Fiat 500X vs Lotus Eletre

What's the difference?

Fiat's indomitable 500 is one of the great survivors - not even VW's recently deceased New Beetle could keep riding the nostalgia wave, partly because it made itself just that little bit out-of-touch by not being a car anyone can buy. The 500 avoided that, particularly in its home market, and is still going strong.

Fiat added the 500X compact SUV a few years ago and at first I thought it was a daft idea. It's a polarising car, partly because some people complain it's capitalising on the 500's history. Well, duh. It's worked out well for Mini, so why not?

I've driven one every year for the last couple so I was keen to see what's up and whether it's still one of the weirdest cars on the road.

This is a Lotus - but it’s not like any Lotus you’ve ever known.

In fact, forget everything you know about Lotus, the British brand previously famous for small, lightweight sports cars is now evolving into something very different. Very, very different.

Under the control of Chinese automotive giant Geely since 2017, Lotus will shed its past and focus its future on all-electric, luxury vehicles like the Eletre we’re testing here.

The Eletre is a full-size luxury electric SUV designed to take on the likes of the Audi SQ8 e-tron, BMW iX and Mercedes-AMG EQE on the electric side, while also trying to lure buyers away from the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.

So, how does this radically different Lotus measure up to the brand’s reputation and stack up against its would-be competitors? Read on to find out…