2019 Fiat 500X Features – Video
Fiat 500X, the Italian crossover, has been updated inside and out with new looks and new technology to satisfy the latest mobility needs in a fast-growing segment in which 500X is already leading in Italy and in Europe, where it has gained a firm footing as one of the top five best-selling models in its segment since 2016.
The New 500X has an entirely refreshed exterior with new LED light clusters and Full-LED headlights, and updated interiors, which underline its unmistakable 500 identity even further, while delivering greater functionality and comfort at the same time. Furthermore, the new model offers for the first time on a Fiat an all-new family of three- and four-cylinder engines which guarantee driving satisfaction and up to 20% better fuel efficiency than previous petrol engines, while being remarkably 20% quieter than their turbo diesel counterparts. The driving experience is as pleasant, comfortable and safe as ever with the new driving assist systems offered as standard equipment on all versions. The automatic traffic sign recognition system in connection with the Speed Advisor allows drivers to avoid breaking the speed limit by adapting, with a simple click, the car’s speed using information it read from road signs along the way, while Lane Assist standard is a departure warning system for use on motorways.
For the launch of the New 500X, Fiat has made a delightful short movie lasting two and a half minutes, inspired by the cult film “Back to the Future”*, which consolidates the bond between the brand and the world of cinema, a relationship that culminated last year with the tribute video “See you in the future”, created to celebrate the 500’s 60th birthday of Fiat 500 and starring the Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. The new film is based on the concept of an exciting journey through time, in which a young couple start out in the Sixties on board a Fiat 600 of the period and are catapulted into the present at the wheel of the New 500X. The short movie ends with a special appearance by the American actor Christopher Lloyd, in the cameo role of a policeman giving a knowing wink, who ends the journey through time.
The New 500X is the first Fiat model to fit the innovative family of turbo engines designed to strike the right balance for customers between the driving performance and satisfaction of the best turbo diesel engines (while being 20% quieter) and ensuring 20% better fuel efficiency compared to the previous petrol engines.
Euro 6/D-TEMP compliant and fitted with Gasoline Particle Filter (GPF), the new Firefly turbo engines are the result of over 75,000 hours of virtual tests, 60,000 hours of real-life off-vehicle tests and 5 million kilometres clocked up on roads worldwide to confirm their robustness and reliability.
Developed on a modular structure with 0.33 litre cylinder unit, the new turbo petrol engine line-up includes a three-cylinder 1-litre powerplant that delivers 120 HP and 190 Nm of peak torque paired with a six-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive and a four-cylinder 1.3-litre engine with 150 HP and 270 Nm of torque, in this case combined with six-speed DCT dual clutch automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.
Their specific architecture guarantees efficiency, modularity, a high degree of component and production process standardisation, flexibility and openness to future evolutions.
The new engines are made entirely from aluminium alloy, ensuring unbeatable lightness (the three-cylinder version weighs just 93 kg), while the cylinder block, developed in partnership with Teksid, is in high-pressure die-cast aluminium alloy, with a bedplate architecture for the best combination of ride, weight and structural performance.
The use of many innovative technical characteristics contribute to improving performance and maximising driving comfort, such as direct fuel injection to maximise volumetric efficiency and the low inertia turbocharger controlled by an electrically operated wastegate actuator which, combined with a supercharger module water-cooled directly in the intake manifold, ensures a faster transient response and very swift acceleration.
Another innovation feature in the new Turbo engines is the introduction of the third generation of the exclusive MultiAir technology (called MultiAir III), which further optimises combustion efficiency through continual control of intake valve opening and timing: thanks to the specific intake and exhaust cam profiles, this improves low load efficiency by recycling exhaust gas through advance opening of the intake valves. When higher power is required, the MultiAir III technology reduces the real compression ratio by delaying valve closure, controlling knock and substantially improving fuel efficiency even at the highest loads.