Fiat 500L 2014 Review

When is a Fiat 500 not a Bambino? When it's a Fiat 500L...

The L is to 500 what Countryman or Clubman is to MINI Cooper. A two-row, five-seat people-mover, it's the first extension of the 500 brand and is under serious consideration for Australia.

Among a selection of Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat models on hand to drive during this week's icy Detroit backgrounder of a secret model (about which we can tell you nought), that fact alone made the 500L a must-drive. Frankly, however, with temperatures around 13 degrees Fahrenheit, if it had a heater I was in it!

But not for very long, nor very far... The test loop laid out for us around the Auburn Hills headquarters of the US-Italian group near Detroit was barely 8km and 10 minutes in duration. Thus this impression is based on less than 20km in total -- half of which were undertaken in the rear seat.

But that's not a bad place to start our quick spin of the 500L. After all, it's the space that sets this car apart from its namesake.

Very much a conventional MPV in terms of dimensions, the 500L is close to the C3 Picasso in size and similarly quite square-rigged. Combine these proportions with big glass areas and you end up with a car that will easily seat five and feels airy and spacious into the bargain.

The rear bench is hard, relatively upright and sits noticeably higher than the front buckets -- 50mm, in fact. Despite the ascension, there still heaps of headroom and the upright carriage of passengers means that legroom and knee space is maximised.

Our guess is kids will love the visibility the seat set-up and low belt-line yield. What they might not like is the pew-like nature of the seat itself.

Fiat's sales bumpf on the 500L claims each seat can be configured in eight different ways -- yielding 1500 theoretical combinations.

Perplexing claims aside, the versatility of the space is manifest even at first glance. You can slide, fold and tumble the rear seats and even the front passenger seat can be tweaked. The latter folds forward to yield a load space that will cope with items up to 2400mm in length.

Fiat says the 500L has 22 storage areas -- even a spot ready for optional Lavazza coffee maker, according to the US brochure. Behind the 60/40-split folding rear seat there's reasonable luggage space too -- around 630 litres.

Officially, the luggage volume increases to 1900 litres plus with all the seats down -- almost van-like.

It's no commercial to drive, however. The 119kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged MultiAir four is a responsive and peppy unit that matches well with the six-speed manual of our tester. There's plenty of torque on hand and acceleration to and from highway speeds is better than adequate.

Even after just a few kilometres there are a few quirks noticeable from the driver’s seat -- it's not quite as convincing behind the wheel as when you're playing pampered passenger.

For one, the steering wheel is oddly square -- the dreaded Fiat Panda squircle makes it into the cabin! And steering feel and linearity need some work. The electric steering system fitted to the 500L is not likely to impress many.

While we're at it, the manual gearshifter is oddly placed, the centre armrest fouls your elbow when changing gears and the pedal heights are such that heel and toeing will require you to perform ankle gymnastics beyond the norm.

Still, the 500L is not a sportscar and a dual-clutch automatic will be standard on the 500L if it eventually makes its way Down Under. Indeed, it's the availability of this gearbox in right-hand drive variants around which the 500L's local future revolves. No auto, no 500L, says Fiat Australia.

The 500L lacks the cuddly nature of its namesake... It does have some charm, however. Outside there are some visual clues to its Bambino counterpart -- mainly around the front and headlights -- but it could do with a little more.

Inside, alas, connection between the models is even more lacking. Perhaps Fiat should have included body-coloured panels on the dash to set the tone.

Assuming Fiat Australia can secure right-hand drive production of dual-clutch auto-equipped variants, the 500L will likely arrive in early 2015. Where it will be priced will, obviously, have a huge bearing on its success or otherwise.

Fiat Australia is suggesting a starting price in the $27,000-28,000 range... We reckon a sticker closer to $24,000 will be closer to the mark...

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