Fiat 500L has been imported to India in the diesel guise for R&D powered by the 1.3-litre MultiJet turbo diesel engine. Fiat is expected to launch the 500L in 2016.
Fiat has imported the much anticipated 500L in India from Italy for testing purposes. The Fiat 500L is a compact yet stylish MPV that is based on the Fiat 500 design language. It has a retro front-end design with circular headlamps and foglamps. The premium styling cues include a contrasting roof, smart chrome touches on the outside and upmarket alloy wheels. The rear also gets distinct styling, which makes it stand out of the boxy MPV crowd. If you are wondering how big the Fiat 500L is, it’s 4350 mm long. In terms of length, it sits between the Maruti Ertiga (4265 mm) and Honda Mobilio (4386 mm).
The Fiat 500L is a 7-seater and comes with neat and modern interior styling. The particular unit imported for testing is powered by the popular 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine that churns out 84 BHP of maximum power at 3500 RPM with 200 Nm of torque at 1500 RPM. There are many engines on offer internationally including 1.6-litre diesel, 1.4-litre turbo petrol T-Jet, MultiAir and 0.9-litre TwinAir. However, Fiat is likely to use only the 1.3-litre diesel, as it helps in tax benefits and is efficient too. We can also expect Fiat to introduce an automatic transmission option with the 500L in India.
Considering the current product portfolio of Fiat in India, they have nothing exciting to offer to the masses. Most of the Linea and Punto buyers are enthusiasts and they are quite limited in numbers. Fiat has a bright future if they introduce the 500L at the right time with an impressive marketing strategy. Heavy localisation is the need of the hour for Fiat to keep the pricing in check. The compact MPV space is growing in India and to cash in volumes, the Italian automaker shouldn’t delay the project further. Don’t expect the Fiat 500L to hit the Indian roads before 2016.
Source – Zauba.com