Fiat 500X’s charm struggles to make up for its shortcomings

The Fiat 500X is quite a curious case. While there is no denying the good smack of charm inherited from its timeless Fiat 500 sibling, the compact SUV faces huge challenges in a fast-changing landscape.

We have mixed emotions over the car after having the Fiat 500X Cross, which at R509 900 is the gateway to the range, as a house guest for seven days.

The 500X shares a platform with the Jeep Renegade, but the Fiat designers did well to give its own personality with the use of unique 500 styling elements. The updated Fiat 500X shares a grille with the electric 500 along with the distinctive head and fog lights and round retro curves its smaller sibling is famous for. And it rides on stylish 18-inch alloys. You must admit the car looks cute.

Fiat 500 theme continues

The 500 theme continues inside where modern meets retro by virtue of the round buttons on the dashboard, brushed satin door handles extending from round holsters and a funky design pattern on the seats clad in a combination of cloth and faux leather.

ALSO READ: Fiat 500X updated, again, and priced with subtle revisions

The 7-inch Uconnect infotainment system is a tad small by today’s standards, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in features. It comes standard with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, voice activation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

Adequate leg and headroom in the rear make it perfectly suitable for a small family, albeit the fact that there are no air vents for rear passengers.

The 245 litres of boot space is enough to house school cases, laptop bags and daily groceries.

Sticky gearbox

The Fiat 500X is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine that produces 103kW of power and 230Nm of torque. The mill has more than enough oomph for your everyday needs, but is seriously let down by its six-speed automatic double-clutch transmission.

When you are going about your business without any rush, the gearbox manages to behave. But as soon as you need more power, things start going awry. With your foot flat on the accelerator, the box holds on to second and third gear for far too long, resulting in an almost CVT-like droning. When it finally shifts, it is done with some performance car-like aggression too.

Having driven the now discontinued six-speed manual Fiat 500X before, The Citizen Motoring is not a fan of the two-pedal version.

Fiat 500X rolls back

Another glaring omission is hill-hold control. When stationary with the transmission in drive and the brakes not applied, the Fiat 500X rolls back. The only way of bypassing this is by activating the electronic parking brake, which releases automatically once the accelerator is pressed.

Once on the go, the Fiat 500X is actually a very easy and comfortable drive. Steering is direct and its 11.1m turning circle makes handling it around the city an absolute pleasure.

ALSO READ: Why iconic Fiat 500 has stood the test of time

As far as fuel consumption goes, we achieved 8.0 litres per 100km over the course of 600 km without making any attempt to drive it economically. We figured that this number can get close to seven, the claimed 5.7L/100km is a bit far-fetched.

Conclusion

While you could overlook the smaller annoyances in lieu of its persona, but at some point the car’s cuteness runs out when you apply head over heart.

In a market dominated by the rise of Chinese SUVs, R509 900 can buy you a lot more in other stables. And even when the Fiat 500X does make its way on shopping lists, the errand gearbox will not do it any favours.

The Fiat 500X is sold standard with a three-year/60 000km service plan and five-year/100 000km warranty.