It's meant to be a city car, you'd never be anywhere fast enough to get it up to 55mph. It'll get you to the grocery store and back, although the cargo space might need to be bigger if you're a Costco shopper...
FIAT's an italian company and there definitely is a market for pure city driving in Italy, it's not huge but it's there, especially amongst younger folks.
Personally I don't think this car's particularly fit for the US market, it's not what it was designed for.