Used Fiat 500X 2015-2024 review

The Fiat 500X SUV is the big brother of the Fiat 500 small car but, beyond the retro styling, they don’t have much in common. In fact, the 500X is more closely related under the skin to the Jeep Renegade and they share many of their mechanical underpinnings and oily bits. That makes the 500X a member of the small SUV class.

However, while the burly Renegade is available with four-wheel drive and is generally a little more off-road focused, Fiat doesn’t really expect you to spend all that much time off the beaten path. To that end, the 500X is only available with front-wheel drive and doesn’t come with any fancy dirt-focused driving modes.

Engines and performance: The entry-level petrol 108bhp 1.6-litre petrol and 94bhp 1.3-litre diesel versions are fine if you want something cheap. There's a 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel if you want more power; it has punchier mid-range performance yet its fuel economy is the same as for the smaller 1.3 diesel. There's also a turbocharged 1.4 petrol with 138bhp that’s great for people who don’t do many miles. If you need four-wheel drive, you'll need the 138bhp 2.0 diesel, which has it fitted as standard.

After the 2018 facelift, all diesel 500X engines were dropped and two new petrol engines were introduced to join the carry-over 1.6-litre petrol. The three-cylinder, 118bhp 1.0-litre is fine around town, while the 148bhp 1.3-litre sounds good on paper, but its standard automatic gearbox is reluctant to change down and therefore it doesn't feel as fast as expected.

In 2022, a new engine was added to the line-up: a 1.5-litre turbo petrol mild hybrid. That gives you 128bhp to play with and reduces the 0-62mph sprint to 9.4sec, faster than the Ford Puma 1.0-litre Ecoboost 125. It’s just a shame that the standard seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is frustratingly slow to drop down a few gears when you ask for a sudden burst of power to take advantage of a gap in traffic.

Unlike the Puma, the mild-hybrid 500X can run solely on electricity for short periods of time. However, it only really works when you’re crawling along in traffic. The engine bursts back into life when you turn on the air conditioning or do anything more than tickle the accelerator.

Ride and handling The ride at town speeds on smaller wheels is rather good, managing to smooth out the bigger bumps and remaining settled over patched-up surfaces. The high-speed ride isn’t quite so supple, though, and can cause the 500X to lurch over mid-corner bumps and undulations. Ultimately, it’s not a car for barrelling into corners because it leans over in to bends on its softly sprung suspension; the 500X suits a more laid-back style.

The amount of grip the 500X provides is decent; you can chuck it into corners with confidence, despite its slightly vague steering. If you need a bit of extra traction for wintry conditions, or perhaps light off-road capabilities, then look for a Cross Plus model. These are fitted with an active four-wheel drive system that will be capable of dealing with the odd muddy track and snow shower.

Interior and practicality: Unlike the smaller 500, the 500X gets plenty of soft-touch materials inside, and fit and finish is generally good. The variety of colours and its interesting design sets it apart from rivals. It’s certainly more attractive than the sensible but rather plain interior of a Vauxhall Mokka.

Space up front is fine and can only be bettered by the likes of the Citroën C4 Cactus and Skoda Yeti. You get a decent range of adjustability, with plenty of seat height adjustment, although getting the angle right is a trifle fiddly; you have to release a leaver and lean forward and backwards until you find a comfortable posture. Rear leg and head room are okay for two medium-sized adults and the rear doors open up to nearly 90deg, allowing easy access to child seats. The boot isn’t the biggest in the class, but its square aperture and depth of it means loading a pushchair is no problem.

Trims and equipment: Trim levels begin with Pop that comes with air conditioning, cruise control and electric windows, while Pop Star adds 17in alloys, dual-zone climate control, and a 5in infotainment system. The posh Lounge trim gets bi-xenon headlights and sat nav. For those looking for a hint of SUV styling, the Cross model has chunkier 18in alloy wheels and plenty of extra exterior body cladding, and the Cross Plus has keyless entry.

After the facelift, the range was altered to include a new entry-level Urban, which comes with 16in alloys, a 7in infotainment system, air conditioning and cruise control, along with lane-keeping assistance and traffic sign recognition, with speed recognition assistance. Lounge models have bigger 17in alloys, front and rear parking sensors, light and rain sensors and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. Sport models have larger still 18in alloy wheels, LED headlights, Alcantara seats and sporty exterior details. City Cross has exterior body cladding, while Cross Plus adds 19in alloys, a Tom Tom sat nav system and a rear-view camera.

For 2022 cars onwards, there are four main 500X trim levels to choose from: Club, Cross, Red and Sport. Entry-level Club has 16in alloy wheels, manual air conditioning, the 7.0in infotainment system and cruise control.

Cross trim adds 17in alloys, a couple of extra USB ports and LED daytime running lights. It was also available with automatic emergency braking (AEB) as an option when new. Red adds some unique styling features, while range-topping Sport gets slightly sportier styling inside and out.

If you want your 500X to be a mild hybrid, you’ll have to opt for Cross, Red or Sport trim.

Facelift: In 2018, the 500X was given an update with new petrol engines, a refreshed exterior (with LED lights) and a revised interior with the latest tech. Some new safety features, such as traffic sign recognition, were added to the range too, along with new trim levels.

In 2022, the 500X was given another update, albeit one more mild. It included a tweaked front end, with the Fiat badge replaced by a 500 logo, to bring it in-line with the newer Fiat 500 Electric. As mentioned previously, the mild hybrid engine was added to the line-up, along with further changes to the trim levels.

"If you want Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which I suspect you might do, I'd advise going for an upper trim car produced from 2018 onwards. It was added as part of the facelift." – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

If you're interested in finding a used Fiat 500X or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our Used Cars For Sale pages to find lots of cars listed at great prices.

Used prices for a 500X start from £3000 for an early 2015 or 2016 car with around 100,000 miles on the clock. To get a low mileage example of a similar age, you'll have to double your budget to around £6000. If you want a low mileage 2018 facelift car, look to spend around £7000. Newer 2022 and 2023 cars start from around £10,000, with prices moving up to the £15,000 mark for really low mileage examples from a franchised dealer.

Check the value of a used Fiat 500X with What Car? Valuations

MPG

Two-wheel-drive models are more economical than their four-wheel-drive counterparts, but, since the latter come with bigger engines, that’s hardly surprising. The most economical models are the 1.3-litre diesel and 1.6-litre diesel, which both have a claimed combined average of 68.9mpg and road tax of 107g/km and 109g/km respectively.

In terms of petrol engines, the entry-level 1.6-litre unit has an average of 42.2mpg and 147g/km, while the turbocharged 1.4 with 138bhp is the more economical choice at 47.1mpg and emissions of 139g/km. Going for a Cross or Cross Plus model does impact on your running costs; the larger 2.0-litre diesel comes with four-wheel drive, which explains why it costs a fair bit more to run at 51.4mpg and 144g/km.

Unsurprisingly, the later petrol engines are more efficient than the earlier ones. The most economical of the bunch in the 1.5-litre mild hybrid, which can officially manage 49.6mpg. Then there's the 1.0-litre petrol that gets 48.7mpg, followed by the more powerful 1.3-litre petrol with a combined figure of 46.3mpg.

Road tax

Any Fiat 500X registered after 1 April 2017 will fall under the current road tax system of a single, flat rate fee of £195. Find out more about the current road tax costs here.

Insurance and servicing

Insurance groups for the 500X range between 11 and 19. That's in-line with the Ford Puma, Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc, so insurance costs should be similar. As for servicing costs, these are also in line with small SUV rivals, both in terms of fixed-price packages and standard servicing.

Warranty

When new, the 500X has a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty. The third year of that is provided by the dealer, rather than the car maker itself, although that shouldn’t affect what’s covered or how any complaints are dealt with. While that's a reasonably good warranty, there are rivals with longer cover, including the Kia Stonic with its class-leading seven years and 100,000 miles.

Safety

The Fiat 500X was given a four-star (out of five) Euro NCAP safety rating in 2015, but testing has become far more stringent since then, so it's difficult to compare with modern rivals.

If you want automatic emergency braking (AEB) – which we consider an important safety feature – you either have to go for the mild-hybrid version or look for a car that had it specced as a option when new. It's worth noting it wasn't even available as an option with the 1.0-litre engine in entry-level Club trim.

On cars from 2022 onwards, the 500X 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. An alarm was optional, which is unusual, considering most modern cars have them fitted as standard.

Reliability

The Fiat 500X received mixed reviews for reliability in our latest What Car? Reliability Survey, based on real-world owner feedback.

While a handful of petrol and diesel models ran without issue, many owners reported problems – especially with electrics, from warning lights to infotainment faults. Some diesel drivers faced engine management issues that led to costly, out-of-warranty repairs.

Aftersales support was another sore point. Several owners mentioned long repair times, poor communication, and inconsistent service from dealerships. In one case, a fault returned soon after a warranty fix.

Find out more about used Fiat 500X reliability on our dedicated reliability page.

Engine

There are a lot of engines to choose from. If you do lots of motorway miles, we wouldn't dissuade you from buying the 1.6-litre diesel, which is economical and punchy at low and high speeds. The 1.0-litre petrol engine is good if you do a mixture of town and motorway driving. There are lots of these available on the used market, too. Stick to the manual gearbox cars if you can; the autos can be slow to change gear.

Specification

Look out for any example with the City pack because that adds front parking sensors and even a rear-view camera on later versions. The Comfort pack is also worth searching for; it gives you a central armrest and a third headrest in the rear, along with an adjustable height boot floor.

Out of all the trim levels, City Cross is popular, well-priced and reasonably well-equipped. It also comes with smaller alloy wheels that improve the ride.

Our favourite Fiat 500X: 1.0 FireFly Turbo City Cross

The VW T-Roc is one of the best all-rounders of any small SUV. It's comfortable to drive, well-priced and even reasonably practical. There's a wide range of engines on offer, too.

The Audi Q2 is a brilliant small SUV with a reassuring reliability record. Other strengths include a plush interior, a user-friendly infotainment system and good line-up of engines. It's one of the more expensive options in this class, though.

Like the Q2, the Mini Countryman has a plush interior and a good reliability record. While it's one of the more sporty small SUVs, the ride is on the firm side. It's also not the cheapest option.

The Skoda Yeti has a distinctive look of its own and comes with a large range of petrol and diesel engines to suit all lifestyles and budgets. The handling is quite tidy, but the ride is a little bit firm in some specifications. It is very well priced, though.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here