Fiat has officially unveiled the 500X at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. It is the sixth addition to the 500 family from the Italian automaker and shares much of its underpinnings with the Jeep Renegade. The car has been spied testing on multiple occasions and was ‘officially leaked’ ahead of the French motor show.
The Fiat 500X as the name suggests is the crossover version of the Fiat 500 and will be manufactured at the Italian automaker’s plant at Melfi and be exported to over a 100 countries. It will be made in two versions Leisure and Metropolitan but with both having the same in terms of mechanical offerings.
The 500X looks very similar to the 500L except for the obvious changes with regard to it being a crossover. It also gets different wheels and colour schemes as compared to the 500L. It also gets a similar interior as compared to the rest of the 500 range but minor modifications.
On the engine front, the 500X is being offered with the 1.4-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre turbo petrol mills. These ranges of engines are expected to be joined by the 1.4-litre multiair II and the 2.4-litre Tigershark unit. They will be offered with a six-speed manual or a nine-speed AT while only the Tigershark gets AWD. The diesels on the other hand are the 1.3-litre MJD as well as the 2.0-litre MJD oil burners and they will be offered only with five and six speed manuals as well as AWD.
When launched, it will compete with the Honda HR-V, Nissan Juke and the Suzuki S-Cross SX4. We in India will get the 500X when our market accepts premium five-seater crossovers of which the first to hit our roads will be the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross SX4. Fiat is likely to gauge its results based on the success of this vehicle to see if there is potential for the 500X in India.
