Exactly ten years ago we headed big: Fiat will return with a four-door 500. With today’s science, of course, that is an open door, but then it was important news.
On April 20, 2010, the 500 was back at Fiat dealers after three years of absence (except for the Seicento). There had just been a party in Italy, because the 500,000th new 500 had already been produced. We can call the Fiat 500 a resounding success, because the biggest sales figures of the brand still rest on the delicate shoulders of the compact Italian. In 2010, only the standard three-door or the open 500C will drive around. We do not yet know any reincarnations of body styles that Fiat used to have. However, there are rumors, such as that of April 20: there would be an MPV based on the 500. The Automotive News magazine took this up at the time and helped spread the rumors. The information is even quite specific: “We are working on the car under the code name L0. The car is being built in the Mirafiori factory. ” Whether the car will go through life as Multipla or as 600 again, the magazine does not dare to say with certainty.
However, it is not until early 2012 before Fiat presents that infamous MPV: the 500L. The 500 washed out is 4.14 meters long (60 centimeters longer than a 500!) And initially offers space to only five people. Italian Roberto Giolito heads the design. A mere two months later, it is again time for family expansion and the seven-seater 500 L Living ends up in the mailbox for the first time. During an initial driving test with the 500L, it is striking that the car logically offers a lot of space, but that the available two-cylinder TwinAir under hood with 85 or 105 hp has quite a bit of difficulty with the size of the car. But: “Once on the road it goes fine, as long as you keep the engine running; the 500L is actually even fierce. ” Once in the showroom, Fiat comes as usual with several different versions. Take the raised 500L Trekking, the 500L Adventurer as a show car or the 500L S-Design. In mid-2017, the 500L will undergo a slight metamorphosis and not much later Fiat will achieve a milestone: the production of the 500,000th 500L.
While the regular 500 is on almost every street corner, Dutch sales of the 500L are not so fast. 2014 turned out to be its best year with 765 units, then sales fell to 65 and last year the plug was pulled from the sale in the Netherlands. In total, over 3,000 Dutch people have bought a copy. The raised 500X has been running since 2015 and is still available in addition to the regular 500. That sale is also not very fast, but slightly better than the 500L.