My 500L brochure suggests that Sat Nav is an option. Oddly the Trekking brochure does not give it as an option. Dealers are saying that it is not currently available. I read somewhere that it was coming shortly (not sure what that means).

Does anyone have any information on when you might be able to order a 500L or Trekking with Sat Nav?

Difficult one.

The satnav should be integrated into the dash on 500Ls, it is in American ones.

But I've also seen test runs with the detachable dash-top unit.

So I don't know. My guess is that the integrated unit will supersede the dash fitment, but I also can't believe that Fiat doesn't have one or the other system current, since satnavs are expected these days on new cars, or certainly the option.

I'd speak to the dealer again, or ring Fiat UK if nobody here knows.

PS. Just checked my Trekking brochure and as you say, there is no mention of a satnav. Is this a misprint and is it integrated into the radio (no mention) or what????

I don't know for definite. However, the Alfa MiTo has just got the U-Connect stereo system from the 500L and whilst it might turn out it's not actually available yet, you are able to add Sat Nav to the integrated U-Connect system as an option on the MiTo configurator.

On the MiTo the costs are as follows:

U-Connect with DAB Radio - £200
U-Connect with Sat Nav - £550
U-Connect with Sat Nav and DAB - £750

As far as I know there's no TomTom port on the 500L or MiTo's equipped with U-Connect, so if you have a TomTom, it'll have to be plugged into the 12v socket.

All good info. May be no one knows for sure currently.

In my experience dealers rarely take this sort of question very seriously, and I am never inclined to believe their answer 100% anyway. If they think you are likely to buy a car in the next month, they are unlikely to tell you that the new sat nav system will be out in three months time. Better to be vague. Maybe I am a cynic.

Its annoying as the simple integration of the radio/DAB/sat nav is one of the things that attracts me to buying a 500L and a new car. Rather than saving my money and buying a second hand Audi A3 or Renault Scenic or Ford C-Max.

You can tell I am being indecisive, can't you. I do love the 500L though, so I need to try and find a way to justify its purchase (to my wife as well as me).

JTD_Liam said:

...As far as I know there's no TomTom port on the 500L or MiTo's equipped with U-Connect, so if you have a TomTom, it'll have to be plugged into the 12v socket.

Click to expand...

In Denmark we can order TomTom navigation with the 500L (to put on the dash) and it still has the uConnect stereo.

All very confusing.

There is no port for the mountable satnav on the dash of the UK Trekking, and there is no mention in the brochure of U-Connect.

Now, since they mention all manner of superfluous stuff in the brochure, like assorted wheel types and sizes, and coffee machines, I would have hoped that something as important - to a lot of people - as a reliable satnav would have been clearly featured.

My guess is that this is an oversight. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody just overlooked the satnav when they were specifying the Trekking for the UK market, perhaps because they found coffee machines and valve cover caps with the Fiat logo more interesting?

They certainly think that lumbar support should be an extra whereas I think comfort is essential and that these days so is a satnav.

Visited another dealer yesterday. They had even less clue. They showed me the dash mounted Tomtom that they sell for the 500. He wasn't sure if this was possible with the 500L. So no real help there. It is quite an elegant solution, but not as good as the integrated system.

I still think the fully integrated system must be coming in the UK as it is in the US. Just a question of when.

Also notice that some reports talk of a 5 or 6.5 inch screen. Confused by this.

Even more convinced by the 500L trekking though. The dealer had a Citroen C4 Picasso, and it seemed almost more cramped in the back than the 500L (bigger boot though). I definitely prefer the trekking to the normal 500L ( but I guess this is a matter of taste).

Hi guys

This very much frustrates me too. Our Trekking is on order and I know that at some point the Loons in Turin will eventually allow this option once my car is sitting on my drive.

I'm unable to wait until they finally decide what to offer the UK customer as I have already cancelled my Panda to take delivery of the 'L' so by the time it arrive it will have been 6 months without a car

It is very annoying how specs are decided, or not, whichever the case may be. My local dealer is pretty clued up on the internal structures of the Fiat group and has once or twice mentioned the strange scenario of having different people in charge of different products, i.e. a Punto product manager, a 500L manager etc. They have very different ideas (or so it seems) and perhaps work in all four different corners of the globe never speaking to each other or realising that they're part of the same company.
A prime example was the Punto Evo becoming the Punto 2012! The Evo product manager (presumable 'moved' sideways in the company for faltering sales) had it pretty much spot on. The equipment levels and safety kit was great for the price on the Evo. Then along comes some toddler yoof who becomes in charge of the Punto 2012. ****Air engine installed, bright green paint, black roof, ESP removed as standard, airbags removed as standard, charging customers for the SatNav Port and making Blue&Me an option on most models. And now again it's been changed adding the Sporting back to the range and (I have to admit) very excellent orange paint!

I love the Italians for their......erm............thinking(!) and Fiat sometimes baffle me completely! It may be in some relation to the BL situation. If one Group actually owns many different car companies, all sharing components somehow the ranges and marques have to differ. The answer seems to equip a Lancia / Chrysler with Magic Parking, a Fiat with City Brake Control, and a UK Alfa with the U-Connect Nav and DAB.

A tad frustrating then when you'd want a Fiat with these options, or an Afla/Lancia/Crysler/Abarth etc etc etc.


Steve

Just skimmed through the danish owners manual for the 500L.
And it seems they offer both the detachable TomTom for the dash and navigation as part of the 5" Uconnect radio.

They aren't offering the Uconnect Nav (yet) only the TomTom, but it is in the manual.

Isn't it frustrating!

I think the two sizes of on-board display on offer are related to the degree of connectivity chosen, in the US anyway.

But I agree, and it has always exasperated me, that there isn't a routine recognition of what constitutes necessary kit across the whole Fiat, and I include other marques here, range. It would make fitment and servicing cheaper apart from anything else.

And it would help that when they upgrade a model the new goodies don't come at the expense of lost convenience: the loss of the round air vents and the integrated A/C button on the 'new' Doblo is a real shame for example.

My feeling is that the various product 'designers' all sit in different cities and have less knowledge of the other models and marques than some of us on this forum do. And I think sometimes that I really do mean that !

The Trekking does look better than the regular 500L, and the inclusion of the auto-braking, M&S tyres and the clever front axle, and the resultant reduction in insurance groups, makes it no more expensive than the regular car over time.

But if it really doesn't come with some sort of dedicated satnav I can't see how it can sell properly. My Doblo has the dash-top unit, and it works well ( except that it wobbles a bit, and rattles when the cradle is in place and the satnav unit removed) and it is in the perfect position to see - and since I need it for work I wouldn't have bought a car without one. Still, the old car had two power take-offs close to the gearlever, making it possible to run my old nav off one point and charge something off the other at the same time - it's a van after all. The new car has only one point (and one in the boot) set behind the gearlever next to the slot for the mobile - fine - but it makes the expensive dedicated unit almost essential. Perhaps the designers are a bit canny sometimes then

None of which helps the 500L Trekking of course.... I'm just hoping that it is a glitch in the brochure and that in fact there is a unit built into the dash that hasn't been mentioned.

Just bought a new 500L and the navigation system is built into the dash, but it costs $600.00 to activate it.

Sounds like it's completely Country-dependant then

Some Countries have the option of integrated or TomTom satnavs, some have just integrated, and in the UK it seems we have neither at the moment. Stunning work, Fiat :bang:

And this is the company who claims I don't have suitable qualifications for many of their job vacancies - obviously what they meant is I don't have a qualification in being totally blo*dy useless!

Well great news!!!! I was contacted by my dealer today to advise that the Sat Nav AND reversing camera are now available to add to an order. It's £270 for the camera, with parking sensors, and £500 for the Sat Nav which includes DAB.

Needless to say I have now added both to my order ;-)

Steve

Ps. Have been available to order in the UK since 2/8/13. I saw the dealer bumpf on his desk ;-)

Hey PandaLounge,

That's great news. Now we are getting somewhere, AND we can reverse when we get there!

My buddy picked me up last night I'm his trekking 500l and said indeed that satnav is now available at £500. Full touch screen integrated into the dash radio.
None of this tomtom blue and me stick on top malarkey!

Indeed the integrated Sat Nav is an option on the 500L (Don't know about the trecking).

I quickly dismissed it though due to the ridiculous cost as we have a perfectly adequate Garmin system that sits atop the dash using an adhesive disc in a better position that is more in the line of sight of the driver than the integrated stuff.

Quite how FIAT justify such a high cost for something that can be had standalone for £70 or less is beyond me.

If we need to charge the phone as well we just use a 12V socket doubler that I got off eBay for £2.50

It appears that the 500L can be had with satnav and DAB radio, for a price.

But I think it is worth it because if like me you use the satnav routinely, like ten+ times every night, then trailing wires can be a bit tiresome, and so can reaching forward to take the thing off the windscreen every time you stop - they do get nicked if they are left visible.

Plus any future buyer might well expect satnav to be included, it's like A/C and becoming a routine and practically essential fitment these days.

Ulpian said:

It appears that the 500L can be had with satnav and DAB radio, for a price.

But I think it is worth it because if like me you use the satnav routinely, like ten+ times every night, then trailing wires can be a bit tiresome, and so can reaching forward to take the thing off the windscreen every time you stop - they do get nicked if they are left visible.

Plus any future buyer might well expect satnav to be included, it's like A/C and becoming a routine and practically essential fitment these days.

Click to expand...

Out of interest how are the maps on theses integrated systems kept up to date? I can if I want upgrade the maps on my stand alone Garmin though at a cost of course, can it be done on an integrated sat nav and what's the cost.

No idea. Possibly through a USB port after downloading from your computer? Only guessing.

glassbathroom said:

My 500L brochure suggests that Sat Nav is an option. Oddly the Trekking brochure does not give it as an option. Dealers are saying that it is not currently available. I read somewhere that it was coming shortly (not sure what that means).

Does anyone have any information on when you might be able to order a 500L or Trekking with Sat Nav?

Click to expand...

I purchased a 500L Trecking Twin Air with DAB/SatNav in December 2013. On delivery I was told that the traffic info functionality did not work, that this was a "known problem", and that Fiat would be able to update me with when it would work. I was also told that the sat-nav updates had to be done by inserting a USB stick. I subsequently found out from Fiat that it is unlikely the traffic info will ever work and that there's no way of updating the sat-nav.
I complained to Fiat that I'd paid £300 for a sat-nav that has far less functionality than the standalone unit I already had which has free lifetime updates and traffic info. Fiat did give me some compensation (in vouchers) but until this issue is resolved I'd suggest avoiding the sat-nav.
Otherwise pretty happy with the car except for the MPG (twin air) which has averaged around 38 mpg in the first 3000 miles of mixed use. Hopefully this will improve.