Hello there. Just joined as we are debating whether to get a 500X.

We are in SW France and have one impractical but fun vehicle and are looking at getting a Qashqai or the Fiat.

My wife is just about to say goodbye to her 4x4 Panda, which I really like, and prior to that she had a 500 TA, again great fun.

We need a reasonably spacious and useful vehicle and would likely go for the Cross as a bit of extra traction in these hilly parts wouldn't go amiss.

I have what may seem like a strange question, but as far as my wife goes it is important.

It's regarding head rests and specifically whether they push your head forward. Otherwise can they be adjusted so that they stay slightly away from your head.

The Panda was okay but not great. A Saab convertible was poor in this respect.

Thanks for any insight.

FiatInFrance said:

Hello there. Just joined as we are debating whether to get a 500X.



We are in SW France and have one impractical but fun vehicle and are looking at getting a Qashqai or the Fiat.



My wife is just about to say goodbye to her 4x4 Panda, which I really like, and prior to that she had a 500 TA, again great fun.



We need a reasonably spacious and useful vehicle and would likely go for the Cross as a bit of extra traction in these hilly parts wouldn't go amiss.



I have what may seem like a strange question, but as far as my wife goes it is important.



It's regarding head rests and specifically whether they push your head forward. Otherwise can they be adjusted so that they stay slightly away from your head.



The Panda was okay but not great. A Saab convertible was poor in this respect.



Thanks for any insight.

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Everybody wants something different from a car, but I've had 500X 4x4 for 18 months and I love it

The headrests aren't the most adjustable. They go up and down a bit and that's about it. You can't move them forwards or backwards. I think it's in an earlier post I made here but I have found them to not go high enough and mine used to dig into the very top of my back. But I am used to this now and I have since found my optimum seating position. I am 6'+ tall and fat, so this is partly my fault too.

The seats on the whole are very comfortable. I did two 3.5 hour non-stop drives in my Lounge spec 500x this week - one drive on Wednesday and the other on Friday. Whilst I did ache when I got out, I have been far more uncomfortable after such a long time behind the wheel in other vehicles.

The headrests have no fore-aft adjustment, but I find them fine at 5'10". Although the 500X has a decent amount of space, it's smaller than a Qashqai, especially the boot. If you want a reference with the cars you must see a lot in France, the 500X is similar in size to a Renault Captur, whereas the Qashqai is effectively the same car as a Renault Kadjar.

Get one, very enjoyable car and stands out from the other SUV’s . As others have said headrests are fine. Not an issue, similar to Panda ones.

Many thanks for the replies.

I guess the only way my wife will really find out if it's okay is to try one out.

One of the car hire operators at our local airport has the occasional one so that's one way, without the hassle of a salesman breathing down your ear.

Looking forward to wandering around the site.

FiatInFrance said:

Many thanks for the replies.



I guess the only way my wife will really find out if it's okay is to try one out.



One of the car hire operators at our local airport has the occasional one so that's one way, without the hassle of a salesman breathing down your ear.



Looking forward to wandering around the site.

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Fiat sometimes offer 24 hour Test Drives, I had one. You can but ask

500X is more about style than utility. For instance, in 500X you can't move the rear seats forward, or fold them to a middle position, only all the way down. This makes the trunk space management quite problematic, especially due to the extremely slanted rear design. In my previous car (Golf Plus) I had no problem carrying replacement tires in the trunk (the rear seats moved and folded to several different positions), but now I have to improvise.

On the other hand, 500X's triple floored trunk is a genius solution, it really helps eliminate clutter.

As to your specific question regarding the head rests, there is no option to adjust them horizontally and I personally never felt any need in that.

For the driving experience, I would recommend test driving a 9 speed automatic version. I believe it comes with 2.0 diesel engines in Europe.

The head rests, so I've been told, are designed such so that they attempt to eliminate whiplash in the event of an accident thus there is no backwards movement and they keep your head upright without any movement backwards.

Personally I find them very comfortable, although if you are constantly bumping up and down on hilly terrain you may find you keep banging the back of your head on them..

Had mu Fiat Cross 2ltr Diesel now for 6 months, love it...

Great looking car, nice to drive once you get used to it (same as most cars), quite spacious inside for the passengers for the size, good level of equipment and quality, not had any real issues with anything so far. Nice burst of power from the 1.4 engine when you feel like it but as its an auto I don't drive it fast although it is deceivingly quick. Not sure it offers much space to carry stuff to be honest due to the slopping back. I can virtually get as much in my Seicento as the 500X with the seats down (depending on what you want to carry).

I have a 2016 2.0l Cross Plus 4x4 and absolutely love it. Very comfortable and easy to drive. I too am in France (Antibes) and drove it down a month or so ago. Did 2x 7-8 hour stints and whilst it wasn't as comfortable/quiet as our Freelander 2, it was very good! Didn't feel shattered as I have in some other cars we've had. Only issue I had was the air con doesn't work and it was 25 deg on the way down! Going to get it fixed either here or back in the UK under warranty. I thought the boot was a bit small, but was actually surprised at how much I managed to fit in. Didn't have a problem with the headrests, I did adjust them though.

There's a few of them down here, the Nissan Juke is incredibly popular here, but it's nice to stand out from the crowd.

- Colin

TrevC said:

The headrests have no fore-aft adjustment, but I find them fine at 5'10". Although the 500X has a decent amount of space, it's smaller than a Qashqai, especially the boot. If you want a reference with the cars you must see a lot in France, the 500X is similar in size to a Renault Captur, whereas the Qashqai is effectively the same car as a Renault Kadjar.

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We hired a Renault Captur for a week here, didn't like it, not a bad car but both the wife and I agreed we wouldn't get one. Also rented the Jeep Renegade Limited, really didn't get on with it. Had some nice gadgets but found it uncomfortable, the heating controls kept hitting my knee. Wife could't wait to give it back.

- Colin

Re the carrying capability of the 500X recently had to buy a new washing machine and rather wait for it to be delivered slipped it into the back of the 500 X with the seats down. The machine wasn't in its box but just wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap, but I do feel that it would have fitted in its box as well.

chenry said:

I have a 2016 2.0l Cross Plus 4x4 and absolutely love it. Very comfortable and easy to drive.

- Colin

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What do I like about my Cross Plus 4x4? 2,000 rpm = 73mph, effortless driving

Yes Colin, we looked at a Captur a couple of years ago. Quite nice but the 500X has a more upmarket interior and I liked the 140bhp engine. The Renault is better on economy though, and in the UK comes with a 4 year manufacturer's warranty. Still pleased with our choice of 500X.
Practicality note: our Lounge trim, unlike some versions, has a space saver spare, so the boot floor only has one position, the highest. Although this obviously means a smaller boot than versions where you can lower the floor, you get a stepless platform when you fold the seat backs. The latter don't quite lie flat, but will go a bit more horizontal if the headrests are removed.

TrevC said:

Practicality note: our Lounge trim, unlike some versions, has a space saver spare, so the boot floor only has one position, the highest. Although this obviously means a smaller boot than versions where you can lower the floor, you get a stepless platform when you fold the seat backs. The latter don't quite lie flat, but will go a bit more horizontal if the headrests are removed.

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Ours is lounge, too. I didn't realize the trunk floor design was trim-dependent, interesting to know. I really like the space management with this particular design. I only wish the seat backs could fold to a middle position, so that they could support rolling load like replacement tires and such.

Goodcoin, I'm not 100% sure it's trim dependent. We bought ours used, so I don't know if the spare was an optional extra that mandated the higher boot floor. When I was in the showroom, I looked at a new one in "Cross" trim, and that had no spare and the deeper boot.
I'm guessing as you use the term "trunk" you are in the States? If so, the trim and equipment permutations are likely to be different from here in the UK.

TrevC said:

I'm guessing as you use the term "trunk" you are in the States? If so, the trim and equipment permutations are likely to be different from here in the UK.

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I'm not from the states, but the car is. In my case there was no spare, it came with something called "preformed cargo box" in the manual (basically it's just a rigid foam container where you can store various tools and objects). This arrangement allows for a spacious secondary compartment under the trunk floor.

Mine has a rigid foam container to the left of the spare to hold smallish items. To the right is a rigid bag thing that contains the jack, wheelbrace etc.

Many thanks for the further comments. Sorry I didn't respond earlier.

The UK house sale hopefully goes through in the next couple of weeks meaning that the funds then become available.

My wife is going to check out how she gets on with the car- she currently has a Panda 4x4.

Another question that arises is that of the transmission.

My wife would probably prefer manual but I'd be interested in views of people on the quality of the auto box. Reviews tend to be lukewarm towards it.

Again, thanks for all the helpful feedback.