Small MPV-class cars need to do functionality well – especially at the rear – and despite clear aesthetic links to its sister city car, Fiat’s designers have made sure the 500L delivers on such practicality in a way owners of the regular 500 could never expect.
The 500L’s massive rear opening is a great start, allowing all sorts of things to fit inside. Minimum space with the rear seats up is 343 litres; not huge, but that soon swells to 400 litres by sliding the fore/aft adjustable rear seats forward a tad.
A pull of the handle on the seat shoulder and the 60:40-split rear seats effortlessly tumble forward with the aid of gas struts to tuck in behind the front seats and give more room still.
And tuck the exterior lip-level loading floor downwards a notch and you get a flat floor and a maximum 1310 litres of very usable space that will be a real boon for those who find it unpleasant or physically difficult to wrestle with some other cars’ rear-seat systems.
The only downside is that for smaller drivers the huge tailgate can take a bit of reaching when fully open, although the interior handle helps.
