The comparison with the Multipla, which I like and respect enormously, is very interesting.

Also, the mention of the torque figure bears out what I find. I had the old 1.9 JTD 100bhp in my last car and I have the 1.6 105bhp in my new one, and I can attest that 'extra' torques claimed for the 1.6 just don't exist in the real world. The old 1.9 had far more low down pull, and went like a train up hills, the 1.6, not so much and with a far too narrow power band...

http://www.newcarnet.co.uk/Fiat_preview.html?id=13056

I wish more reviews were like that. It felt honest, to the point I was more willing to accept the negatives because it didn't continually throw jibes at the car for not having a VW Group badge on it *cough*AutoExpress*cough*. The 2500 UK sales so far are also more encouraging than previous reports.

I've not driven a 500L so I can't pass comment on how the 1.6 Multijet feels in that car, but I do think perhaps Fiat would benefit from spending some time on their bigger diesel engines now that they've got MultiAir & TwinAir off the ground. The Multijets are still good, but many reviews say they're noisy (and having heard some, compared to a lot of rivals, they are) and given how good the JTD's were, I can't help feeling todays Multijets could be better. The confirmation of bigger engines is encouraging though - maybe lessons of the past are being learned (think Doblo Mk1, Qubo, etc).

It was good to see them make reference to the Multipla, which is where I think a few 500L owners could come from. It's an absolute genius car which looks more relevant today than it did in 1999. It's weird how the fact that it seated more, carried more & towed more than the 500L won't necessarily mean it managed to sell more, but that's the average buyer for you.

Enlighten my "confirmation of bigger diesels"?tell me more.

At the end of the year they are introducing the 1.6 120bhp Diesel, and the 120bhp 1.4 Multiair petrol.

According to a couple of reviews I have read.

I'm somewhat skeptical of those figures as the 700ish number in the other thread is based on cars registered in the uk with the dvla from 1st of April to the 1st of July so it misses out march and isn't even a third of the claimed 2500 a month. And to be honest there really aren't enough on the roads

I've seen a total of two one parked up (red one) and a black one on the road, the dealership down the road has had one on its forecourt since march which is getting very cheap now

They need the bigger engines sooner rather than later, they like to rattle on about the benefits over the minis but the minis have two engines 1.6 petrol and a 1.6 diesel but they come in a multitude of power outputs from about 90 to over 200bhp fiat have several different engines all with equally poor power outputs in a car which is supposedly bigger and definitely heavier

Exactly what i said at the beginning.If they had sqeezed the 1956 in it,i,d have bought one now.Bloody mental.You cant even buy a Freemont either.How much does it cost to put one on a ship and send it across?

Ever since I started posting here I have been exasperated at how Fiat under engines its cars. Four different low powered units in the 500L at the moment, and a couple of what look to be the 'right' engines coming probably next year.

But with the 105 Diesel Trekking already at over 20k where will these improved motors fit into the price structure I wonder?

It appears that the now rather tired Picasso c3 is still doing well on the continent, because of its price. No surprise there.

Of course, Fiat still claims to have the lowest corporate emissions in Europe and fitting engines that do well in the totally artificial economy tests has been their way to go. Unfortunately for them the cover has been blown and the world knows that real world economy is nothing like the claimed figures.

When the new more accurate testing schedule arrives it will be interesting to see how Fiat does, as I suspect some of their competitors give better real-world fuel consumption and performance.

I've seen 4 500L's on the road so far, which is more than I saw of the Bravo & Croma in the first few months of sales, but I can't imagine the 500L repeating the success of the standard 500.

They could certainly use a bigger engine or two in the 500L - unlike previously under-engined Fiats, several reviews of the 500L have mentioned that the smaller units are likely to feel decidedly slow. However, with tree-hugging & CO2 being such a big thing, I wouldn't expect 2.0 & 3.0 engines flying around Fiat factories in great numbers anytime soon. In their defence their engines are some of the best on the market in terms of innovation and size vs performance, even if the fuel economy of the MultiAir & (in particular) TwinAir falls short of the official figures. The Ford EcoBoost and Renault TCe turbo petrols aren't markedly better in this respect so its not just a Fiat issue - if you want economy, diesel is still king.

It's good to see some slightly more powerful engines on the way, but I agree with Ulpian, the price of these could make them prohibitive to many people.