by "Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
Published 11/04/2017 at 11:00
by "Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
Published 11/04/2017 at 11:00
Tags: Fiat
; 500L
STARS: 2
Despite an unfortunate reputation and an even more unfortunate issue that caused us to lemon it, my wife’s 2014 Fiat 500L has otherwise been a good car with no significant maintenance trouble. We are about to return the car, so it’s a good time to do a full review.
For the uninitiated, the 5-door 500L is built in Serbia at Fiat’s dedicated Kragujevac plant. Yes, the plant sits on the site of a former Zastava (Yugo) facility. No, that has nothing to do with the 500L as a car. It was introduced in 2012, and came to the US in 2013. US models are powered by a 1.4T MultiAir engine which is also found in the US-market 500 Abarth and the 124 Spider. In Europe, the 500L is also available as a stretched 7-seater “Living” model which looks even more grotesque.
Our car has 45,000 miles. Onto my thoughts:
Performance
On boost the power is good, but there is turbo lag for days and the rev hang lasts about one week per upshift. As with most Italian cars, you learn the car (as you should) and drive around these quirks. Boot the gas pedal to get the turbo spooled, or else suffer with 1.4L of thrashing NA engine. While in high gear, suddenly summoning power will confuse the slow-witted DDCT gearbox. What did you want?......OK, fine, downshift........turbo lag, still no power........fine, downshift again.
The front strut / rear torsion bar suspension predictably offers a decent ride up front, slightly bouncier in the rear. Fiat uses Koni selective-damping shocks, which I believe our new Compass also has. For the price, the ride feels good.
Road noise is on par with the segment, which means it’s loud. In fact, you won’t hear any wind noise over the tire roar, so turn up the beats. The Beats By Dre upgrade system will impress most non-audiophiles with thick bass as the Doc ordered. Midrange and treble are decently sharp.
My wife averages 30 mpg, which is impressive considering the aerodynamics of a small house.
Reliability
For the purpose of this article, let’s ignore the issue that made us return the car as it is not commonly reported. Aside from that, the powertrain has been trouble-free and the interior has held up to more than three years of parenthood. Both brake light bulbs went out within the warranty period, which is anecdotally on par with other European cars. A rubber door stop fell off, and one original Mopar brake pad was defective and had scored the brake disc—no brake problems since.
The 500L gets dinged most often for transmission clutch overheating—these are mostly limited to the 2014 cars with the C635 Dual Dry Clutch Transmission. Americans drive them like slushboxes, and Fiat questionably chose to imitate a viscous torque converter’s auto-creep. We haven’t had any trouble so far, but we avoid letting the car creep.
I do worry about the longevity of a dry clutch. Fiat wisely replaced the DDCT with a traditional Aisin 6AT in 2015, but IMO too late as the L’s reputation is already damaged. Expect the slushbox to be more durable and have much better shift response, at a small expense of fuel economy.
Practicality
Fiat really screwed up marketing this car (rather, not marketing it). This is where the 500L shines. Ingress and egress have convinced me that this is the optimal proportion that a car should have. There is no bending down or stepping up to get in—you simply slide in.
Interior volume is mostly unmatched in its segment, but its weak points are the very Euro rear seat width (especially narrow with a child seat) and marginal rear boot depth. That said, the sliding rear seat lets you trade passenger space for cargo space, and the cargo floor can be configured in useful ways.
At 68 cu ft max with the second row stowed, few subcompacts can match the 500L’s cargo prowess.
Ergonomics, Comfort and Operation
This is probably the most entertaining topic to write about because it’s an Italian car. Assembled in Serbia, but you get the point.
The smaller 500's interior is known for its “cheap and cheerful” theme being a little strong on the “cheap” part. The 500L’s interior is still fairly low-rent, but the designs and materials are definitely a step up and refreshingly unique.
The steering wheel is angled somewhat like a cab-over bus, typical of Italian cars. Taller drivers will find the gauges chopped off at the top. Chrysler’s clever audio controls hide on the back side of the wheel. The parking brake “handle” looks like a computer mouse—not necessarily ergonomic for larger hands, but it is unique. And Italian.
The seats are comfortable and the ribbing has a give like that of memory foam. Manual adjustment all around, but very pleasant for long drives. The rear bench sits higher for a view over the front seats. Both rows have high seat bottoms like dining chairs—the seating position is superb.
One (
err.....four
) very Italian thing is the power windows—the one-touch operation is fiddly to stop partway, but at least the motors are strong. As with the 500X and Jeep Renegade, the climate controls and cupholders are positioned low and out of reach.
Chrysler’s class-leading uConnect system is here in full force (and a nice Fiat skin) and features a decent 6.5" nav screen. Reverse camera doesn’t always activate if you shift into R too soon after starting up.
Though unlikely, it is possible for the car to lock you out. With the car locked, exit from the second row—the rear door that was just used will auto-lock again. I honestly don’t see any safety benefit in this.
Each side mirror has a clever convex section at the outer edge, enhancing the field of view.
One thing I must commend Fiat for is keeping the side turn signal repeater. This is one of the most dangerous shortcomings of US DOT automotive lighting regulations, especially for highway lane changes. Most manufacturers skimp on this for their North American models because they can.
Styling
This is subjective (I find it awkward but not particularly ugly), so I will let the pictures do the talking.
Fun
The 500L is roughly analogous to the Mini Countryman. Both offer a fun and offbeat interpretation of affordable family transportation. In that sense, the “fun” is really in the product concept and not really in any driving dynamics. The only part of this car that likes being driven hard is the transmission (notice how I excluded the engine).
Photos
Here are some of the interesting bits and pieces of one of the most obscure modern cars sold in the United States.
MY2018 will see a facelifted 500L in Europe, where the model does sell in decent numbers. FCA have not disclosed whether the US will see a 2018 500L—perhaps the poor sales performance leaves them hesitant. Whatever happens, the Kragujevac plant really needs more models to keep the lights on.
Hope you found this useful, and feel free to AMA. Have a great weekend!
"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
11/04/2017 at 11:12, STARS: 0
You have a thing for red Italian cars eh?
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
11/04/2017 at 11:40, STARS: 0
It really don’t look so bad either the black roof. It cuts off a lot of the visual weight, and top heavy short bus look. The only one I regularly see in person is dark Gerry with a white top. Its not a good look. As much as that works in a Mini, it does not work on the taller 500L.
"RT" (rt-p)
11/04/2017 at 12:01, STARS: 0
I mean, who doesn’t?
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 13:18, STARS: 0
My next one might be red too, but depends on what I can find.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 1
Black roof is definitely a bit easier on the eyes. The white roof is unique and not many cars offer it (Fiat designers clearly snorted a whiff of Mini), but it’s probably too unusual for most people.
My wife’s new Compass also has the black contrast roof. Seems to be her go-to option now, in addition to the nice power tailgate.
"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993)
11/04/2017 at 13:28, STARS: 0
I would uh, not purchase this vehicle.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 13:31, STARS: 0
Yeah, that’s the typical Internet Commenter opinion. Care to elaborate?
"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce)
11/04/2017 at 13:43, STARS: 0
This is almost 100% our assessment of it as well. We looked at it when kid #2 came along to replace our 500. We would have probably bought one, but we were having a horrible dealer experience and decided we would never give that dealer any of our business again. And since they are the only Fiat dealer within 100 miles of us, Fiat was off the table.
"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993)
11/04/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
Its a fiat, and its not fun or cool enough to justify the unreliability that comes with that.
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
11/04/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
Little lady, or bigly Fiat? You be the judge.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 0
5'5
"rillweid - Now with more TRD and less TDI" (rillweid)
11/04/2017 at 15:14, STARS: 0
Like the seats. Any chance you want to let us in on what caused it to go back?
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 16:07, STARS: 0
I’ll probably write on that once the car is turned in and all settled. It isn’t a widely reported problem, but it is a significant glitch.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/04/2017 at 18:00, STARS: 1
The hardware is decent, but their software (dealer network, customer service, etc.) is terrible.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/04/2017 at 19:13, STARS: 0
Your long-term review mirrors the few minutes of time I’ve spent in a couple examples. My absolute favorite thing about the 500L is how airy and light the cabin felt (and is). It felt like a chic and relaxing lounge rather than a transportation device, in a good way.
I think the biggest deficit it has is the front visual weight/height. It has the similar bug-eye look as a Juke and Leaf, but without their general quirkiness to make it endearing. If the front light groups were no higher than the rear tail lamps, it would look considerably better.
Would I have one? I wouldn’t seek one out, but if it were a company car or something I’d rather have it over a lot of other vehicles.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
11/05/2017 at 00:26, STARS: 1
Even if it looks awkward from most angles, IMO still more visually interesting than the typical compact-CUV blobs that most people choose. And then there’s the practicality where the 500L punches a class above.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
02/09/2018 at 19:51, STARS: 1
Just circled back to this—I wanted to wait to be sure that there isn’t some gag order or NDA regarding the settlement. The problem with the car was a glitchy overactive ESC system that FCA didn’t want to (and possibly didn’t know how) to fix. It was triggering brake/steering assist inputs on perfectly dry and warm pavement. I have my theories on the exact calibration problem, but anything beyond the above fact is just speculation at this point.