Fiat is all about small cars. Outside of its commercial vehicle business, the Italian brand gained recognition with models like the Panda, Punto, and, of course, the iconic 500. So when it came time to join the subcompact SUV segment in the U.S., expectations ran high. This brand brings style and personality in spades, and it’s a small car specialist?! The vehicle better be good! Except it wasn’t. The Fiat 500X became one of the least popular vehicles in its segment. A cousin to the Jeep Renegade, which was built on the same production line, the 500X had the bones and the Italian flair. Unfortunately, several factors made it hard to recommend over the rest of the segment. Let’s take a trip back and explore why this model ended up uncompetitive.
Fiat 500X: Italian Flair Meets Retro Charm
Italian brands put a premium on eye-catching style, and Fiat is no exception. The 500X took the 500’s bubbly design and turned it into a small SUV. However, let’s face it, this was simply a lifted four-door hatchback with body cladding. No matter what you called it, the 500X had personality. Its cheeky looks, rounded headlights, curvy profile, and retro-tastic grille, complete with a chrome mustache, made it so adorable. Meanwhile, its squared-off taillights, which later featured body-colored inserts and LED strips, tied it to its iconic smaller sibling.
Inside, the 500X took the use of circular shapes to the edge with soft corners and rounded details. Even the headrests were round! As a result, this little SUV’s style game was on point, especially with its optional two-tone brown interior. Unfortunately, the fit and finish didn’t quite translate well. Yes, you had padded surfaces and nice materials, but they were mixed in with cheaper, harder plastics. Heck, even the headrests felt like cheap styrofoam mixed with cardboard.
Sadly, all of that style came at the cost of versatility and space. The 500X had a small cargo area, while the max capacity with 60/40 split rear seats lowered topped out at around 34 cubic feet. That put the little Fiat behind nearly every subcompact SUV except for even smaller models like the Hyundai Venue. Although it had a two-level cargo floor and plenty of small-item storage, including a secondary glove box, the 500X lacked the flexibility of many competitors. To make matters worse, it also fell short in passenger comfort. Cramped rear accommodations and front seats with firm cushions and minimal support made it less viable as a daily driver.
Fiat 500X: User-Friendly and Intrusive
The 500X got points back thanks to its UConnect multimedia system. It was easy to use and had clear graphics, making it one of the better interfaces of its time. Plus, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto helped you stay connected with ease, though it required a wired connection. Fiat offered an eight-speaker Beats premium audio upgrade, which sounded fine, but not as good as competitors’ offerings like the Nissan Kicks’ excellent Bose Personal Plus setup. Additionally, the seven-inch touchscreen, while responsive, felt small because of the massive bezels around it.
In terms of driver assistance tech, the 500X offered a full suite, but required selecting an optional package. They worked fine for the most part. However, when they activated, they did so in the most intrusive way possible. Loud, blaring warnings made them more annoying than helpful. Additionally, they felt behind the times because of jerky corrections, which sometimes came late. Heck, the lane-keeping function ping-ponged you between the lanes, making the car seem more dated.
Rich In Torque, Not in Refinement
So the 500X has style and a user-friendly infotainment system, but is it good to drive? Well…not quite. From 2016 to 2018, you had a choice between two four-cylinder engines. The first one, Fiat’s familiar 1.4-liter turbo unit with 160 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, came exclusively with a six-speed manual and was offered only on lower trims. The more common mill was the Tigershark 2.4-liter, which made 180 hp and 175 lb-ft paired to a ZF nine-speed automatic.
To put it simply, neither of these combinations impressed, but the more common one stood out in a bad way. Although the 2.4-liter engine had adequate power, the gearbox just didn’t work well. It hesitated and was always one or two gears too high. As a result, you never got to make the most out of it. You got a lot of noise, but not much oomph.
From 2019 until its discontinuation in 2023, Fiat consolidated to one engine, a 1.3-liter turbo-four with 177 hp and 210 lb-ft. This improved the 500X’s performance, giving it plenty of torque for passing and climbing. However, the same dreaded nine-speed automatic held the refreshed SUV back. Its general unwillingness to respond made the 500X feel unrefined and unpolished. Clunky shifts didn’t help things either.
Efficiency fell short, too. Manual models with the tiny 1.4-liter were EPA-rated at 25/33/28 mpg city/highway/combined, but you needed to hunt them down because dealers didn’t carry them in big batches. On the other hand, the EPA rated the 2.4-liter at 22/30/25 mpg with FWD or 21/29/24 mpg with AWD. Not exactly good, considering the small 12.7-gallon fuel tank. The 2019 to 2023 models with the 1.3-liter had a more respectable EPA rating of 24/30/26 mpg since it came standard with AWD.
Fiat 500X: Unruly and Nervous
When it came to ride and handling, the 500X also failed to live up to the competition. Yes, it took turns securely and stably, but you felt its lack of finesse. Although it kept body roll in check, the SUV never inspired any confidence behind the wheel. Slow and delayed steering enhanced that disconnected feeling. To make things worse, the stiff suspension resulted in a crashy, unrefined ride. Going over poorly maintained surfaces, you felt every imperfection and expansion joint because the 500X’s suspension just didn’t do a good job at isolating the cabin. Those stylish 19-inch alloy wheel options exacerbated the flinty ride even more. To make things worse, the 500X suffered from excessive nose-dive during hard braking and an overly firm pedal.
The AWD system, which came standard from 2019 to 2023, didn’t bring much of a performance improvement. Unlike some competitors, this setup only sends power to the rear while accelerating from a standstill or in low-grip situations. No, it won’t vector power to the wheels with the most grip to help it handle and corner better. Due to this, the 500X operated mainly as a front-drive vehicle. Its AWD system only existed to improve performance in very specific situations like driving in snow.
All Looks
The Fiat 500X looked the part and came packed with style. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the substance to match that retro-inspired design. Stellantis gave it all the correct components. However, it just didn’t execute it well, resulting in a subpar product that fell behind the rest of the segment. In a way, the 500X represented a wasted opportunity. Had they done this vehicle well, it would’ve thrived and overcome the stereotypes associated with Fiat.
Sadly, that wasn’t the reality, and for that, the 500X is gone and lost to time. Fiat continues to struggle in the U.S. today and lacks relevance with its sole offering, the all-electric 500e. With no replacement for the 500X in sight, that may remain the case for the foreseeable future.
