The Fiat 500X finally dies after years of agony
The death of Fiat 500X for years, but his obituary column has never been written by the parent company FCA. Following the announcement earlier this week of the withdrawal of the Jeep Renegade, its technical twin, Fiat has sounded the death knell for the future of the Fiat 500X. Without promoting it, FCA Canada has confirmed to us that there will be no 2024 model year for this small, friendly-looking urban sport utility vehicle.
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Poorly adapted engines
The 500X arrived on the Canadian market in the wake of Fiat’s great return to North America. While it perfectly reproduced the style of the Italian brand, it was in the substance that it did not deliver the goods.
There were 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinders with 160 horsepower and a 2.4-liter with 180 horsepower. In all cases, the power was anemic, all in a mess of inelegant engine noises. At that time, it was available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
Seeds and more
The Fiat 500X was built at the Italian Melfi plant alongside the Jeep Renegade. During his Canadian career, 2017 was his best year; in fact, it found a buyer with 856 buyers across the country. At the end of its existence with us, even counting the vehicles remaining in stock in Fiat dealerships, less than 2,500 examples will have been sold over a period of 8 and a half years.
What justifies such a failure?
The reasons which explain its lack of success are numerous. First, its prices were quite a bit higher than those of the competition. In addition, its style greatly hampered its practical qualities in terms of interior space and visibility. Its construction was also problematic with a sea of loosely fitting plastic and rampant reliability issues.
A future?
No one will be bored with the Fiat 500 Fiat plans a fully electric replacement within two years in the European market. We’ll see if FCA will import it, or if the company will only focus on the new 500e.
