Fiat · 2012–2022

Fiat 500L

The Fiat 500L is a car which was manufactured by Fiat Serbia from 2012 to 2022 and marketed by Fiat globally. A five-door mini MPV based on a variant of the FCA Small Wide platform, it was initially only produced in a two-row, five-seater confugration, with a lengthened three-row, seven-seater version called the 500L Living introduced in 2013 for the European market. In 2017, the 500L received an intermediate facelift, with revised front and rear fascias along with In-car entertainment updates and interior revisions. By early 2018, production reached 500,000 units. The 500L was discontinued in the North American market after model year 2020. The 500L uses Fiat's Multiair variable valve timing engine technology and monovolume, cab forward architecture: a packaging concept that prioritizes passenger and cargo volume. The 500L derives its name from Fiat's widely known 500 models, including the original 1957 Fiat 500 and the current Fiat 500, introduced in 2007. Underscoring its increased length and overall size over other 500 variants, the suffix L denotes "large", "light" and "loft".

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Fiat Multipla|Fiat Idea

All Fiat 500L data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Development

In April 2010, when Fiat released its 2010–2014 product development plan, the 500L was identified as a replacement for the Fiat Idea and its rebadged variant, the Lancia Musa—and was given the internal designation L0 or Ellezero. Two variants were projected, five and seven passenger, the latter originally targeted at North America but ultimately only marketed in Europe. The 500L platform was based on Fiat's "Small" platform, first used with the Fiat Grande Punto and further developed since its launch in 2005. With the 500L, the platform is both longer and wider to accommodate the 500L's cab forward architecture, prioritizing interior volume and reducing of the volume of mechanical systems. The packaging design closely follows the Lancia Megagamma concept, which Fiat had commissioned from Italdesign in 1979, for a 4-meter, high roof, high h-point, multifunctional, monospace design. Designers of the 500L said its overall architecture was inspired by Villa Savoye, the modernist house designed in the 1930s by Le Corbusier located in Poissy, France. Fabrizio Vacca, senior interior designer with Fiat's Centro Stile in Turin described a "layered" theme with a base, a middle with expansive visibility and above that an available, very large, dual-pane panoramic sunroof.

Design

As a five-door, five-passenger, two-box, high-roof B-segment MPV, the 500L is based on a variant of the GM Fiat Small platform and uses Fiat's Multiair engines, a hydraulically actuated variable valve timing (VVT) engine technology enabling "cylinder by cylinder, stroke by stroke" control of intake air directly via a gasoline engine's inlet valves. The 500L's cab forward architecture provides a total passenger and cargo volume of 3,429 L (121.1 cu ft), and features high H-point seating, tall roof and greenhouse, split front glass (A) pillar and polycarbonate rear (D) pillar, making the Fiat 500L the first production vehicle to use polycarbonate windows. The split A-pillar and tall greenhouse contribute to the interior's wide field of visibility. Bodywork features a reconfigurable interior system marketed as Cargo Magic Space, which includes a three-level rear cargo floor panel, fold-flat front passenger seat, and rear seating that can recline for passenger comfort, slide for/aft to reprioritize cargo and passenger volume, and fold and tumble forward to store the second row seating and maximize interior cargo volume. The 500L's structural architecture uses 74 percent high strength steel (HSS) and complies with international safety standards. With three front-end load (crash) dissipation paths the design has wide rear door openings; roof pillars that enable a 90 percent visibility for the driver's 360° field of view. The body has a frontal area of 2.54 m2 (27.3 sq ft) and an aerodynamic coefficient of drag (cd) of 0.30, helped by a rear spoiler, underbody engine and rear suspension shields, and integral rear side window nolder profiles (i.e., small aerodynamic lips) to decrease pressure behind the bodywork and reduce mud and debris build-up on the rear window. The 500L us

Production

=== Introduction === In 2012, the 500L debuted formally at the Geneva Auto Show—followed by a media introduction at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR), the former Grand Repair Workshops of the Italian Railway, now a cultural center located at Corso Castelfidardo 22 in Turin—on 4 July, the day of the year when Fiat has historically introduced its 500 models. The introduction presentation was built around the 500L themes of Large (a large MPV within a 4.1 meter footprint), Light (a light eco-footprint), and Loft (an expansive, lofty interior). Fiat Serbia inaugurated its reconstructed and renovated facilities in Kragujevac in April 2011—with production commencing 26 May 2012. The 500L went on sale in Italy in September 2012, with sales beginning in October 2012 for the rest of Europe. Manufacture. Manufacture of the 500L began at Fiat's Kragujevac plant in Serbia,—a joint venture (JV) between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) which owns 67% of the operation and the Republic of Serbia, which owns the remainder. The facilities had previously served as the factory and headquarters for Zastava Automobiles. Between 2010 and 2012, FCA invested more than €1B and three years to upgrade the plant infrastructure, restore its buildings, develop new production departments and install state of the art machinery and production systems. A co-located automotive supplier park includes sub-works for Magneti Marelli (exhaust and catalytic converters), Johnson Controls MM (instrument panels, interior, interior parts and plastic parts), Magneti Marelli (bumpers and spoilers), Dräxlmaier (electrical), with other works at the nearby Grosnica Supplier Park, including Johnson Controls (seats), PMC (suspension systems, sheet metal stampings and chassis assemblies), SIGIT (rubber and plastic parts

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Specifications

name: Fiat 500L
Manufacturer: Fiat
Production: May 2012–2022
Model years: 2014–2020 (North America)
Assembly: Serbia: Kragujevac (Fiat Serbia)
Class: Mini MPV
Body style: 5-door hatchback (500L), 5-door estate (Living)
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Platform: GM Fiat Small platform
Engine: Petrol:, 0.9 L TwinAir Turbo I2, 1.4 L Fire I4, 1.4 L Fire Turbojet I4, 1.4 L Multiair Turbo I4, Petrol/CNG:, 0.9 L TwinAir Turbo I2, Diesel:, 1.3 L MultiJet II I4, 1.6 L Multijet I4
Transmission: 5-speed FPT C510 manual, 6-speed FPT C635 manual, 6-speed FPT C635 dual-clutch automatic, 5-speed FPT C510 Dualogic automated manual, 6-speed Aisin AW60T-6F25 automatic
Wheelbase: 2612 mm
Length: 4140 mm, 4350 mm (Living)
Width: 1780 mm
Height: 1660 mm
Kerb weight: 1245 kg-1365 kg
Related: Fiat Toro, Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X, Fiat Tipo
Predecessor: Fiat Idea/Lancia Musa, Fiat Multipla
Successor: Fiat 600 (2023)
Designer: Centro Stile Fiat:, Roberto Giolito, (Chief Designer), Andreas Wuppinger, (Chief Designer, Exterior), Virgilio Fernandez, (Chief Designer, Interior), Rossella Guasco, (Color and Materials)
sp: uk