General It gets worse... Fiat 500L MPW revealed (Fiat 500XL)

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General It gets worse... Fiat 500L MPW revealed (Fiat 500XL)

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Enjoy.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/fiat-500l-mpw-revealed
 
It is a bit of a brute. Looks better in that green than it did in a light blue of a previous photo though.

The 500L has kinda grown on me, mainly because, like the Multipla, it takes care of function first, and (seemingly) form last. This XL is pushing it even for me though, and I place the Multipla amongst the top 5 cars I'd most like to own :eek:

The interior of the 500L is a pretty nice place to be though, and the new U-Connect media/bluetooth system is meant to be leaps ahead of Blue&Me. Plus the new 105bhp TwinAir engine, Beats Audio & DAB options (a first for Fiat), the heated windscreen like Ford have and I suspect the new fuel flap from the Panda instead of the most-commented/moaned about fuel cap which they've used for over 20 years!

The standard 500L is selling OK too. Seen 3 on the roads so far & my Dads seen one too, plus a lot of people waiting for them commenting on Fiat UKs Facebook page, which is good.

500X will come next year and seems to have more resemblance to the 500 itself, then a new Punto in 2015, though it looks like its gonna be quite different to the current car. They have said Bravo won't be replaced, but we'll see. I think much of their focus is on Alfa, Maserati & Jeep over the next 12-18 months as they have a couple of new models each due before 2015.
 
The 500L has kinda grown on me, mainly because, like the Multipla, it takes care of function first, and (seemingly) form last.

Personally, I too like the concept of putting function before form - it is one of the appealing features of the Panda.

Unfortunately for FIAT. the concept doesn't sell cars or make a profit. Last time I looked, you could buy a new 1.2 Panda, straight off the showroom floor, for £6495.

FIAT can't be making much out of that.
 
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It is a bit of a brute. Looks better in that green than it did in a light blue of a previous photo though.

The 500L has kinda grown on me, mainly because, like the Multipla, it takes care of function first, and (seemingly) form last. This XL is pushing it even for me though, and I place the Multipla amongst the top 5 cars I'd most like to own :eek:

The interior of the 500L is a pretty nice place to be though, and the new U-Connect media/bluetooth system is meant to be leaps ahead of Blue&Me. Plus the new 105bhp TwinAir engine, Beats Audio & DAB options (a first for Fiat), the heated windscreen like Ford have and I suspect the new fuel flap from the Panda instead of the most-commented/moaned about fuel cap which they've used for over 20 years!

The standard 500L is selling OK too. Seen 3 on the roads so far & my Dads seen one too, plus a lot of people waiting for them commenting on Fiat UKs Facebook page, which is good.

Having just drove one for the last 48 hours (courtesy car) my opinion of them is definitely better :)
Indeed the new Media / Bluetooth system is better.... And... wait for it
The petrol cap is the new type - integrated with the Cover and no need to turn, twist, key turn anything :)
I covered around 300 miles, a mix of town and motorway - fast motorway btw and averaged 42mpg actual... Think the trip computer showed 46.8 ...
Who needs Renault Scenic..? :thumbup:

Edit.... Fast Motorway... I hammered it up and down the M6 / M56 / A55
 
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i don't like green, can't see much of the rear lights but what i can see reminds me of them daft lights boys used to fit to mk1 puntos.

But i like what fiat are trying to do, they have never had much luck selling big cars in the past, so getting girls addicted with a cute little 500 and then makings bigger ones for when the girl gets older and has loads of kids might just keep them brand loyal
 
It appears to have a front splitter. That will be fully functional then.

Truth is Fiat is just following the pack, in two ways. First, it is doing what MINI has done (with similarly increasing levels of ugliness). Second, it is taking a lot of styling cues form other cars, which seem to have little aesthetic merit (particularly the kink into the rear side window).

I like the wheels.
 
It appears to have a front splitter. That will be fully functional then.

Truth is Fiat is just following the pack, in two ways. First, it is doing what MINI has done (with similarly increasing levels of ugliness). Second, it is taking a lot of styling cues form other cars, which seem to have little aesthetic merit (particularly the kink into the rear side window).

I like the wheels.

Yea, but those wheels are the photoshopped version. Look here to see the real piddly ones.
http://www.autoevolution.com/news-g-image/spyshots-fiat-500xl/85056.html
 
Selling to a demographic which consists entirely of exhausted parents isn't exactly thrilling or aspirational for the rest of us.

I think the XL version is an ugly disproportionate thing, but of course I haven't seen one yet, and will people buy it? Let's see. And normally I can see past the looks of cars to admire the practicality and the logic.

Fiat needs model a mix which includes pretty, desirable in the conventional sense, cars. The Bravo is pretty but flawed, and going soon, and the Punto is very pretty, and going too, which leaves .... ?

The 500. Not enough I feel.
 
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Selling to a demographic which consists entirely of exhausted parents isn't exactly thrilling or aspirational for the rest of us.

I think the XL version is an ugly disproportionate thing, but of course I haven't seen one yet, and will people buy it? Let's see. And normally I can see past the looks of cars to admire the practicality and the logic.

Fiat needs model a mix which includes pretty, desirable in the conventional sense, cars. The Bravo is pretty but flawed, and going soon, and the Punto is very pretty, and going too, which leaves .... ?

The 500. Not enough I feel.

please elaborate on these alleged flaws

i have driven Bravo for the last 3 years and haven't found any :confused:
i think the only reason Fiat haven't sold many is because nobody knows it exists having been released at the same time as the 500
the Bravo is the true flagship of the Fiat range and is superior in all ways to a 500L
 
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