Fiat 500X Lounge 2015 review

Just how far can the concept of a compact SUV stretch? We may have just crossed a new frontier. Meet the Fiat 500 – Italy's answer to the Volkswagen Beetle – imagined as a city-sized soft-roader.

It's called the Fiat 500X and it's due in Australian showrooms in August priced from less than $30,000, although the range will likely peak at more than $40,000.

In reality it has nothing in common with the pint-sized Fiat 500 city runabout, apart from the name and some styling cues. In fact, it shares its DNA with a Jeep: the box-shaped Renegade (due on month later, in September) has the same underpinnings as the 500X, it's just wearing a different suit.

Indeed, both the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X are made on the same Italian production line. Sacre-bleu! Or whatever that might be in Italian. Fiat (as with every other car maker) has figured out that good design pays handsomely.

Consider this: it costs the same to manufacture a beautiful headlight or an elegantly-shaped fender as it does to make something that's a bit Plain Jane.

Buyers will pay more if a car looks good, impresses their peers, and makes the owner feel warm and fuzzy every time they walk up to it and unlock the doors. Call it a win-win, because the car-makers are making bank.

Fiat (and the rest of the car industry for that matter) believe the phenomenal global growth in SUV sales (and the number of varieties available) is set to continue for the rest of the decade, and may even go beyond 2020.

We've not seen anything like this since the invention of the hatchback, which is an interesting parallel because that's what these cars are effectively replacing.

City-sized SUVs can fit in the same size parking space as a Toyota Corolla and yet have the tall driving position of a Range Rover.

And we can't get enough of them, which is why even the Italians, who would have scoffed at the idea of a Fiat 500-inspired "faux-wheel-drive" less than a decade ago. Next they'll be drinking cappuccinos in the afternoon.

On the road

What's it like to drive? In a nutshell, it's a good thing. We drove the vehicle about 200km on winding Italian roads and freeways between Fiat's head office and its test track. If Fiat can't get that right, something's seriously wrong.

There will be two engine choices (well, two different power outputs from the same 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine), three transmissions (two types of automatic and a manual) and four model grades when it arrives in Australia.

No diesel variant is planned at this stage, in part because the petrol engines are so economical nowadays, and diesel engines still attract a price premium because, for some reason, they're dearer to develop and manufacture, we're told. We tested the least powerful of the two engine choices matched to a manual transmission.

Production of automatic versions hasn't commenced yet, but when they arrive there will be a six-speed auto paired with the low output engine and a nine-speed auto (no, that's not a typo) with the more powerful engine that's also matched to all-wheel-drive.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Fiat 500X drives well because the underpinnings are new from the ground-up and were developed for this very purpose: to create a compact SUV, albeit for two models in the jointly-owned Fiat and Jeep brands. This is an important distinction because not every brand-new car you see is new from the tyre tread up.

The stunning Alfa Romeo Mito is one such example: never before has such a beautiful design been layered on top of such a rudimentary underbody: it's a decades-old Fiat Punto underneath, which is why it doesn't drive anywhere near as nice as it looks.

Car makers do this all the time to save money. The current BMW X1 SUV is based on the underpinnings of the decade-old 3 Series sedan. Go figure.

But back to the Fiat 500X. The new underbody also means much thought has been given to the interior space and layout. The Fiat 500X has some of the retro styling appeal of its pint-sized namesake but with the practicality of a lunchbox.

There are ample storage cubbies, and the door pockets are large enough that, unlike some cars, you don't scrape the back of your hands when fetching something.

Most impressive was how well the 500X drives considering it has such a small engine

The design also benefits from some modern switchgear and a large information screen. There is ample room for heads, shoulders, knees and toes for occupants in the front and rear.

The seats are comfortable, although Fiat did admit the option name of the aged brown leather pews fitted to the test cars may change from the literal translation: "old cow".

Most impressive was how well the 500X drives considering it has such a small engine. It never ceases to amaze me how far turbo technology has come.

Not all turbo engines are modern, frugal designs. But the 500X is among the best in the business when it comes to getting power from every last droplet of fuel. Even with a gentle touch of the accelerator, the 500X has plenty of urge.

Downsides? The suspension was comfortable over bumps and the steering felt good in most situations, but there was the occasional loud jolt over sharp joins in the road, and the steering wheel can wriggle in your hands if you accelerate hard in a corner.

And the sun visors could do with an extension slider (or slide further along their mounting rail) because they don't extend far enough when you want to swing the visor 90 degrees to block glare through the side window.

The 500X will be a smash hit as long as Fiat isn't too greedy with the price. It brings styling flair to what is at risk of becoming a hum-drum segment of the new-car market.