but just barely on a 102.8-inch wheelbase and overall length of 167.3 inches.
菲亚特500L测试车售价：23,395美元（约合人民币14.5万元）
动力系统： 1.4升进气口喷射直列四缸带可变气门正时技术的中冷式涡轮增压发动机；六速手动变速箱（销售的大多为自动变速箱）；前轮驱动。
马力/扭矩：5,500转/分钟时功率为160马力，转速在2,500-4,000转之间时，扭矩为184磅英尺（约合249牛米）
车身长度/重量：167.3英寸（约合4249毫米）/3,203磅（约合1454公斤）
轴距：102.8英寸（约合2611毫米）
0-60英里（约96公里）时速加速时间：9.1秒
环保署(EPA)燃油经济性：城市每加仑25英里（约合40公里）/公路每加仑33公里（约合53公里）/综合路况每加仑28英里（约合45公里）
载货容积（第二排座位后）：22.4立方英尺（0.63立方米）
这款车的产品简介特别强调的是它的内部空间，比如原始长宽高尺寸、头部空间、腿部空间、座椅移动功能、超低的车厢地板高度以及灵活可变的容积（车名型号中的“L”应该指的是“Lounge”（休息室——译注）或“Large”（大——译注）的意思，但是都灵方面好像没有一个人敢肯定）。菲亚特500L车内空间的容积为121.1立方英尺（约合3.43立方米），而承载这样空间的仅仅是102.8英寸（约合2.61米）的轴距和167.3英寸（约合4.25米）的整车长度。
Based on Fiat's global small-wide platform and descendant of the Fiat Punto, the 500L is about 5 inches shorter, bumper-to-bumper, than a Ford Focus hatchback. But it is 27.7 inches longer than its namesake, the Fiat 500 coupe, as well as 5.7 inches wider and 5.9 inches taller. The notion was to give Fiat intenders a family-practical vehicle with capacities the little one couldn't touch.
菲亚特500L基于菲亚特的全球小宽车平台打造，是菲亚特鹏托(Fiat Punto)的后续车型，它的车身长度比掀背版的福特福克斯(Ford Focus)短大约5英寸（约合127毫米），但它的长宽高比同名的菲亚特500 coupe分别多出27.7英寸（约合704毫米）、5.7英寸（约合145毫米）和5.9英寸（约合150毫米），其意图是为钟情菲亚特的客户提供一辆容量比菲亚特500 coup更大、更实用的家用汽车。
The 500's cheery, anthropomorphic styling cues, as if drawn with a pencil nub, have been grafted on the much larger car, but the results are disquieting. If the tiny 500 is a glamorous flea of a city car, our pale-yellow 500L test car looked a bit like an overinflated canary.
菲亚特500活泼、人性化的风格元素（仿佛是用铅笔头画出来的）被嫁接到了体型大很多的车上，而效果却令人担忧。如果说小小的菲亚特500是城市车中一只迷人的小跳蚤的话，那么我们这辆浅黄色的菲亚特500L测试车看上去颇有点像一只特大的金丝雀。
On the inside, there is human-factors magic. The 500L's openness in the front cabin -- the raised height of the front seats, the low scuttle, and the car's unusual, windowed A pillars, giving the car essentially transparent front corners -- all create a compelling panoramic outward view. I predict the interior alpinism will sell the car when things like handling won't. And only occasionally do you feel like you're wearing a novelty-size sombrero.
在车内，存在不可思议的人性化元素。菲亚特500L驾驶室前舱的开放状态——提升了高度的前排座位、低矮的前窗挡板、以及这车与众不同的玻每窗式A柱（让车的前角基本上变得透明）——营造了令人叹为观止的全景外部视野。我预计，在车的操控性能这些东西无法促进销售的时候，这车的高超的内饰技术会成为它的卖点。你只偶尔会感觉自己戴着的是一顶尺寸小巧的宽边帽。
The 500L plays in what's known in Europe as the B-MPV segment -- that is, a B segment (small five-passenger car, like Ford Focus) multipurpose vehicle (small van, like the Citroen C3 Picasso). In terms of its big-on-the-inside packaging, the 500L's competitors in the U.S. include niche-y, adorable blockheads Nissan Cube ($16,760 MSRP) and Kia Soul.
菲亚特500L在欧洲属于所谓的B-MPV类汽车——即，B类（像福特福克斯那样的小型五座汽车）多功能汽车（像雪铁龙C3毕加索(Citroen C3 Picasso)那样的小型厢式汽车）。就其车内的大空间设计而言，菲亚特500L在美国的竞争对手包括小众的可爱呆瓜日产Cube（厂商建议零售价16,760美元（约合人民币10.4万元））和起亚秀尔(Kia Soul)。
The 500L comes in four trim levels with names that sound like the chill rooms at Bonnaroo: Pop, Easy, Trekking and the feature-laden Lounge. The test car ($23,395) was up-fitted with the 'Trekking' trim level, including a half-inch rise in ride height, and 17-inch all-season tires with alloy rims. As part of what must be a fairly expensive come-on for the North American market, the 500L comes with a complimentary UConnect 6.5-inch touch-screen system with audio, navigation and rearview camera, a $1,745 line item.
菲亚特500L共有四种版本配置的车型，名字听起来有点像波那罗(Bonnaroo)艺术节的休闲室：大众版(Pop)、舒适版(Easy)、旅行版(Trekking)和富有特色的尊贵版(Lounge)。这辆测试车（售价23,395美元（约合人民币14.5万元））属于“旅行版”配置，其中包括底盘高度升高半英寸（约合12.7毫米）和铝合金轮毂的17英寸四季轮胎。作为针对北美市场提供的一项相当昂贵的诱人配置，菲亚特500L免费赠送了一套6.5英寸的UConnect触摸屏系统，合成了音响、导航和倒车影像功能，该产品单独售价为1,745美元（约合人民币10,831元）。
If you plot interior dimensions against cost, the rough arithmetic favors the Kia, with a base price of only $14,900 and more interior cubes than either the Fiat or Nissan, packaged in a car shorter and lower than either.
如果你把车内空间尺寸与价格进行比较，粗略的计算结果显示起亚更合算，它的起售价只有14,900美元（约合人民币92,481元），而内部空间却比菲亚特和日产都大，车身反而比后二者更短、更低。
However, with regard to the Fiat's aspirations to Euro-design cachet and charisma, and the price premiums they command, the segment bogey is obviously BMW's Mini Countryman, Mini's own very large take on its very small car.
然而，要说菲亚特谋求欧洲设计的声望和魅力，并由此而定价偏高，宝马(BMW)的Mini Countryman才是这个级别的妖怪，Mini这款超小的车赚取了超大的利润。
The Countryman ($22,100) is smaller on the inside than the 500L (102 cubic feet vs. 121 cf), but it is also half a foot shorter, a bit lighter. But the Fiat gets about 10% better highway fuel economy.
Countryman（售价22,100美元（约合人民币13.7万元））的内部空间不及菲亚特500L（前者102立方英尺（2.89立方米），后者121立方英尺（3.43立方米）），车身长度也比菲亚特500L短一英尺（约合30.48厘米），重量也轻一些，可是菲亚特公路行驶的燃油经济性比Countryman好10%。
Performance-wise, in a straight line, it is about a draw. Despite the 500L's power advantage over the Countryman (160 vs. 121 hp), the cars' power-to-weight ratios are nearly identical, around 20 pounds per horsepower. Acceleration is about the same for both these pygmy show ponies, around 9.1 seconds to 60 mph. In any event, this isn't a drag race one would pay to see.
在性能表现方面，两车在直线前进中基本上平分秋色。尽管菲亚特500L的功率强于Countryman（160马力对121马力），但两车的功率重量比几乎是相同的，都在20磅/马力左右。这两匹侏儒秀中的矮马在加速性能上也基本一致，0到60英里（约96公里）时速的加速时间大约为9.1秒。不管怎么说，这不是一场人们买票观看的汽车加速赛。
Naturally, the Countryman feels crisper, sharper and much more level and trustworthy in corners than the 500L when you are driving with any pace. Compared with the Mini, the 500L is sprung like a nursery's rocking horse and, as I mentioned, the Fiat's six-speed manual gearbox is a shambles.
很自然，在拐弯的时候，不管你以何速度驾驶，Countryman比菲亚特500L更利索，更轻快，更平稳，更让人放心。与Mini Countryman相比，菲亚特500L颠簸起来就像托儿所的摇摆木马一样，正如我前面所提到的，菲亚特的六速手动变速箱就是一团糟。
Here again, the package rules. Fiat designers wanted the floor low and the seat height high, so drivers could enjoy the commanding view. But to do that, they needed an awfully long gearshift lever in order for it to fall to hand. And thus the 500L's lengthy, and dodgy, gearstick and its occasional mystery-gear function.
这又是被整体设计所决定了的。菲亚特的设计师想让车的底盘地板低一些，座位高一些，这样司机能够拥有居高临下的视野。可是要做到这一点，他们需要一根非常长的换挡杆才能让手够得着它。这才有了菲亚特500L那长长的、难以驾驭的变速杆以及变速器运行中偶发的莫名其妙的怪事。
Of course, few of these cars will actually be sold with the manual transmission; nearly all will go out the door equipped with the six-speed dual clutch transmission, the same gearbox that is the subject of a safety recall. If you are considering a 500L, go ahead and get the automatic. It is an easy fix; a software glitch.
当然，实际销售的车辆中没有多少是配置手动变速箱的；几乎所有的车出厂时装配的都是六速双离合自动变速箱，该变速箱正是因安全原因召回的那一款。如果你在考虑买一辆菲亚特500L，直接买自动挡的吧，它的问题很容易修复，只是一个软件瑕疵而已。
The 500L does have a pretty sporting little engine under the hood: an intercooled turbo, 1.4-liter, 16-valve four producing a goodly 184 foot-pounds of torque at 2,500 rpm. But this engine's throttle response is so famously logy and it can only be the result of some aggressive fuel-saving algorithms in the engine-control calibration. Like other Fiats, you have to keep the engine well on the boil, rev-wise. Even then the torques start to fade away at higher engine speeds so that by about 80 mph in sixth gear, the little-big car is getting winded. An Abarth performance package would do wonders, but Fiat execs say that a 500L Abarth edition isn't in the tarot.
菲亚特500L的引擎盖下的确有一台非常具有运动性能的小发动机：1.4升16气门4缸中冷式涡轮增压发动机，转速达到2500转/分钟时可以输出184磅英尺的强劲扭力。但是这台发动机气门响应是出了名的迟缓，因此只有在发动机操控校准中使用了某种激进的节油算法，才可能得出上述数据结果。就像其它的菲亚特汽车一样，你必须好好保持发动机的澎湃转速，即使那样，当发动机转速进一步提高时，扭力也开始减退，以至于等到变速器升到六档、车速达到每小时80英里（约合129公里）时，这辆小小的大空间汽车已经变得气喘吁吁了。如果装配阿巴斯(Abarth)变速套件，那就会产生惊人的效果，但菲亚特高管说，阿巴斯版本的500L不在计划生产之列。
She's not much to drive -- mille scusi, anonymous press official -- but she's awfully easy to live with. Mom always said, that's what counts.
她开起来不怎么样——非常抱歉，那位不知名的新闻官员——但是接受她是件非常容易的事。妈妈总是说，这一点才重要。