The facelift for Fiat’s tiny crossover is here, but you’ll have a hard time noticing it. Ready for the 2019 model year, the 500X in European guise has ditched the old xenon headlights in favor of a new full-LED set promising to be 20 percent brighter. Aside from adopting the more advanced tech, the headlights themselves have a slightly different look to make the pint-sized crossover appear more high-tech when viewed from the front. It’s a similar story at the back where Fiat has mildly updated the LED taillights, but you’ll need a magnifying glass to spot the changes.

The updated 500X follows a mid-cycle refresh given earlier to its sister model, the 2019 Jeep Renegade, and ushers in a new family of Firefly turbocharged gasoline engine. 20 percent more efficient than the previous units, the new engines had to endure a grueling testing procedure involving a total of 5 million (3.1M miles) kilometers on roads from all over the world. 60,000 hours of real-life off-vehicle tests were necessary, along with more than 75,000 hours of virtual tests.

See its American cousin

The end result is a new three-cylinder 1.0-liter mill producing 120 horsepower and 190 Newton-meters (140 pound-feet) of torque channeled to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. There’s also a bigger four-cylinder 1.3-liter engine rated at 150 hp and 270 Nm (200 lb-ft) delivered to the front axle through a six-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Fitted with gasoline particulate filters, the two engines are made entirely out of aluminum to keep the weight low, with the three-cylinder tipping the scales at just 93 kilograms (205 pounds). Joining the two new-gen engines – which are 20-percent quieter than the old ones - is the familiar 1.6-liter E-Torq, a naturally aspirated unit hooked up to a manual gearbox and FWD.

Latest from Fiat

If you’d rather have a diesel, there are three units to choose from: 1.3-liter with 95 hp and 200 Nm (148 lb-ft), followed by the mid-range 1.6-liter with 120 hp and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft), and the range-topping 2.0-liter producing 150 hp and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft). The smallest of the three can be had exclusively with a six-speed manual and FWD, while the 1.6-liter is optionally offered with a dual-clutch auto but still with FWD. As for the 2.0-liter engine, it works with a nine-speed auto and four-wheel drive.

The facelifted Fiat 500X comes with an abundance of safety tech, including traffic sign recognition, lane assist, autonomous emergency brake, blind spot alert, automatic headlights with adaptive high beam, and other features. It gets Fiat’s latest and greatest 7-inch Uconnect infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, plus TomTom 3D navigation, and a rear parking camera.

No word just yet about the U.S.-spec model, but we’re expecting an official debut to occur in the coming months.

Source: Fiat

Gallery: 2019 Fiat 500X facelift

Top comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
Comment!
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com