Fiat 500X review

The pricing of the Fiat 500X is towards the expensive end of the small SUV market, but it’s still largely priced in line with the majority of rivals in this class. Discounts are available so it’s always worth checking our New Car Buying pages for savings. 

While the 500X will cost about the same as the Seat Arona to buy, it’s predicted to suffer more depreciation over three years – something worth bearing in mind if you’re buying outright. There are often special offers with PCP finance deals, making the monthly payments more affordable.

With only petrol engines available, no 500X has particularly low official CO2 emissions or fuel consumption compared to other cars in this class, which is worth bearing in mind, especially if you’re a company car user.

There are four trim levels to choose from, starting with Pop, then Connect, Cross and Sport. Entry-level Pop comes with kit such as rear parking sensors, 16in alloy wheels and cruise control, but you can’t add AEB as an optional extra.

For that reason, we would go up to Connect trim which adds 17in alloys, a couple of extra USB ports, and LED daytime running lights, plus it lets you tick AEB on the options list. Cross gets 19in alloys, while range-topping Sport gets slightly sportier styling inside and out.

Fiat came a middling 12th out of 31 manufacturers in the What Car? Reliability Survey, although we don’t have any data on the 500X specifically. A three-year, 60,000-mile warranty is standard. The third year of that is provided by the dealer, rather than Fiat itself, although this shouldn’t affect what’s covered or how any complaints are dealt with.

This is a competitive warranty, although there are rivals with longer cover, including the Kia Stonic with its class-leading seven-year warranty. Fiat also gives you one year of European roadside assistance as standard.

The Fiat 500X holds a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating but testing has become far more stringent since it was put through its paces. Looking at the breakdown of individual scores, the 500X offers a lower level of crash protection than rivals, particularly in adult occupant protection where cars like the Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Roc score much higher.

Plus, while many rivals get automatic emergency braking (AEB) as standard, you have to pay extra for it in the 500X, and it isn’t available at all on entry-level Pop trim.

The 500X isn’t entirely without safety equipment, though. It comes with six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, lane-keeping assistance, traffic sign recognition and a speed limit adviser as standard, plus the usual traction and stability controls. You’ll have to pay extra for an alarm, though, which is something you’d expect as standard as a bare minimum on any new car.