Fiat presents larger 500L at Geneva

The Fiat 500 is one of those automotive legends that has been around since time immemorial and one that will live on for a long time to come. Like the Mini and VW Beetle, the 500 is one of those icons from the past that was revived recently, and then gained immense popularity thanks to its chic styling and young appeal. And Fiat has been at it continuously, releasing one special edition of the 500 after the other, including the recently launched convertible. But last year, Mini upped the game quite a bit by launching the Countryman, a larger, more luxurious version of the regular Mini. Not one to be outdone, Fiat unveiled its latest creation at the Geneva Motor Show. Called the 500L, it is to the standard 500, what the Countryman is to the Mini, quite literally.

Fiat claims that the 500L (the L stands for Large by the way) offers MPV-sized passenger space combined with the feel of a small SUV on the road and all packed neatly into the restrained dimensions and efficiency of a B segment car. It features a 5-seater single-volume structure which is 4140 mm long, 1780 mm wide and 1660 mm high. It also borrows and then further develops the ‘cab forward’ design element that Fiat first introduced on the 600 Multipla, which established itself as one of first the compact people carriers. But the overall design seems to borrow a lot from the Mini Countryman, at least in terms of its overall shape, with all the other design elements kept in line with the current 500 design language.

The Fiat 500L will be introduced to Europe in the last quarter of 2012, with engine options that will include two petrol engines, the TwinAir and the 1.4-litre, as well as the 1.3 Multijet II turbodiesel mill that is popular around the world.