Fiat 500L gets a facelift

Fiat has revealed the facelifted 500L with overhauled components and specs. The carmaker claims that 40 percent of the car’s components are new, with the inclusion of automatic emergency braking and the availability of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto amongst the most notable of additions. It also gets completely new interiors. However, when it comes to the car’s styling, the refresh is subtle.

The three variants remain, but are now named Urban, Cross and Wagon; the Urban being the standard car, Cross being a more off-road friendly version with added ground clearance and styling tweaks, and the Wagon model being the seven-seat extended version, which replaces the MPW.

The Cross’s ride height is 25mm more than its siblings’, and gets the usual raft of rugged exterior trim such as skid plates and cladding. It comes with three drive modes – Normal, Traction+ and Gravity Control.

The seven-seat Wagon focuses on versatility and space. Fiat claims that 1,500 configurations are available for the car’s interior, while boot space is the largest in the 500L range, at 638 litres in five-seat configuration or 416 litres with the rearmost seats in place. 

Engines have also been overhauled – the 1.4-litre 16V and T-Jet petrol units provide 95hp and 120hp respectively, while a 105hp Twinair two-cylinder completes the petrol range. The 1.3-litre 95hp and 120hp 1.6-litre Multijet diesel engines remain, and are Euro-VI emissions compliant.

While the 500L is unlikely to make its way to India, Fiat is currently offering a high performance derivative of the standard 500, the Abarth 595 Competizione at its dealerships. Furthermore Fiat’s sister company Jeep is set to launch an all-new SUV in the country, badged the Compass, in the coming months.