Fiat 500L MPV gets subtle facelift – new looks, tech

The Fiat 500L hasn’t exactly been well-received, on account of its rather polarising look – and five years on, Fiat is finally trying to address that with a facelift. The nip-and-tuck brings with it a revised design, new technologies and a streamlined range of models.

From now on, there will be three versions available, and they’ve all been renamed – the standard model is now called the Urban, the off-roader-but-not-quite Trekking has been renamed the Cross and the longer seven-seater Living has been rechristened the Wagon.

All three gain a revised front end that bears a closer resemblance to the also-updated 500, with the area around the “moustache-and-badge” being made more prominent. This is flanked by new circular LED daytime running lights that are set inside the lower headlight units.

On Urban and Wagon models, the lower grille is now trapezoidal in shape and features chrome strips and a chrome-studded mesh that looks remarkably similar to the grille on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Meanwhile, the Cross gains silver protective trim front and rear, along with a new air intake design.

Elsewhere around the car, the side and rear protective panels are now painted in body colour and feature new chrome trim, while the reverse and rear fog lights on the Urban and Cross models have been moved down to the rear valence. New paint options include Bellagio Blue, Sicilian Orange and Donatello Bronze, expanding the palette to ten colours.

Inside, there’s a new three-spoke multifunction steering wheel, along with a redesigned instrument cluster with a 3.5-inch multi-info display sitting in the centre. Other new additions include 500 dashboard badging ahead of the front passenger, ambient lighting as well as the Uconnect HD Live infotainment system with a seven-inch touchscreen, TomTom 3D navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support.

Also fitted is a redesigned centre console with larger storage compartments, a higher-mounted gearlever for easy reach and an armrest. Otherwise, it’s the same car as before, with notable touches including a panoramic glass roof measuring 1.5 square metres, an optional seven-speaker 520W BeatsAudio sound system and a boot that measures 455 litres (Wagon 638 litres, or 416 litres for the seven-seater model).

Safety-wise, all 500L models are now available with Autonomous City Brake, which operates at speeds of up to 30 km/h. The reverse camera has also been updated with higher resolution in poor light and guide lines that follow the steering wheel.

Under the skin, the Cross now gets a 10 mm higher ride height than the previous Trekking, putting the total increase in ground clearance over the standard models at 25 mm. There’s also a new rotary Mode Selector with a new Gravity Control hill descent mode that complement the normal and Traction+ (controls the brakes to simulate a locking differential for better off-road traction) settings.

No changes to the engine lineup, so the 500L soldiers on with 95 hp naturally-aspirated and 120 hp turbocharged 1.4 litre petrol engines, a 105 hp 0.9 litre turbo TwinAir two-cylinder petrol and 95 hp 1.3 litre and 120 hp 1.6 litre MultiJet turbodiesels. The five- and six-speed manual and six-speed Duologic sequential manual transmissions are also carried over.

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