06:17AM - 04.12.'13
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News Source: autoblog.com
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The saying goes that man cannot live by bread alone, and neither can automakers live by selling one car alone. This holds especially true for automakers with a budding dealer network to support, like the Fiat brand, which returned to US shores in 2011 after a 28-year absence. The company's single car to sell at the time was the Fiat 500, a cute retro rebirth of the original, iconic Cinquecento, which your toddler now calls Luigi thanks to Pixar. Since then, the new 500 has sold reasonably well here in the US, and the Fiat brand has been following the same playbook that another purveyor of pint-sized autos, Mini, has used: sell as many variants as you can of the one model you've got. So we have the 500, 500C drop top, high-performance 500 Abarth, all-electric 500e and a few additional trim levels and special editions to further fill dealer showrooms. But the axiom that automakers cannot live selling one car alone still stands, and so Fiat has finally introduced its second model, the larger 500L. Executive Editor Chris Paukert completed our First Drive of the 500L back in June, and was left pleasantly surprised by its combination of utility, offbeat style, fun-to-drive demeanor and value. We've also, however, read some scathing reviews, like this one from The New York Times. I wasn't sure where the truth lay when the keys for this top-trim 2014 Fiat 500L Lounge were handed to me, but finding out would be but a short week of together time away. Some people dismiss vehicles simply because of their styling, and we suspect the 500L will deter its fair share of shoppers with a design some find too unattractive to live with. Those elements we find so darling on the peewee 500 appear stuck on the larger 500L like the eyes, nose and mouth of a Mr. Potato Head, and the tall, thin shape that maximizes usable space inside does it few favors on the outside. That said, Executive Editor Paukert's words about familiarity breeding acceptance rang true for me by the end of the week; while I'm still no fan of its design, the 500L has so many other things to offer that can't all be sunk by styling alone. Of course, there are many colors and trims available to tweak the 500L's looks to your liking, though not the same plethora of interesting hues offered on the 500. This tester is a top-spec Lounge trim in Bianco White with the optional $500 Nero Black roof, $950 twin-pane power moonroof and all the trimmings, including a chrome-like treatment for exterior trim pieces like including the door handles, side-view mirrors and taillight surrounds, as well as fog lamps and optional 17-inch aluminum wheels with black accents ($500). There are three other trims – Pop, Easy and Trekking – but the only real alternative to the look you see here is the Trekking model, which butches up the front end in a faux crossover style with an altogether different lower fascia made of matte black plastic. Of all the things the 500L has to offer, though, its interior is its biggest selling point. For one, the view from the driver's seat of a 500L is wholly unique. We're in an era of automobile design where window lines are rising, windshields are getting more raked and shorter in height, and visibility overall is declining in favor of cameras and sensors to see our way around things. In contrast, the 500L's outward view is like watching an IMAX movie of the passing world. The windshield height itself is an awesome gift if you hate cranking your neck at intersections while waiting for a light to turn green, but the unique quarter windows between the front windshield and side glass are the real difference-makers. Other vehicles have quarter windows (the Honda Fit comes to mind), but there are none we can remember so vertical that also reach the same height as the side windows. Also, the 500L's pair of A-pillars are so thin, again in contrast to industry trends, that these quarter windows are functional, allowing visibility of pedestrians and objects that might normally be obscured by a big, thick A-pillar while turning. Throw in that optional twin-pane roof, and on a sunny day, it feels like you are driving around in the top of a lighthouse. The one drawback to all this glass is the sunvisors, which are inadequately sized for the job. They are decent in height but not in length, which is particularly frustrating when trying to block sunlight through the driver or front passenger's side window because they don't extend further out on their arms. |
