We had heard earlier this month that Fiat was preparing a new five-door variant of its 500 city car but we didn't know much else about the Italian firm's plans.
Today, Autonews has the inside scoop on the new model reporting that it will allegedly be called 500L with its world premiere to take place at the Geneva Salon in March.
We also learn that while it will keep the 500s familiar face and styling cues, it will be based on the same architecture as the larger Punto to improve passenger and luggage space.
The 500L is said to measure around 4,150mm long (163.4-inches) or about 60mm (2.5-inches) more than the three-door 500 hatchback, while it will also be taller and wider than the original.
In Geneva, we'll see a five-seater version but the report goes on to say that in the following months, Fiat will launch a seven-seater variant with an additional 10mm (0.4-inches) in length (though we reckon this is probably a typo with the author meaning to say 100mm).
The 500L will effectively replace Fiat's aging Idea in the small MPV segment targeting the likes of the Opel Meriva and the upcoming Ford B-Max.
European sales of the 500L are expected to start as early as July while the five-seater model will be offered in the States from 2013. The report indicates that Fiat has no plans to sell the 7-seater variant in the U.S., as it believes American consumers won't buy such a small seven-seater model.
The 500L will be manufactured at the former Zastava site in Kragujevac, Serbia, that Fiat acquired back in 2008.
2 Comments:
The press release must have confused mm and cm. The 3-door Fiat 500 is 3.55 meters (140 inches) long. That makes the 500L at 4.15 meters (163 inches) 60 cm longer (23 inches). The seven seater is another 10 cm longer for a total length of 167 inches, which is only a foot shorter than my 1993 7-seat Caravan.
Since the 500L may be replacing the Palio in Brazil, I would hope they bring a high-ground clearance, locking differential version ("Locker") to the U.S. It would be just the ticket for fly-over country, where roads are bad and distances are long and a locker FWD will provide 90% of the benefits of 4WD without the weight, complexity, cost, and fuel mileage penalties.
Where is the supposed station wagon in all of this?
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