Fiat 500 gets a major update
THE original Italian crossover, the Fiat 500X, has been updated inside and out with new looks and technology to satisfy a driver’s every needs. It’s available with a choice of three trim levels, Urban, City Cross and Cross Plus, three petrol engines, including two brand new more efficient turbo petrol engines, and now comes with a host of safety assistance systems as standard across the range.
The new Fiat 500X has evolved to become even more modern and functional as it introduces new comfort and safety features, while adding even more 500 family style.
New daylight running lights and LED rear light clusters are standard across the range, bring it even closer to the look of the rest of the 500 family.
Standard on the Cross Plus, and optionally available on other trims, are the new LED headlights, made in partnership with Magneti Marelli. The LED daytime running lights give the front of the new Fiat 500X a clear, distinctive visual identity, while at the rear LED light clusters make the car even more recognisable, as well as increasing its visibility and safety on the road. As well as adding unmistakable 500 style, the LED headlights offer more powerful lighting, improving visibility, consume five times less energy than traditional halogens and reduce eye fatigue thanks to daylight-like illumination and covering a wider area. At a speed of 56mph obstacles can be spotted up to four seconds sooner – which is a distance of 100m – than with the standard halogen units.
Reasserting their distinct identities, the new exterior design highlights the two personalities of the model – the new Urban look features an all-new front and rear bumper design to make tackling city traffic chic, while the new Cross look adds new-look protective skid plates for taking on adventures.
Compact outside and roomy inside, its spacious and protective environment is embellished with the use of premium materials, high-quality finishes and handy storage compartments. The comfortable interior is unmistakably Italian in its style, and comes with a choice of seven different finishes in a choice of fabrics and colours, a wide range of seat settings and a roomy boot. The completely restyled cockpit features a new instrument cluster, with graphics that are now even easier to read, together with a new steering wheel which is contoured to ensure better positioning of the driver’s hands, provides perfect grip in Techno-leather upholstery and includes integrated radio controls.
The new Fiat 500X is the first Fiat model to fit the latest innovative family of turbo engines, designed to strike the right balance for customers between the driving performance and economy. Euro 6D compliant and fitted with Gasoline Particle Filter (GPF), the new turbo engines are the result of over 75,000 hours of virtual tests, 60,000 hours of real-life off-vehicle tests and 5 million kilometres clocked up on roads worldwide to confirm their robustness and reliability.
The use of many innovative technical characteristics contribute to improving performance and maximising driving comfort, such as direct fuel injection to maximise volumetric efficiency and the low inertia turbocharger controlled by an electrically operated wastegate actuator which, combined with a supercharger module water-cooled directly in the intake manifold, ensures a faster response and swift acceleration. The range of petrol engines in the new Fiat 500X is completed by the entry level 110hp 1.6 E-Torq, combined with manual transmission and front-wheel drive, which is now upgraded to meet the Euro 6D pollution reduction standard and now features Start & Stop as standard.