We review the Fiat 500L (2013) from price to economy and all its features
OH, what have they done to the cutest car on the road?
Fiat have taken the supercool 500 and pumped it up into the bloated and ungainly 500L.
They have been unable to resist expanding the 500 range from supermini to a mini people carrier unashamedly to cash in on the car’s cult status.
Not for the first time, they’ve followed Mini’s lead to go XL with their smallest model — Mini did it with the Countryman — to squeeze out every possible sale.
But it doesn’t work because the 500L doesn’t look like a 500 apart from the headlights and grille, and it certainly doesn’t drive like one.
There’s nothing wrong with the 500L as a car and it delivers the space to make it a genuine family-friendly five-seater.
It rides and drives OK but it’s lost the fun factor of the 500 to become a pretty boring family runabout, although the 0.9litre TwinAir petrol and the 1.3 diesel engines are both useful performers and return over 60mpg.
For me, the awkward styling has lost all of the charm and character of the 500. I think Fiat should have made it a member of their Panda family because it has the quirky style.
The Panda range is all about practicality and that’s the strong point of the 500L, along with a good quality funky cabin.
The L badge adds another extra to the 500 — price.
It starts at £14,995 but there are plenty of alternatives at that price — and more desirable ones still given that the price for the diesel version rises to £16,490.