2016 Fiat 500X review: Rough shifts bedevil new SUV - Detroit Free Press
Fiat expects a lot from the 2016 500X SUV, but the automaker needs to sort out a rough-shifting automatic transmission and perhaps add more Italian flair to distinguish it in the growing pack of subcompact crossovers. Fiat builds the new 500X alongside the popular Jeep Renegade in Melfi, Italy. As Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said when asked to sum up the differences between the two little SUVs, the 500X won’t follow the Renegade up a hill. Other than styling that’s reminiscent of the Fiat 500 and 500L — perhaps too much like the slow-selling 500L — the features and prices of the 500X don’t do much to distinguish it from the competition. Prices for the Fiat 500X start at $20,000 for a front-wheel-drive Pop model with a 160-hp, 1. 4L turbocharged, four-cylinder engine with a six-speed manual transmission. A nine-speed automatic transmission adds $1,500. All-wheel-drive models start at $24,200 for a 500X Easy. Fiat’s trim levels for the 500X are, in ascending order: Pop, Easy, Trekking, Lounge and Trekking Plus. I tested a front-drive 500X Trekking with the 2. 4L engine, automatic transmission, voice recognition, Bluetooth phone and audio compatibility, blind-spot alert, backup camera, push-button start, heated front seats, heated steering wheel and more. Source: www.freep.com
