Fiat 500L

Fiat 500L at a glance

Fiat showed the 500L at the Geneva Motor Show in 2012 and presented it to the press in Turin on 4 July 2012. It shares the 500's styling themes, but its platform is a stretched and widened version of the one used by the Grande Punto. The Fiat brand page lists all of the brand's models.

Generations and versions

The 500L had one generation with three body variants:

• 500L: the standard five-seat car.
• 500L Trekking: shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2012, with crossover-style trim; after the facelift it became the Cross Look (sold as 500L Cross).
• 500L Living: a longer seven-seat version sold in Europe from 2013; renamed 500L Wagon after the facelift and discontinued in 2021. Auto Express calls the UK version the 500L MPW and lists it at 4,352 mm.

The 2017 facelift (changes for the 2018 model year) brought the new Cross and Wagon names. A Beats Edition with a Beats audio system and two-tone paint appeared in 2014. The 500L was Serbia's best-selling car in 2013 and again from 2015 to 2017.

Engines and gearboxes

All petrol engines came with a six-speed manual. The 1.3 diesel had a five-speed manual or the Dualogic five-speed automated manual, and the 1.6 diesel had a six-speed manual only. A six-speed dual-clutch gearbox is listed for some versions, and in North America the post-facelift car was sold only with a six-speed Aisin automatic.

Dimensions, space and boot

Small differences between Wikipedia and Auto Express come from measuring different versions and model years, so both are shown. The tall body is the 500L's main selling point: at 1.66 m high it is much taller than a normal hatchback of the same length, which gives good headroom and an upright driving position. Our size comparison tool puts it next to any other car in the catalogue.

Running costs

With the 500L, the choice of fuel matters more than in most cars of its size. Besides the usual petrol and diesel engines, Fiat sold two factory gas versions: the 0.9 TwinAir Natural Power, which runs on compressed natural gas with petrol as a reserve, and the 1.4 FIRE with an LPG system. Both can be cheaper to run where gas is taxed lightly and filling stations are easy to find. The diesels have the most pulling power, 200 Nm for the 1.3 and 320 Nm for the 1.6, which helps when the car is full of people and luggage. Because the engines and many mechanical parts come from the 500, Panda and Punto, parts are widely available. In the UK, new cars carried a three-year or 100,000-mile warranty. Use our fuel cost calculator to compare petrol, diesel and gas running costs.

Sales

The 500L peaked in 2014 with more than 94,000 European registrations, more than half of them in Italy. North American sales never took off, and Fiat ended them after the 2020 model year.

Safety: Euro NCAP and IIHS

Euro NCAP tested the 500L in 2012 and gave it five stars: 94% for adult occupants, 78% for child occupants, 65% for pedestrians and 71% for safety assist. In the United States the IIHS rated the 2014 model Good in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, but Poor in the driver-side small overlap test; it still received a Top Safety Pick award. For newer family cars, see our safety ratings.

Reliability and known issues

The 500L did not appear in the UK Driver Power survey of 2015, and Auto Express noted that the regular Fiat 500 finished outside the top 100 of 200 cars, with Fiat dealers ranked 24th of 32 brands. We have not found a sourced list of model-specific faults.

Rivals

The Ford B-Max, built in Craiova, Romania, is a less powerful alternative with 55-88 kW (75-120 PS). The Golf Sportsvan is a size larger, with a 500-litre boot that grows to 590 litres with the rear seats slid forward. Use our comparison tool for a direct check.

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