Overgrown Fiat 500 Launched

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Fiat launched a seven-seat version of its Fiat 500, a car that used to be known for its cramped space in the original model. Called the 500L Living (as in Living Room …), the seven seater “is about a meter longer than the classic 500,” writes Reuters.

The car gained 20 centimeters on the Fiat 500L, on which it is based. The MPW is “essentially a stretched version of the 500L,” writes Autoexpress. “That allowed engineers to squeeze in a third row of seats, but don’t expect acres of space back there.”

Other expectations are pretty big: “We expect to sell about 20,000 to 30,000 of them in Europe in the next 12 months,” Gianluca Italia, Fiat brand chief for Europe, Middle East and Africa, told Reuters.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 27 comments
  • AJ AJ on Jul 06, 2013

    I know a number of families with three kids, and having three kids really does limit the car choices beyond a minivan. However I'd still have concern about putting a lot of kids in a small car. I'll be curious to see how it does in safety tests?

    • See 2 previous
    • Cornellier Cornellier on Jul 07, 2013

      @Marcelo de Vasconcellos European parents are less worried about colliding with bubba's full-size pickup.

  • Sgt Beavis Sgt Beavis on Jul 06, 2013

    Just think, you can use that 3rd row to torture people that secretly despise.

  • Redapple2 175,000 miles? Wow. Another topic, Hot chicks drive Cabos at higher % than most other cars. I always look.
  • Mister When the news came out, I started checking Autotrader and cars.com for stickshift Versas. There are already a handful showing at $15.3k. When anybody talks about buying a new Versa, folks always say that you're better off buying a nicer used car for the same money. But these days, $15.3k doesn't buy very many "nicer used cars".
  • 28-Cars-Later A little pricy given mileage but probably not a horrible proposition for a Sunday car. The old saying is you're not buying a pre-owned car you're buying the previous owner, and this one has it hooked up to a float charger (the fact he even knows what one is, is a very good sign IMO). Leather and interior look decent, not sure which motor this runs but its probably common (for VAG at least). Body and paint look clean, manual trans, I see the appeal."but I think that's just a wire, not a cracked body panel." Tim, its a float charger. I am doing the exact same thing with the charger hanging via a magnetic hook on the HVAC overhead in my garage.
  • Bd2 Nissan is at the bottom of the market while Hyundai and Kia are almost at the zenith summit.
  • Theflyersfan Then what caused that odd melted crayon smell that new VWs had for ages? Was that the smell of the soft touch plastics beginning their slow but endless march back into their base elements?And you know what gets rid of any new car smell body killing emissions? Top down, drive fast. Cures everything.
Next