The latest member of the Fiat 500 family is called the 500X. It’s not really a close relative of the 500 hatchback, despite attempts to make it look that way. Fiat hopes it will be a big seller in the compact crossover class, but if that's going to happen it will have to fend off strong opposition in a very competitive market sector.
The Nissan Juke is the big target, at least as far as British sales are concerned. The Fiat 500X will also have to contend with the Citroen C4 Cactus, MINI Countryman, Renault Captur and Vauxhall Mokka.
Other than the Mokka, the 500X is the largest of the group, and it has plenty of room for four adults. Larger fellows sitting in the rear, however may find that their knees are pressing into the seat in front.
Luggage capacity is good but not class-leading at 350 litres with the rear seats in place. Fold them down and the volume extends to 1,000 litres, not helped by a high floor. There's enough room left over for a temporary spare wheel unless you choose the optional Beats audio system, whose woofer takes up that space instead.
The range is divided into two "looks". The more city-oriented one is given to the Pop, Pop Star and Lounge. There are also Cross and Cross Plus models, which are very similar to the Pop Star and Lounge in terms of equipment but look more rugged and have either ‘Traction +’ (an electronic equivalent of a limited slip differential) or part-time four-wheel drive in case you want to do some off-roading.
The 500X is only moderately good at this sort of thing, and even Fiat people admitted the course in the Scottish Borders we drove through was a very gentle one. Still, it showed that it has enough traction and ground clearance to move a little further away from public roads than would be possible in a normal family car.
From launch the 500X will be offered with a choice of 1.6 and 2.0-litre diesel engines (the latter only with four-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic gearbox) and a 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo petrol. A less powerful 1.6 non-turbo petrol will be available later in the year. Both the diesels sound gruff at all speeds. The MultiAir is much quieter in gentle running but starts to sound pleasantly rorty at higher revs.
Every version I tried at the media launch dealt badly with sharp bumps whether it was fitted with 17- or 18-inch wheels (16s are available for the entry-level Pop). One of Fiat's marketing phrases for the car - "Well Dressed, Badly Behaved" - began to seem all too appropriate.
It's as if Fiat had to give the car a lot of ride height and then tried to limit body lean by making the suspension as stiff as possible. In fact, there's quite a lot of body lean when you corner quickly, but it isn't a problem. On the contrary, the 500X handles a lot better than I thought it was going to.
It's a good idea to be aware of the high centre of gravity, but apart from that the car feels very poised even when the road has as many mid-corner dips and crests as the one on the test route did. Just be prepared to slow down every time a bump or a pothole comes into view.
In terms of running costs the engine to go for is the 1.6 diesel. Its 68.9mpg combined economy and 109g/km CO2 emissions obliterate everything else in the range. The MultiAir and the 2.0 diesel perform very similarly, with a 0-62mph time of 9.8 seconds in each case, and although the diesel is stronger at low revs I'd go for the MultiAir because its lower noise levels make it so much less stressful to drive.
