Fiat goes large with Fiat 500L

The Fiat 500L is a distinctive looking car

The L in the new Fiat 500L stands for large (and light) and there’s no mistaking that this is a big car.

Modeled on the best selling Fiat 500 city car, the 500L shares the nose of its popular sibling – but after that the L has a character all of its own.

While it’s not as stand-out cute as the Fiat 500, our test car had a distinctive looking black and white exterior paint job which still attracted a lot of looks.

Inside, the cabin in this mini MPV is massive, with the almost 360 degree window and panoramic Skydome sunroof combo adding to that feeling of light and space.

The test car was the top of the range Lounge trim, which boasts a very strokable grey dashboard and part-leather grey upholstery.

The interior in the Fiat 500L is quirky, with chunky, oversized dials

I liked the nice high driving position in the Fiat 500L and found leg room great in both the back and the front.

A five-seater, it can comfortably accommodate three adults in the back and the low rise transmission tunnel won’t cause much leg room woe for a tall centre passenger.

Pull-down trays for the back seats, as well as lots of space and chunky design give this car a very child-friendly feel.

The cockpit features large door handles, air vents and air conditioning dials, as well as an oversized gear knob and an unusually shaped hand brake.

The dashboard is also quite chunky and the front seats are very much back from the windscreen.

The driving seat was comfortable and both driver and front passenger seats had adjustable lumbar support.

With large doors, high up seats and a low floor this car is very accessible and I think that, as well as families with young children, this car will also appeal to older drivers.

Both compartments in the double glove box were a decent size and the smaller top one was big enough to hold my oversized sunglasses. There were also loads of cup and bottle holders, including a great mould in the door which securely holds a 500ml bottle in place.

The Fiat 500L is a very clever car when it comes to storage and luggage space. There were loads of clever cubbies in the cabin.

The boot in the Fiat 500L is a decent size and can be made bigger by folding the rear seats

The boot is also a decent size and a large opening and no loading lip make it easy to load. It can be made bigger by folding the rear seats, which can flip over.

The car also has what Fiat calls Cargo Magic Space – basically the boot can be raised or lowered to create a flat base with the seats lowered, creating underfloor storage.

The test car was a 1.3-litre M-Jet diesel model and it really grew on me over the week that I had it.

Our route was mostly city, but we also took to the motorway and winding country roads.

It was great in the city, with city mode making steering extremely light. This, combined with great visibility and rear sensors made parking simple.

Start stop technology also contributed to fuel efficiency by automatically cutting the engine while the car was stopped in traffic.

The Fiat 500L was respectable at the lights and while it took its time getting to 120kph from a standing start it had no problem maintaining that speed.

The rear of the Fiat 500L is spacious

Running through the five-speed gearbox was seamless and the car was smooth on the road.

Infotainment was provided for in the form of a Uconnect touch screen unit. This car has a CD player and the USB and aux ports were well placed at the bottom of the centre console.

I found Bluetooth easy to connect and I liked that I could stream music from my phone via UConnect.

While there was dual control air conditioning in the test car, I, surprisingly, found it difficult to regulate. The engine also was a little on the noisy side.

Overall, I found the Fiat 500L to be a quirky, spacious family car.

The Fiat 500L is available now, with prices starting from €21,750. Prices for the Lounge trim test car start from €23,750.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.3MJet 85 cv
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 14.9seconds
Maximum Speed: 165kph
CO2 emissions: 110g/km
Combined fuel economy: 4.2l/100km
Annual road tax: €190

Visit the Fiat Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.

Related articles
Fiat offers ‘simply more’ in new 500L
Coffee to go in high-tech Fiat 500L