Fiat’s 500 family is growing up.
From the new 500 which appeared in 2008 we have seen the addition of the 500C and 500L MPV and now we get the 500L Trekking and 500L MPW or multi-purpose wagon, which can be ordered with two additional seats to make it a seven-seater.
The Trekking and MPW come with the familiar range of petrol and diesel engines, manual and automatic boxes, but have some unique features. The Trekking is the top of the range and gets standard City Brake Control to automatically reduce collisions and higher set bumpers, tinted glass and the Traction+ grip control system with winter tyres, raised suspension and body shielding. These added safety features have reduced insurance group ratings as a result.
The powertrain comprises two petrol and two diesel engines: 105hp 900cc Twin Air and 95hp 1.4, or 85hp 1.3 and 105hp 1.6 diesels. Dualogic automatic can be specified only with the 1.3 MultiJet diesel.
Prices rise from £17,095 to £19,590.
The normal 500L body gives five seats and 400 litres bootspace while the MPW version will lift this to over 630 litres and have the room to add two more rear seats for children when it comes in September.

Fiat commercial director Karl Howkins said the new models arrived as 500 sales are soaring and overtaken the MINI series and he was confident there are still further opportunities to gain fleet sales with the 500L Trekking and MPW versions.
“This evolution of the 500 family is an important step on the way to more success for us,” he said.
Fiat specialist for the 500 series, Luca Rugusa, added that Fiat believed the 500L Trekking will change buying habits.
“We think buyers of the 500L Trekking and MPW will want the more powerful engines in the range and after announcing the car in June we have had more interest than we anticipated and believe they will account for a bigger share of the 500-series sales.”
Some of this is due to the rising use of personal contract plans for the Fiat 500 series helped by improving residual values upon which the programmes are based.
Marketing director Elena Bernardelli said that approximately 62pc of 500L models were driven by mums but that the 500L Trekking will see the majority of drivers be dads and the sales campaign will target them.
First impressions
Families really can enjoy a stretch in the new Fiat 500L Trekking.
It has not only grown up where it matters inside but they will also be able to go where they haven’t been before and with added security thanks to its part-time Traction+ system to give added grip in slippery situations.
That operates with a simple push-button by the gear-lever to automatically apportion power or brakes as necessary.It is helped by higher ground clearance and mud and snow tyres with underbody shielding as well as higher set bumpers.
For added family safety it comes with standard automatic City Brake Control to sense objects ahead and slow the car if the driver doesn’t.
The grip system operates up to 18.6mph and then reverts to normal drive but even the fitting of the stiffer mud and snow tyres has not destroyed the ride, just made it feel higher and firmer.
Later this year a seven-seat MPW version will be added to the current five-seat series, raising total carrying space still further to a maximum 1,700 litres.
You seem to gain a lot in the Trekking for about £700 premium over the normal 500L and its residual value and safety are enhanced.
We tested the 500L Trekking with the larger of the two diesel engines.
The 105bhp 1.6 engine was good when it got going and fairly economical but it was not happy moving from rest or slowly in traffic and the long-travel clutch was annoying.
Gear changes were very direct, the steering easy and the brakes well balanced. Secondary controls were packed onto the stalks and some of the instruments were partly obscured by the wheel-rim. Oddments space and bootspace were good and visibility was clear all-round. It handled fairly well although you felt you were riding high, and it was smooth over all but the worst surfaces and gave a reasonable return on fuel of just over 38mpg.
Fast facts:
Fiat 500L 1.6 105hp Trekking
Price: £19,590
Insurance group: 15
Mechanical: 4cyl 1598cc 105bhp, 6sp, Traction+
CO2/ BIK: 122gkm/ 16pc VED band C
Maximum speed: 109mph
0-62mph: 12sec
Fuel consumption: 38.4mpg approx
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000miles