Hustling into town on a recent morning, I was headed for one of the newer event venues, the Blanc, for a preview of one of the newer compact crossovers, the Fiat 500X.
The 2016 500X was shown to members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press at a luncheon meeting at the Blanc, 3150 Walnut St., Denver.
Fiat executives expect the new little crossover will help chase away the blues brought on by slow sales in the U.S. of other versions of the 500 – the standard Fiat 500 since its introduction to the U.S. in 2012 and the lengthened 500L which was added last year. In particular, Fiat expects the 500X all-wheel-drive model to gain favor in Colorado.
The 500X, offered in front-drive or AWD, will compete with the new Honda HR-V, Nissan Juke, Mazda CX-3, Mini Cooper Paceman and Chevrolet Trax.
Its stiffest competition, I believe, will come from a sister model off the same platform as the 500X, the Jeep Renegade. Nicole Longhini-McElroy, a Fiat representative, showed little interest in discussing that aspect of the 500X’s challenge in coming to Denver.
Rounded off with lots of Italian style, the 500X will be available in five trim levels – the Pop, Easy, Lounge, Trekking and Trekking Plus.
I teamed with friend Bob Sweeney, publisher of The Villager, in driving the little Trekking FWD model on a fairly short course about the streets in the vicinity of the Blanc, where it displayed excellent steering response and good suspension from its MacPherson struts and coils in front and Chapman struts and coils at the rear.
Performance was adequate from its 180-horsepower, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and shifts were near-seamless, thanks to the 9-speed automatic transmission. Twelve-inch vented rotors up front came through with impressive stopping strength. In front-wheel-drive form, its EPA estimate is 22 in the city and 31 on the highway. The fuel-mileage rating goes even higher when the 500X is equipped with a turbocharged 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and 6-speed manual transmission.
The 500X Trekking review model, finished in rosso passion (red), carried a base price of $23,100. Boosting sticker price to $25,300 were options of power driver seat with lumbar adjust, heated front seats and steering wheel, dual-zone temperature control, ambient lighting, cargo compartment cover and 18-inch aluminum wheels, as well as destination charge of $900.
The Fiat 500X, built in Melfi, Italy, is swinging into full sales at Fiat dealerships this month.