Fiat 500X is a Baby Crossover With Italian Style

Fiat is taking another stab at creating a larger 500 variant, but this time, instead of tall wagon thing like the 500L, the company is playing it safe by creating a compact crossover called the 500X.

At 167 inches long and 63 inches tall, the Fiat 500X is roughly the same size as the Chevrolet Trax, but has a tighter cargo area at only 12.4 cubic feet. Two different versions of the 500X will be available, one tailored towards urban city life and the other more focused towards off-road abilities.

Like the recently introduced Chrysler 200, the all-wheel drive system in the 500X can decouple the rear half of the drivetrain when extra traction isn’t needed to save on fuel. A Drive Mood Selector will be standard in the crossover that can adjust engine, brakes, steering and the transmission, through three different settings. Auto and Sport settings will come on all 500x editions while city based models will come with an All Weather mode instead of the off-road version’s Traction Plus.

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At launch, a whole swarm of engines will be offered as the crossover is being sold in over 100 countries. A 1.4-liter turbocharged MultiAir four-cylinder will be available with front-wheel or all-wheel drive, making 140 HP or 170 HP depending on application. With front-wheel models, the small turbo can be paired to a six-speed manual or dual-clutch six-speed automatic transmission. With all-wheel drive models the 1.4-liter engine is coupled to Fiat Chrysler’s nine-speed automatic.

There is also a pair of naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines available including a 140 HP 2.0-liter and the more powerful 184 HP 2.4-liter Tigershark. Both of these engines are paired exclusively to all-wheel drive models. It’s unclear which combinations exactly will make it to America when the 500x goes on sale, but we guess most will the trip across the Atlantic.

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