WAS it always supposed to be like this? When Fiat took the wraps of the dinky little 500 we all oo’d and ahh’d over its looks, but how many of us really thought the chic city car was the beginning of an entire dynasty?

Fiat has ten models in its UK range and half of them (the original 500, the 500C, the 500L, the extraordinarily ugly-looking 500 MPW and the 500X tested here) are 500 spin-offs, while a couple of others (the Panda and the Panda 4x4) are close cousins and the Abarth is a 500 in all but name. Where would Fiat be without the 500?

Available in two or four-wheel drive, the 500X is a soft-roader aimed squarely at the Nissan Juke/Renault Captur twins.

But does the 500 magic translate to the compact SUV sector, or is the 500X a stretch too far?

ON THE ROAD:

Naturally you can buy a 500X with a turbodiesel (in this case, Fiat’s much-admired MultiJet power unit) but the model sent for test was the 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol unit.

With oil prices at rock bottom, now is a good time to buy a car which runs on unleaded. You get all the benefits of petrol with the 500X MultiAir – greater refinement, less cabin noise and smoother running – plus Fiat’s innovative valvetrain tech, but on our test car the driveline proved to be a real test of patience. First up, the throttle response was just too abrupt. This was particularly noticeable in the lower gears when the fast pick meant coming on or off the throttle generated too much weight transfer. Smooth braking was no easier – with an all/or nothing response at the pedal. Embarrassingly, this meant I sometimes pulled up a couple of feet short of junctions as the grabby brakes stopped the car abruptly when I needed consistent retardation.

The acceleration problem can be overcome by treating the throttle pedal like a fragile egg and taking great care with the change from first to second gear, but I was still experimenting with different braking techniques by the time a man arrived to collect the 500X.

This issue may have been confined to the tester (although a quick Google suggests not) and I dare say a boffin with a laptop could reprogramme the engine management system in a matter of minutes to make the tip-in/tip-out process smoother.

The Northern Echo:

The MultiAir system uses ground-breaking electronic actuation technology to vary the intake valve opening according to conditions, maximising power and torque while minimising pumping losses and exhaust emissions. In particular, it boosts low and mid-range torque during part-throttle running and on test the 500X’s response certainly belied its relatively modest cubic capacity.

I wasn’t expecting sports car levels of grip on typical British B-roads and it’s fair to say I didn’t get them, but for a small SUV the 500X feels well tied down at all speeds and you can commit to corners with confidence. Wind and tyre noise is well suppressed.

ON THE INSIDE:

The Fiat doesn’t have the Juke’s crazy cabin, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing because some buyers will find the Nissan’s interior too over-the-top. If that’s you, then the 500X is a fine place to be.

The fascia does have some of the retro appeal of its city car sibling, such as the use of stylish colour-keyed plastic inserts on the dashboard, and its mix of digital and analogue instruments. The large LCD display can be configured to show a wide array of information (including all the fuel computer measurements and a fairly pointless real-time g-force read out) but I tended to keep it on the speedo.

The big chunky steering wheel is nice to hold and easy to feed through your hands, but the windscreen wiper stalks with their twist collars for wiper actions aren’t as intuitive as a simple push up/down layout and require the driver to take their right hand off the wheel.

The Northern Echo:

The build quality seems to be good – nothing feels flimsy and there are no rattles - but some of the plastics feel a bit cheap. That’s fine on a little run-around like the 500 but less so on a car costing the thick end of twenty grand.

HOW PRACTICAL IS IT?

The 500X has a longer wheelbase than its biggest rival (2570mm vs 2530mm for the Juke) which means you get a bit more room in the back, but those short overhangs mean the Fiat loses out to the Nissan in the battle of the boots (albeit by a mere four litres). More surprisingly, the Juke claims better figures (1189-litres) when the back seats are folded down – 189 litres more than the 500X.

There’s enough room in the back to accommodate two adults – three at a push – and decent room in the front, too.

However, I struggled to find a comfortable driving position. The 500X felt like a throwback to the days when Italian cars required an outstretched arms/legs bent at the knees driving position and no amount of fiddling could solve the problem. I dare say I’d have gotten used to it, though, and by the end of the test it wasn’t so irritating.

WHAT DO YOU GET?

The Pop Star (where do they get these names from?) sent for evaluation included automatic climate control, leather trimmed steering wheel, a 12v power socket, 17-inch alloys, colour-matched door mirrors, electric windows all round, remote door locking, rear parking sensors with a colour reversing monitor, electric door mirrors, cruise control and speed limiter, a chilled glovebox, and a touch-sensitive 5-inch colour touchscreen with Bluetooth audio streaming.

The retina searing metallic yellow paintwork was a £1,000 option. The various option packs (comfort, comfort plus and visibility) added a further £650. If you wanted to upgrade the in-car entertainment system to the merits of “HiFi by Beats” Fiat will be wanting a further six hundred quid.

The total price of the test vehicle with options was £20,795.

RUNNING COSTS:

All the fancy inlet valve technology in the world can’t make the 1.4 petrol as frugal as its diesel counterpart but that can be counter balanced to a degree by the lower cost of unleaded. Petrol pump prices are at a 12 year low and you’ll have to be a high miles road warrior to recoup the price differential between the MultiAir and MultiJet TDI.

The CO2 exhaust figure of 139g/km means you’ll pay £130 a year for your road tax.

VERDICT: Fiat reckons 80 per cent of 500X buyers will plump for the two-wheel drive model and I’d say that’s a sensible decision. Think of the 500X as a bigger, more practical step up from a 500 city car and you won’t go far wrong. The 1.4 MultiAir turbo is probably the pick of the range right now, thanks to the low cost of fuel, although the diesel might be a better long-term bet if you do a lot of miles. If you want something with greater off-road credentials, Fiat’s Jeep sister company will happily sell you a Renegade which is based on the same platform.

SPEC: Engine: 1368cc/fou-cyl/petrol Power: 140bhp Torque: 230Nm Top speed: 118mph 0-62mph: 9.8 seconds CO2: 139g/km Fuel consumption: 47.1mpg (official combined)

 

FIAT 500X 1.4 MultiAir Pop Star Price: £17,595