News: Mazda & Alfa sports car officially confirmed

We've known about this for a while now, the proposed link-up between Alfa Romeo and Mazda to co-develop replacements for the MX-5 and the Spider, but today, it's official. The contracts have been signed.

According to the statement released this morning, "The new Alfa Romeo roadster will be developed for the global market, and will be based on the architecture of the next generation Mazda MX-5. The agreement foresees for both Mazda and Fiat to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive. The Mazda and Alfa Romeo variants will each be powered by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand."

Well that's all good news. We've been bleating for years that Alfa's Spider needs to move back to its simple, rear-drive, lightweight roots and being based on a next-gen MX-5 is a pretty good start.

And it's unlikely to be the only collaboration between Mazda and Fiat. Mazda, despite its global prominence, is a small company and needs to establish production and development programmes like this if it's going to prosper, long-term, while Fiat needs new platforms if it's to develop new, large, Alfa Romeo models. It seems to us that Mazda's excellent SkyActiv chassis (as tested this week under the impressive new 6 saloon and estate) would be a natural starting point for a new Alfa saloon...

Just sayin'.

Road Test: Fiat Punto 1.3 MultiJet

Price as tested: €15,495

+ Styling, improved quality, excellent engine, value, comfort, space
– Still too much cheap cabin plastic, not much else
= Unfairly ignored compact hatch, deserves more attention

I bet you've forgotten about the Fiat Punto. It wouldn't be hard to be fair. Since its 2000 heyday when it was one of the best selling cars in Ireland's all-time bumper year for car sales, the Punto has steadily slid down the car sales cliff, in spite of a gorgeous 2005 re-issue with Maserati-like styling by Giugiaro. In a class populated by the likes of the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo, Peugeot 208, Kia Rio and so many talented others, it's just too easy for the Punto's light to stay well and truly beneath a handy bushel.

And I'll also bet you have some pretty lazy pre-conceptions about Fiat cars in general. If you're of a certain age, rust and electrical maladies will still be top of your list when it comes to Fiat, in spite of two decades where Italian build quality has done nothing but improve.

Of course, Fiat itself has seemed to occasionally ignore the Punto. While the glamorous 500 and the practical Panda have since come along to take centre stage, the current Punto is merely a facelifted version of the car that was launched in 2005.

So, I wasn't expecting all that much when I grabbed the keys to the test car. Yet another facelift of the Punto has come along, reversing some of the rather poor styling decisions made when it became the Punto Evo in 2009, but I too had fallen prey to assuming I knew the Punto's place in the universe.

I'm therefore pleased to report that I was wrong. The updates to the latest generation have gone a long way to strengthening the Punto's hand and it's actually a much sharper competitor to the likes of the Fiesta and Polo than you would have thought. Certainly, it looks arguably better than either, and the cabin now benefits from much higher quality surfaces than before, albeit you don't have to look too hard to find hard, scratchy plastics.

There's good space in there too, and the seats are comfy while out back, the boot is big and well shaped.

The actual production version of the updated 1.3-litre MultiJet Diesel engine will have 85bhp in the Puntos you'll find in dealerships, but our test car actually had the old 75bhp version fitted. No matter, even with the rise of the clever little two-cylinder TwinAir petrol, the diesel is the Punto to have, even if it is a pricey option. Quite apart from exceptionally good economy and emissions figures (90g/km of Co2 and potentially as good as 80mpg if you're in-cred-ibly delicate with the throttle) there is the matter that its 200Nm of torque means it is a relaxed and capable long-haul car, something you could never have said of the old 1.2-litre petrol. Mind you, an extra cog in the slightly slack-shifting five-speed gearbox would help in this regard.

Also a touch slack is the steering, which feels entirely artificial and fake, which is a shame as through the clouds of over-assistance you can feel a really quite talented chassis at work. It's not quite as sharp or rewarding as a Fiesta, but it's more fun by far than most others in the class to throw around, and in spite of ever-increasing girth the Punto still feels properly small and enjoyably agile. It also rides better than it did in 2005 when I first drove it. It still jiggles a little over small, sharp surfaces, but bigger bumps are smoothed over with a deft Italianate roll of the shoulders.

Add to that a reasonably affordable list price of €15,495 which includes pretty decent equipment as standard, and the Punto's package is starting to come together really rather well. And then there's the intangible loveliness that comes with merely driving an Italian car. A little touch of flair, a merest hint of style all makes the experience that bit more enjoyable. It's not something that will appeal to all, perhaps indeed only to a select few, but it's the difference between shopping on Grafton Street or in the Grand Piazza in Milan. You just, or at least I just, feel as if you're cutting a bit more of a rakish figure climbing out of your Punto at the kerb side.

No, the Punto's not perfect, and yes, thanks to that broad public perception you will pay a harsh price come resale time, but I left it back feeling quite surprisingly sad to see it go. Character is a rare thing in an increasingly homogenised car market, and the Punto has that in buckets. To find that it also has a remarkable amount of substance to back that up was simply a welcome surprise.


Fiat Punto 1.3 JTD 85bhp
Price as tested: €15,495
Price range: €13,495 to €15,495
Capacity: 1,248cc
Power: 85bhp
Torque: 200Nm
Top speed: 170kmh
0-100kmh: 12.7sec
Economy: 3.5l-100km (80mpg)
CO2 emissions: 90g/km
Road Tax Band: A2. €180
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult, 4-star child, 3-star pedestrian

News: 500 L Trekking signals new Fiat future

Fiat seems to be committing itself to a future of spinning all of its models off the 500 brand name in future. A recent report released by Fiat stated that it sees no future in trying to sell conventional b and c segment hatchback in Europe, which seems to spell the death knell for the Punto and Bravo. 


But the 500-based 500 L, which launches in Ireland in the spring, is already spinning off derivatives to allow Fiat to attack multiple market niches with one basic vehicle as a base-point. The first such version is the rugged-looing 500 L Trekking, which was launched at the Los Angeles motor show last week. It's basically a standard 500 L with bigger wheels, faux-4x4 bumpers and side panels and an upgraded two-tone interior. In the new year, we'll also see seven-seat 500 XL and proper 4x4 500 X versions as Fiat goes after the Mini MPV and compact SUV markets. Will buyers be any more attracted to such cars than they would have been to a standard Punto? We'll see...

Helping set the FIAT 500L Trekking apart from its siblings are aggressively-styled front and rear bumpers, wheel-arch and rocker-panel mouldings and larger 17-inch alloy wheels. Inside, a unique two-tone Nero/Marrone (black/brown) interior echoes the earthy feel of the exterior styling cues and, as with the standard FIAT 500L, there’s a choice of a 5.0  or 6.5-inch touch-screen Uconnect infotainment system, the latter offering satellite navigation and a media hub in addition to the former’s Bluetooth connectivity and music stream capabilities.

According to Tim Kuniskis, FIAT Brand Manager for North America, “With the rugged personality of the Trekking we will attract a wider cross-section of customers while keeping intact all the great benefits of the Fiat 500L.”



Meanwhile, the 2012 LA Motor Show was also the venue for the North American debut of the new FIAT 500L, which differs only slightly from the European model in terms of its final execution, mainly due to local legislation. The North American model is powered by a 160hp 1.4-litre turbo-charged petrol engine, mated either to a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

The new FIAT 500L and FIAT 500L Trekking are produced at FIAT Group Automobiles’ manufacturing plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, and will arrive in North American dealerships in mid-2013. The FIAT 500L is expected to go on sale in Ireland in the spring of 2013 and the European version of the FIAT 500L Trekking is likely to follow in the autumn. Prices and final specifications for Ireland will be announced closer to the both vehicles’ respective Irish launches.

News: Fiat plans to beat the Budget with new prices

FIAT Group Automobiles Ireland has announced its revised pricing for 2013 despite the lack of clarity from the government regarding VRT, road tax and number plate revisions in the run up to the announcement of those measures in Budget 2013.


In the light of such uncertainty, FIAT has chosen to extensively streamline its range, focusing on the most popular derivatives, which in turn facilitates low and fluid stock levels. The FIAT Panda range, for example, has the same number of versions available as in 2012 despite welcoming the new normally-aspirated, 65hp TwinAir and 4X4 Climbing models to the range for 2013.

Whereas the TwinAir Turbo commands a premium of around €1,000 (depending on the model) compared to the 1.2 69hp engine, the new TwinAir 65hp is only an additional €500, a small price to pay to cut CO2 emissions from 120g/km to just 99g/km which could be further offset by a potential reduction in road tax. Quite what the total saving to the consumer will be for opting for the new TwinAir 65hp we will have to wait until December to learn, however.

The FIAT 500 range is reduced from 11 derivatives to just four, with renewed emphasis on the low CO2-emission TwinAir engines, while the entry level price of the hardtop has been reduced by €400 to €12,495 compared to 2012. The 500C Cabrio now starts at €15,495, a price reduction of almost €1,000, while the entry-point for the award-winning FIAT 500 TwinAir is reduced from €16,745 to €13,495, a massive reduction of €3,250!

FIAT Punto range is reduced from eight derivatives to just three with reconfigured pricing to better suit Irish market conditions. The entry point for the five-door FIAT Punto, for example, has been reduced from €15,295 to just €13,495, a remarkable saving of €1,800! The TwinAir 85hp model is also reduced by €1,800 - from €16,295 to just €14,495 - and that despite the addition of two extra doors. With a price difference of just €1,000 compared to the 1.2 69hp it is expected to be a cornerstone model in 2013, particularly when its low CO2 emissions (98g/km, compared to 1.2's 120g/km) and improved performance are taken into consideration.

The price of the five-door FIAT Punto diesel remains unchanged despite significant technological upgrades to its 1.3-litre MultiJet engine. It now employs new efficiency technologies (Intelligent Alternator and Intelligent Flow) to reduce its CO2 emissions to a mere 90g/km while power increases from 75hp to 85hp for improved driver satisfaction. Priced at €15,495, FIAT Punto diesel will be one of the most competitive superminis on the market in Ireland in 2013.

Announcing pricing for 2013, Managing Director of FIAT Group Automobiles Ireland, Adrian C. Walsh, commented: "Despite the lack of clarity from the government regarding VRT, road tax and number plate revisions due in 2013, we believe that no matter what the 2013 Budget throws at us in December, FIAT will be ready with some of the most technologically advanced, environmentally sound and great-value vehicles on the market today."

News: Regulator investigates Fiat cash pile

Consob, the Italian stock market regulator, is apparently investigating Fiat's reputed €23-billion cash pile and asking why Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne isn't dipping into it to prop up Fiat's investments in the flagging Italian economy.

Fiat itself has cash reserves of around €12-billion, with the other €11-billion belonging to Chrysler. According to reports, Fiat can't access the Chrysler cash for European investment (or to subsidise European losses) because of a complex deal agreed with the US Government when Fiat rescued Chrysler from bankruptcy.

Even so, Marchionne, the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Consob have been at repeated loggerheads over the past few months. Fiat is threatening to close down another Italian factory (it closed a plant in Sicily last year) and is idling some plants, including one that builds the Panda. That's because Marchionne sees nothing but financial pain in Europe right now, and has put a stop to all major investments and new model developments for the time being, leaving the burgeoning Chrysler to expand in the now-healthy US market and deliver much-needed profits.

The Italian Government, of course, is not keen on this at all, and the investigation (which Fiat currently says it is, officially, unaware of) is being seen as a strong-arm tactic to get Marchionne to unlock at least some of the money to invest in the Italian market.

Marchionne may be holding on to his money for another reason though; Opel. Opel is continuing to lose money for General Motors and analysts Morgan Stanley last week said that it expects that co continue, at the rate of $1-billion a year, through to 2021. GM is being urged to sell Opel and cut its losses, and Fiat, which made an offer for Opel amidst GM's 2009 bankruptcy, is thought to be once again interested.

GM is quashing such rumours though, saying that Opel is an integral part of its operations and will continue to be so, and that the recently-inked tie-up with PSA Peugeot Citroen is progressing well and is expected to save both companies €2-billion a year.

News: Fiat and Mazda get a little closer

 

Mazda  boss Takashi Yamanouchi reckons that Fiat and Mazda will be snuggling up ever closer to one another soon.

Speaking to the press in the aftermath of the Paris Motor Show, Yamanouchi confirmed that the two companies are exploring ever-closer links.

“There’s nothing to announce yet, and nothing that’s certain to happen, but our engineers have been in each other’s plants looking for opportunities," he said. Yamanouchi is due to meet Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne in the next few days and more co-operation programmes may be announced then.

Earlier this year, Fiat and Mazda announced that they would collaborate to build the next-generations of both the MX-5 and Alfa Romeo Spider, with both cars to be made in Mazda's home factory in Hiroshima, based on a common chassis and potentially using the same SkyActiv 1.5-litre petrol engine that Mazda is currently working on.

Mazda certainly needs a new partner, with its relationship with Ford now very much on the back burner, it needs a new platform for the next-generation 2 and 3, and Fiat's versatile Panda and Giulietta chassis would fit the bill nicely there. Likewise, Fiat has always flopped at building larger saloons, but using Mazda's clever and light SkyActiv chassis from the new 6 could potentiallly fix all that. Equally, Mazda's excellent CX-5 crossover could be just the ticket for Alfa Romeo's long-awaited SUV.

Road Test: Fiat Abarth 500C

Price as tested: €31,000 (approx)

+ Styling, engine, handling, seats, quality, sense of fun
– Tiny boot and rear seats, quite thirsty, no official imports yet
= Funnest hot hatch of the moment




Like a Scottish Terrier carrying a Kalashnikov, the Fiat Abarth 500C is packing way more aggression than befits something so small. The standard 500 is cute, chic, even (whisper it) a bit girly. The Abarth is its mildly psycho brother who's into body piercing and headbutting walls.

As with all great Italian cars, the heart of the Abarth is its engine, a 1.4-litre turbo petrol developing 135bhp. 135bhp doesn't sound like much these days, but it's accompanied by a decent slug of 200Nm of torque and, in practice, there's more than enough grunt to both hoick you up the road at a suitably impressive rate and keep you making rapid gearchanges on the stubby five-speed manual, punching them through from the elbow.

When you do that, and especially during fast upshifts as you accelerate, the optional Monza exhaust (which actually adds 5bhp thanks to improved engine breathing, bringing the Abarth up to 140bhp), with its mildly hilarious quad exit pipe, bangs and growls like a grumpy howitzer battalion. It's all ludicrously entertaining, and thanks to the 500's diminutive dimensions, it all happens at a reasonable rate of consumption. 8.1-litres per 100km sounds a touch thirsty for a small car, but in the context of the fun on offer, it's a perfectly acceptable price of admission.

It always used to be the case that with high-performance Italian cars, you paid for the (glorious) engine and the rest of the car was thrown in (and together) for free. Famously, journalist and racer Paul Frére complained to Enzo Ferrari that his Testarossa Le Mans racer had such a big, flat windscreen that it was crawling down the Mulsanne Straight while the sleek Jaguars and others blasted past. "Well you know," declared Il Commentadore airily, "aerodynamics are for people who can't design proper engines..."

Thankfully, the Abarth 500 proves that such dismissiveness is truly a thing of the past for fast Fiats (effectively what Ferraris have been since the seventies; heresy I know). The 500C feels beautifully built for a start, with high levels of cabin quality and gorgeous high-backed Alcantara bucket seats. Rear space is somewhat compromised by these bulky buckets, but it was hardly all that roomy to begin with, and by choosing the C over the regular hatch 500, with its peel-back convertible roof, you are effectively resigning yourself to having no boot space to speak of. A squashy bag is about the limit.

No matter. Once you get rolling, you won't care about the practicalities. It may sound odd to say it of a stiffly sprung sporty thing with big optional alloys and watch strap Pirellis, but the Abarth actually rides better than the standard 500.It bounces around less, even though it's plainly harder than the standard car, and the steering, so remote on a normal 500, is here full of feel and delightful weight. There is simply tonnes of grip, a little hint of the back end squirming around when you corner seriously hard and an abiding sense of out and out fun and enjoyment. Occupying an even smaller amount of road than Mini's conceptually similar Cooper S Works, the 500C feels ideally suited to Ireland's twisty and narrow back roads. And because it's not over-burdened with some silly specific output, you can enjoy ringing its neck a little without attracting the attention of either sides of the legal profession.

When the going gets properly twisty and slippery, it’s best to thumb the TCC button just below the aircon controls. That activates an electronic differential which brakes an unloaded front wheel to prevent power being spun away and which also helps the Abarth’s chassis to reduce understeer to an effective minimum. Unlike some similar systems (or a pure mechanical diff) it doesn’t bring with it unnecessarily hefty steering or camber-following tendencies, it’s much more subtle and effective than that.

As yet, Abarth models are still not officially imported into Ireland, but their visa status is due to be updated any time now. For the meantime, you can personally import one (a process that I’m sure your local Fiat dealer would be more than happy to help with) and you’ll have to fork out in the region of €27,000 for the 500C, about €2,000 less for the hatch. Our test car came loaded with options including that wonderful Monza exhaust and the gorgeous high-back Sabelt seats which swelled its price by €4,000. Pricey for such a small car then, but very much worth it to my mind. Besides, try speccing a Mini Cooper S up to similar levels and see where you get to...

You could spend even more and upgrade to the Essesse kit, which brings with its more power (160bhp), uprated brakes and tweaked suspension, but the extra stiffness would probably ruin the Abarth’s rather lovely ability to flow with bad roads rather than fighting them, so I wouldn’t bother.

Personally, I'd skip the C part too (the roof is nice and all, and works at speeds of up to 80kmh, but its usability in Ireland is always going to be limited) and go for the hatch, which also brings with it a more practical boot and that slight cut in price. Would I buy one? Oh, if only I could afford it. Hot hatches have become, as a species, somewhat too refined and practical of late. Even the likes of a 200bhp Clio or DS3 can fail to provide much in the way of outright thrills, so steady and safe are they. The Abarth feels a touch more unruly, raw and on the edge than that. It's the hot hatch as she is meant to be spoken.


Fiat Abarth 500C
Price as tested: €31,000 (approx)
Price range: €12,895 to €27,000 (approx)
Capacity: 1,368cc
Power: 135bhp
Torque: 200Nm
Top speed: 205kmh
0-100kmh: 7.9sec
Economy: 6.5l-100km (43.4mpg)
CO2 emissions: 155g/km
Road Tax Band: C €330
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult, 3-star child, 2-star pedestrian

Road Test: Fiat Panda 1.2 Easy

Price as tested: €12,995

+ Funky, spacious interior, bigger boot, ride and handling
– Economy could be better, styling looks a touch bulbous
= Fiat’s small car now feels big, but in a good way

2012 is very definitely going to be the year of the small. Whatever the Mayans might have in for us, however much The Hunger Games tries to takeover and no matter what you may have heard about some tournament in Poland where overpaid future pub landlords kick an inflated pig’s bladder about, 2012 is the year of the small car.

Two of the most significant cars to be launched this year are both tiny, both cost around the €11,000 mark yet have the style and sophistication of much bigger vehicles and both are critical to the future of their makers.

The other one is the Volkswagen Up!, which we’ll be testing next week but first up is the new Fiat Panda, the replacement for Fiat’s much-loved tiddler which was launched way back in 2003.
Yet for a car that was knocking on for a full decade in production, the outgoing Panda was still feeling and looking rather fresh and rather lovely, a fact that makes the task before its replacement that much harder. Not only will that be to keep happy Panda buyers in the fold, entice new customers to the Fiat and Panda badges and generally be well received, reviewed and retailed, but like its progenitor, it has to shore up Fiat’s delicate finances. True, those finances are vastly more robust than they were when the 2003 Panda was launched, but nonetheless, this is a crucial new model for a car company that needs a big hit right now.

So you can forgive Fiat for playing it slightly safe with the exterior styling. While all the panels and the detailing is new, there is much here that is familiar from the old Panda. The three-window side view, the slightly boxy, unapologetically upright shape. It is less utilitarian than before, less overtly square, but while the front end (with a face that looks very similar to what’s coming on the new 500L MPV) looks nice and cute, around the back it looks a little puffed-up and botoxed.

Inside though, the news is all good. Fiat has attempted to coin a new word, the Squircle, to describe the squared-off circle motif (or is it a rounded square?) that dominates the interior design. From the main dials to the switchgear to the steering wheel centre to pretty much everything on view, all is squircled up to the max. It could have been irritating, but thanks to a rather funky, slightly seventies retro vibe, some solid build quality and some inherently sensible layout ideas, it all works. The seats, which once again are a touch perched up, are nonetheless comfy and there’s more elbow room than before, thanks to the Panda being slightly larger in every dimension than before. There’s useful oddment storage pretty much everywhere your hands fall, and there’s new-found room in the back seats, proper adult room., thanks to a longer 2,300mm wheelbase. Behind that, there’s now a decent boot, sized between 225 and 260-litres, depending on which version you buy.

And that extra space is significant. It moves the Panda ever so slightly above most of the competition, into the realms of the small family car, as opposed to the small urban runabout. I’m not saying it’s now wildly spacious, but a family of two adults and two kids will fit, with a little bit of squishing, and there’s still space in the boot for a decent sized trip to Tesco’s.

That sense of greater space and usability is reflected in the way the Panda drives. Now, that’s not to say that it feels all growed up, at least not in the sense that it’s still fun to chuck around and still revs eagerly like a small, enthusiastic Italian car should, but there is palpably better refinement on long motorway runs. Sidedrafts and the turbulent air around fast-moving lorries now bothers the Panda not a jot, yet it hasn’t lost its feeling of verve and agility around town. It still slices into and through urban gaps that would stymie a larger car and parking in typically restrictive and tight city multi-stories is a joy, not a chore.

Surprisingly, the 1.2-litre petrol engine, well, surprised us. We had been assuming that the motor of choice would be either the 875ccc turbo TwinAir (noisy but gutsy and bursting with character) or the much-admired (but quite expensive) 1.3 MultiJet diesel. The 1.2 FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotised Engine) can trace its roots all the way back to 1985, yet it is feeling better than ever in the new Panda. 69bhp and 102Nm of torque don’t sound like much, and a 14.2sec 0-100kmh time sounds positively tardy, but on the road, the 1.2 pushes the Panda along with decent conviction, good refinement and not-bad economy. We say not-bad, because an average of 7.2-litres per 100km on our test is just that; neither good nor bad, just about acceptable, even if well short of Fiat’s claimed 5.2-litres per 100km. In the Panda’s defence, much of our test mileage was motorway based, and had we kept to main roads and urban driving (even with the surprising absence of stop-start) it’s likely the economy figure would have been much better. The Co2 figure of 120g/km is just fine though, and keeps you in the lowest €160 tax band.

Prices for the Panda are similarly low. €11,995 gets you the basic Pop 1.2, while our mildly specced-up Easy would set you back €12,995. More expensive are the TwinAir and MultiJet models, but given that the 1.2 is so good, you might be able to safely ignore these. That basic price does make it more expensive than the cheapest new VW Up! but then the Up! is just a three-door for the moment.

It is just about impossible not to like the Panda. It carries with it a sense of charm and fun that has been almost eradicated from larger, more expensive cars. It’s enjoyable to drive, reasonably spacious and practical and, given that the touchy-feely quality was right on the money, seems impressively well built too. Make no mistake, in the year of the small, this one’s a biggie.

Facts & Figures

Fiat Panda 1.2 Easy
Price: €12,995
Range price: €11,995 to €15,545
Capacity: 1,242cc
Power: 69bhp
Torque: 102Nm
Top speed: 164kmh
0-100kmh: 14.2sec
Economy: 5.2-100km (54.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 120g/km
Tax Band: A. €160 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 4-stars; 82% adult, 63% child, 49% pedestrian, 43% safety assist

Road Test: Fiat 500L 1.3 MultiJet PopStar

Price as tested: €22,000 (approx)

+ Masses of cabin space, cute styling, good quality, well priced
– Only ordinary to drive
= Could be the best all-round Fiat yet


There is one caveat that needs to be observed for all that follows. Italian car launches are notoriously difficult things to actually assess a car on. Our time with the new 500L was relatively brief, and most of the mileage was in the tight, urban confines of downtown Turin. And we got lost, which never helps. So, now that you’re aware of all that, we can begin...

Fiat is in bad need of a big hit. Hmmm. I seem to have written those words before, five years ago, just before the Italians launched the little 500, the sales of which pulled the company back from the financial abyss.

Now though, while the abyss is not so deep as it was in 2006 and Fiat is not teetering on the edge of it (thanks to its finances being well and truly pumped up by a resurgent Chrysler), sales are falling in its European heartlands and with investment being reduced and factories being shut down, Turin needs a new sprinkling of the 500's magic.

And this, the 500L, is the car Fiat hopes will revive its European fortunes. Although it carries the 500 name, it's actually only distantly mechanically related to the chic city car. It's a 4.15-metre long MPV, styled to looks closer to an SUV and with a simply massive cabin for stuffing your family into. When they say the L stands for Large, they really weren't kidding. the 500L towers over a tiny 500 hatch, and there's sufficient cabin space for a six-footer to have genuine lounging space in the back seats. Honestly, space in the back makes a mockery of almost every rival I can think of. A Focus, Golf or Astra feels ridiculously tight in comparison and even such other high-roofed competition as the Citroen C3 Picasso and Opel Meriva don’t have the legroom to compete.

The fact that the cabin also looks and feels of very high quality indicates that Fiat is still pushing well along the road to eradicating its old reputation for fragility, however difficult it may be to unstick that impression from Irish minds. All the surfaces inside have a pleasingly hefty, yet silky, feel and as long as you specify some of the brighter colour options, it feels like a warm, welcoming place to be. The steering wheel, slightly squared off as it is in the new Panda, feels especially good and the complex, three-movement exterior door handles do a great job of making the car feel techie and interesting just by yanking the door open.

While Irish specs have yet to be decided (and a circa €22,000 price for the 1.3 MultiJet diesel model has still to be agreed) there will be an awful lot of high-end optional extra available, including a city safety self braking setup, a 1.5-metre long glass roof and a stereo designed by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre (ask your kids...) and even an in-car Lavazza espresso maker that slots into one of the cupholders. Yes, really. You have to tick the options box for this, really, you do. We all thought it was a late April fool when we saw the press release...

Standard features include a 5" touch-screen infotainment system with Bluetooth connection for your phone and music player and an EcoDrive Live function that monitors your driving, admonishes you for being too profligate and which Fiat claims (somewhat implausibly) can save you up to 1,200-litres of fuel over the life of the car.

The rear seats fold and tumble with just a quick flick of a button and the 400-litre boot has an adjustable floor that allows you to segregate the shopping from the peat briquettes, or perhaps the laundry from the wet dog.

Our test car has the 85bhp 1.3 MultiJet diesel which boasts a 110g/km Co2 figure and better than 62mpg on average. But with only 200Nm of torque to haul around 1,300kg of 500 (and that's an empty kerb weight) it struggles to do anything to excite. It's a decent, engine, with good refinement but little verve and a rubbery five-speed manual gearbox doesn't help either. A 0-100kmh time of 14.9secs shows you how hard it’s having to work, but in fairness, it only rarely feels all that slow.

When the 500L arrives in Irish dealers at the end of the year, a 105bhp 1.6-litre diesel should be available and that will doubtless prove a better match. Petrol-heads, if any remain in Ireland, might be enticed by the 105bhp two-cylinder 112g/km TwinAir engine. We may not get the choice though, as Fiat Ireland is keen to keep the range as streamlined and simple as possible, so it might be that the only 500L we will get in Ireland will be this 1.3 Pop Star spec.

To drive, the 500L feels fine, but it lacks the quiet stolidness of a Skoda Yeti or the pin-sharp steering of a Mini Countryman. It's competent, capable and has nicely weighted steering and a good, if occasionally bobbly, ride quality but there are few causes for complaint here. Like the engine, it's safe but not really engaging.

Style-wise, it tries to take 500 design cues and inflate them to a much bigger size which, as Porsche found trying to translate a 911 coupe into a Cayenne SUV, isn't entirely successful. It looks good in certain colours, odd in others (beige is an especially bad choice) but certainly distinctive and different.

But it's that cavernous cabin that really sells the 500L. Families will love it for its sheer space, its brightness and its adaptability. Fold the front seat flat and you can fill the 500L with IKEA flat packs and still have space left for a driver and rear seat passenger while kids will have no trouble at all in filling the 22 interior pockets and cubbies. The fact that it seems on this encounter to be robustly built will mollify the worries of their parents.

Its sales prospects in Ireland depend entirely on whether enough Irish buyers are willing to look past their old prejudices about the brand. Nissan proved with the Qashqai that this was a serious possibility, and who a few years ago took either Hyundai or Kia seriously? Those willing to suspend disbelief long enough to try a 500L will find it an engaging proposal.



Fiat 500L 1.3 MultiJet Pop Star
Price as tested: €22,000 (approx)
Price range: TBA
Capacity: 1,248cc
Power: 85bhp
Torque: 200Nm
Top speed: n/a
0-100kmh: 14.9sec
Economy: 4.2l-100km (67.2mpg)
CO2 emissions: 110g/km
Road Tax Band: A €160
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested