As the post suggests I am thinking of finally changing the Punto MK2 in for a 500X. A bit worried about the problems people are having and the poor fuel economy but its a beautiful looking thing and the wife wants a bigger car. The Punto auto gearbox on this 16v 1.2 is fantastic with a nippy engine and its a pleasure to drive so am I going to be disappointed or delighted?

I don't think people are really having many issues with their 500Xs. On the most part the issues are niggles. As with most modern cars the advanced gizmos ( sat nav, blue tooth, etc) seem to be the major cause of comments. These normally get sorted by software updates.

If I were buying another 500X then I would not change my mind over choosing the 1.4 MultiAir. Depending on your type and range of driving the you will get 30 to 35 mpg. This is a fair value for any petrol engine delivering 140BHP. Not a world class leader but not a fuel hog either.

I have no experience of the autobox but the manual box is precise and easy to use even when fast shifting.

Get one! I am loving mine and have to say the 1.4 turbo is great

I have a 1.6 diesel Pop star in Cinema black, only had it for less than a week and finding it a nice little car.

Personally I wasn't prepared for the fuel economy coming from a 1.3 diesel punto which easily did 50mpg around town.
While the 500X is an excellent upgrade, I have found a few issues that I will have to deal with. The boot ain't that big. Mine is the lounge with a full size spare wheel so takes a lot of space from the boot. The radio & satnav reboot when I least expect it and whilst it it a pain, I can live with it.
Oddly, the trim on the right pillar kept getting pulled away when I got in the car, seems odd there is a seam right at the level of the seat, fixed this with some double sided tough tape.
Ride is rather bumpy, that's just down to the thin tyres.
Occasionally the auto brake won't release when I try to drive off at lights, bit of an embarrassment really.
It is much more comfortable than the punto, better high seating position.
The rest of the toys work well.

Pedrolami said:

Personally I wasn't prepared for the fuel economy coming from a 1.3 diesel punto which easily did 50mpg around town.
While the 500X is an excellent upgrade, I have found a few issues that I will have to deal with. The boot ain't that big. Mine is the lounge with a full size spare wheel so takes a lot of space from the boot. The radio & satnav reboot when I least expect it and whilst it it a pain, I can live with it.
Oddly, the trim on the right pillar kept getting pulled away when I got in the car, seems odd there is a seam right at the level of the seat, fixed this with some double sided tough tape.
Ride is rather bumpy, that's just down to the thin tyres.
Occasionally the auto brake won't release when I try to drive off at lights, bit of an embarrassment really.
It is much more comfortable than the punto, better high seating position.
The rest of the toys work well.

Click to expand...

Compared to my Croma 2005 the overall space and boot space is much reduced. I knew this and have worked around it. My 500X has a 195 space saver which is almost full size but I can still get 100mm (plus) trays to sit on top of the spare and below the boot floor panel. If you remove the pre-formed poly wheel surrounds then it is amazing how much you can store below the boot line if you are sensible and careful with your packing.

Fiat have a campaign service bulletin to address the radio/sat nave reboot. I have never experienced this either before or after the said software update. This suggests it was an initial early production issues affecting only certain models but as is now common in the industry software updates fix certain issues and add/enhance function. To this end the update gets targeted at all relevant models even if you had no issues.

I have no trim issues but so can not comment.

The parking brake release I occasionally experience. Always works on the second attempt. I believe in most cases I have experienced this failure to release the car has not always been on a level surface. Difficult to quantify. Also we tend to be gentle in taking off. Sometimes I think the system is looking for a "determined" take off as opposed to a normal take off. This could make sense with my observation that I think the failure to release appears to happen more often on inclines. This would suggest a conflict/negotiation between the normal release and "hill hold" system?

Yes very comfortable. The driver/passenger seats suit my body/profile despite no lumber support adjustment.

All things taken into consideration the 500X is a great package BUT as with all things in life you really need to check things out for yourself. e.g. get a weekend (Friday to Monday) test drive.

I've the 2lt auto open edition and after about 5 weeks of ownership I find it to be a good ride, not done any long journeys yet all local no longer than 15 miles and average mileage is 45 mph. So hopefully will improve on longer runs.
Ed

If you guys are having problems with the auto hand brake release get it check by dealer, I had to have the clutch sensor replaced when mine refused to release altogether!

I have an early model, June 2015 and have had numerous problems, three airbag failures, car is on its third engine mount and two attempts to fix handbrake.

Since the module for clutch was replaced I feel it takes less effort for the brake to auto release now, I believe a software update was done at he same time.

It's a nice car when it all working!

I suspect a lot of the reported problems are with early production cars. I have a 2016 build and everything works just fine.

Well I have been and bought one, in red with 6 speed auto as i didnt fancy the 9 speed. So I should have this in about 4 weeks so I will let you know how that goes. I'll miss the Punto but I'm sure if all goes well, not for long lol

Great car as far as I'm concerned. Picked my 1.4 170bhp 9 speed auto in January and I've done 9,000 miles so far. I absolutely love it having had a 500 and then a Panda 4x4 the 500x feels to be in a totally different class as far as refinement, quality, comfort and tech (although they still have work to do on the latter).

The only thing I'd say is I hope you gave this spec a good long test drive because the 6 speed DDCT transition feels and works very differently to the full 9 speed automatic. I look forward to hearing what your first impressions are when it arrives.

Yep fully agree with above comments. I'm coming up to 9000 miles and think it's a brilliant car.

Decided to change spec today and go for the Cross instead of the Pop Star, we couldnt face the red dash and seats and the name sucked a bit, looks classier in the black/grey. So now we will now have to wait until September. I'll put a review on when I get it.

Funny isn't it......I don't like the name but love the red dash and seats.......seems Fiat have it covered ?

More the wife than me, but your right, its a good choice of interiors and shes paying for it so she can have anything she bloody well likes lol

Hi I thinking of buying a 500x to replace our long serving Croma, we have done with giving our sons trips to uni so do not need such a large car. I am a bit concerned about ride and noise as our old car is quiet and smooths out bumpy roads well, some of the reviews say the 500x does not ride well and they do not mention road noise. I am arranging a test drive and have already checked out the boot which is shallow and making a suitable cage for our working cocker will be a challenge, but having looked at a yeti, juke, mokka and even a duster I think a 500x might still be a good choice?.

By what I have read just don't get the 18inch tyres and you should be fine. Duster is dirt cheap and all tried and tested Renault parts but its not the prettiest thing, but then the Juke and Yeti could also fall into that area. Go on buy the 500x, I haven't even driven one and I've ordered it lol. Its a Fiat, you know what your getting. Charm, punchy little engines, a few niggles but buckets of character

Don't be put off by the 18" wheel and tyre set up. I had a Mecedes C class amg on 18" wheels it was really good on smooth roads but a bit jittery on anything else. I've not got the 500X on 18" wheels and find it good on all roads. Not jittery at all and holds the road real good.
Ed

Well I think? I'm the only Croma to 500X migrant at this time.

Mine is a 500X 1.4 MultiAir and has 18 inch rims fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres.

Lets take your points in turn:

1) Ride and noise. Well I'm not upset, nor it the boss. The Croma was good, limo like etc. The 500X is comfortably cosy, responsive handling, certainly different but it has NOT been upsetting in any way with respect to ride and noise. The only difference I have really noticed relating specifically to 18 inch wheels is when I reverse off my drive on full lock and down a typical drop kerb, found on drive entrances, is that there is a more noticeable firmness/clock/bump from the wheel on the tightest lock. Bearing in mind the 500X's tighter turning circle this could be a mixture tight lock geometry coupled with the 18 inch format.

2) Boot - yes this is a step down in size. However in my Croma beneath the lift able boot floor there was little space. This meant that my toolbox and crucial long distance travelling kit (oil, water, antifreeze, spares, etc) had to be carried above the floor in the main boot area. By careful repackaging, dumping the tool box for tool rolls, etc. I have been able to put all that stuff below the 500X boot floor panel.

Before deciding on the 500X you may wish to just check out it's brother. The Jeep Renegade. The back end of the Renegade is far more rectangular both on the sides and the tail gate rake. Bearing in mind it is still effectively a 500X the squarer back end may be better for your cocker and the wife

I've been on this forum before to say that my june 2015 500x city look 1.6 multijet 120hp lounge has behaved perfectly from new. It is now coming up to 12 months and eight thousand miles and is still behaving itself. I am not gloating but just to let prospective and new owners that it is a great car. Long may it continue. 18" alloys as standard on mine, quite low profile tyres, but when I had no option but to drive over one half of a broken pallet on the A55 last week, no problem with tyres or wheel.