Fiat and fun in the sun. Look out, Mini Countryman.
By Eric Musarra
Photos courtesy Fiat
Buyers these days seem to want cars that only look tiny; a personal tardis if you will. The Minis of the 60s were tiny then, but today they are merely a figurine for anyone over six feet tall. Over years, the new Mini Coopers seem to steadily gain size and weight, creeping the scale along and distorting the beauty of the original. Thankfully a model that doesn’t cheat on her diet continues to be offered.
Now Fiat, still considered a new car in America is fattening up its models, and unveiled a four-door (five if you count the hatch) 500 L at the L.A. Auto Show. It made sense to debut the car in California which accounts for a quarter of Fiat’s sales in America.
500L
Fiat is gambling that these new models are attractive enough to entice new buyers, building a machine that is purely form over function, with a price tag poised for vanity over economy. Even the marketing is established in such a way to entice buyers who favor a cute car over a practical one. Rather than gear the 500L towards potential buyers with children, or those who plan on having children in the future, Fiat has decided to release multitudes of photos with the extra space in the 500L being utilized for fun things like surfboards and volleyballs. It seems having children, at least in the LA market, is not hip, trendy, or marketable. Fiat has set course for Mini Countryman territory.
The 1960 Fiat 500 station wagon was called the Giardiniera and was tiny. But still cute.
In its pursuit to match the four-door Mini Countryman’s wheelbase and cargo room, the 500L loses much of its basic appeal. No longer do we see the strong family resemblance to the Fiat 500s of the Fifties. But we recognize the necessity for the extra space and realize Fiat can’t build a constituency on the two door coupes, at least not with the current economy.
Underneath its heft still lies a bit muscle ready to rip. The Serbian-built 500L is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged, inline four-cylinder engine that is rated at 160 horsepower with 184 ft lb of torque. That’s the same hotted-up engine that powers the 500 Abarth, with a power output between Mini’s base Countryman and its more powerful Countryman S. When it comes to transmission, choices are a six-speed manual transmission or an optional six-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission. If they really want to go squarely up against the Countryman though, they will have to offer an all-wheel-drive model. As with the two door coupe, the 500L will be available in three trim levels: the base Pop, mid-level Easy and the top of the line Lounge, the latter of which comes with the automated transmission standard.
The glass topped 500L makes it look even more spacious inside.
To really push the fact that Fiat means fun, the 500L also comes in a variant known as the Trekking. The Fiat 500L Trekking has a more rugged-appearing front and rear bumper, slightly flared wheel arches, and unique 17-inch alloy wheels. In our minds, the word trek brings forth images of narrow footpaths in Nepal, or overgrown paths in a lost Mayan jungle, traveled by 4×4 or mule. The last thing that trekking brings to mind are funny little cars that have been outfitted with slightly less funny little wheels. If anything, this name should have been reserved for the debut of an all-wheel drive model.
If however you have a garage full of volleyballs and surfboards just waiting to get out and enjoy the sun, don’t fret, as the new 500L will be hitting showrooms summer 2013 marketed as the 2014 model. We’ll even hold back our snickers if you so decide to call your day trip on the town a “trek” of sorts.
500C Abarth
For those of you who thought that as cool as the Abarth package is, it would be even cooler as a ragtop, guess what? For 2014, Fiat has announced a ragtop with the full Abarth performance package available. This was necessary to compete with new Mini Cooper S Roadster. It is called the 500C model; the “C” referring to the car’s soft roof; which can be retracted backwards at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
Two thumbs up for the 500C Abarth Convertible. But is it affordable?
Going back to our road test of a non-Abarth “C” model, we found that the ragtop provides an open air feeling that cannot be bested by a sunroof. The open roof version only weighs 33 pounds more than the fixed roof hardtop, so expect acceleration to remain under 7.0 second while doing 0-60 mph. Fiat hasn’t announced the price of the 500C just yet, but expect to pay a premium, as Abarth have been nudging $30,000 USD.
500E
Fiat’s new electric car is dubbed the 500E and it was also introduced at the L.A. show. At the same auto show, Chevrolet introduced the all-electric Spark EV. Though styling and cache-wise, that car is isn’t in the same ball park as the Fiat entry.
When you talk electric cars, the first question those who live far from the city (like me) ask is: how far can I go on a single charge? Fiat says it has an 80-mile combined range and a 100-mile city range. They rate it at 111 horsepower with 147 ft lb of torque produced from a 24 kWh, lithium-ion battery. The top end (and who wants to try for it and reduce your battery range?) is 85 mph. Considering Fiat is geared toward the L.A. market, and despite the fact that gridlock traffic is common, when the roads are clear, 85 MPH is just enough to keep you out of the slow lane. This is a home chargeable car, and Fiat claims you can fully charge it in less than four hours using a 240-volt outlet that many folks don’t even have. It could take many more hours with your standard 120-volt outlet; leaving you with a day’s time to charge your car for an hour’s drive. Fiat hopes to peak users’ interest with the ability to monitor numerous vehicle functions via a smartphone app. These include: vehicle status, charging level, nearby charging stations, energy use and efficient route planning.
The 500E is the way of the future, but the future is not here yet. But 10 years ago. who thought Prius would succeed?
Fiat has yet to announce a price, but expect it to be near breakeven for Chrysler due to the fact that they have to sell electric cars if they want to stay in the lucrative California market. According to the Wall Street Journal, “California’s rules become more stringent this year. In the past, car makers could get credits for selling lots of high-mileage cars like hybrids without selling any electric vehicles. But those credits are phasing out and most auto makers can no longer avoid selling electric cars—even if few consumers are rushing to buy them.” They might consider selling it at a loss if they can’t keep the price low enough to be a lucrative buy, considering the car is strictly a groceries-and-back vehicle.
The Author: Eric Musarra is a California-based consultant, bringing a fresh perspective to the automotive writing world. Eric is a regular author and photographer for Cobra-ranch.