Company Car Review of the Fiat 500X 1.6 Multijet II Lounge 120 bhp
What is it?
IMAGINE Fiat’s 500 built up into a curvaceous new compact crossover and you have this new 500X.
Just launched in Italy and with an “Opening Edition” available to order in the UK as of December 1 (although main sales will begin around April 2015), the 500X is a model that vaults Fiat and the 500 formula up into one of the industry’s hottest segments, namely, the supermini SUV: home to the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008 and others.
So it’s a new junior SUV that’s been carefully crafted to have the 500 “look” while adding space, practicality and kit, plus of course the all important high seating position, ground clearance and connectivity.
The interior is also stylish and well presented, again evolving the successful 500 design. Fiat’s product team meantime has been hard at work devising a wide petrol/diesel model range to tap all customer bases. You’ll find three different transmissions (including Fiat’s first 9-speed automatic) plus front or all-wheel-drive also in the mix.
Thereafter, your mission is to pick your way through 12 different body colours and eight different styles of 16 in, 17in and 18 in wheels. There are 7 interior configurations and six separate option packs also up for grabs. The scope for personalisation with Fiat’s 500X would therefore seem to be considerable.
At heart, though, the 500X comes in two forms. There’s the mainstream, urban-based Pop, Pop Star and Lounge editions. Then there’s the more rugged off-road-style Cross and Cross Plus models.
As the 500X launches in the UK, so the “Opening Edition” will come in three basic guises: as the 140 bhp, 1.4-litre Turbo MultiAir II petrol 6-speed manual, starting at £17,595. Above, sits the 140 bhp 2.0-litre MultiJet II 4WD with 9-speed automatic.
But it’s the model in the middle, this 120 bhp 1.6-litre MultiJet II diesel, with 6-speed manual and front-drive that might that seem particularly well suited to UK business users. It has the most competitive economy (68.9 mpg) and lowest C02 rating (109 g/km) of the initial run, ending up with a 17% BIK company car rating which is currently the best you’ll get.
Ahead of the UK intro, we tried the 500X on home turf in Italy, and here’s what we found…
