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This is the Fiat 500L Trekking, one of two new models designed to capitalise on the success
of the Fiat 500 and expand it into new markets. Compared to the standard 500L, the Trekking
is 10% higher with 145mm of ground clearance. It wears chunky bumpers with extra body cladding
to shake off any knocks and bumps, and rides on 17-inch alloy wheels with all-season tyres.
As you'd expect from Fiat, there's a wide range of colours and customisation options
available, with the Hip Hop Yellow of our test car exclusive to the Trekking. It's well
equipped, with automatic headlights and wipers, rear parking sensors, air conditioning and
cruise control all as standard. The interior is incredibly spacious although the driving
position can feel a little strange for tall drivers with the close-set pedals. However,
there are countless storage areas and cubby holes making it feel very practical. Much
of the dashboard is dominated by Fiat's Uconnect multimedia system that's standard on the Trekking,
and this can be upgraded with navigation, digital radio and an incredible 'HiFi by Beats'
package that includes an ear-pulverising 520 watts of power. The dials have funky white-backed
faces but while the steering wheel adjusts for both height and reach, it can be difficult
to find a comfortable position that doesn't block a large part of the speedo. The dials
are also difficult to read at night, mostly because the needles aren't illuminated leaving
only the very tip visible against the white background. Rear seat passengers sit higher
than those in the front and this, coupled with the large glass area, gives them an excellent
view of the outside world. The flat floor offers plenty of foot room, but there's also
the option of sliding the seats forward to make more cargo space, or recline the seat
backs for greater comfort on longer journeys. If you need more options, you can fold the
seat backs on to the bases, or tumble the seats forward completely. This sense of practicality
continues into the 343 litre boot, where there's an adjustable load floor with three positions
which, combined with the folding seats, gives a variety of ways of creating a flat floor
and anything up to 1,310 litres of space. In fact, the only problem with all of this
is that there's nowhere to store the parcel shelf when it's not in use. Four engines are
available: a 1.4-litre petrol, a 0.9-litre TwinAir petrol, and two diesels of 1.3 and
1.6-litres. The 1.6 diesel fitted to our test car is the most powerful of the range with
105hp and CO2 emissions of 122 g/km. Although we couldn't come close to the official economy
figure of 60.1mpg, we had little trouble maintaining a 44mpg average. The diesel engine is a little
laggy off the line before the turbo kicks in, and a touch coarse when pushing higher
into the rev range, but in normal driving it settles down well enough. It's quite torquey,
though, so keeping up with traffic shouldn't be much of a problem. The suspension absorbs most bumps without drama,
but picking up the pace on your favourite back road will yield quite pronounced body
roll. Those all-season tyres generate a fair degree of noise, too, particularly at low
speed, but wind noise is well suppressed making long journeys surprisingly comfortable. However,
it's on the road less travelled that the Trekking begins to make a stronger case for itself,
and it's here that those tyres start to pay dividends. Fiat has equipped the Trekking
with a new Traction+ system that's designed to maximise available grip in slippery conditions,
and it's engaged at speeds below 19mph by pressing a button by the gear lever. It's
not designed to take the place of a full-blown four-wheel-drive system, though, but in a
festival car park or following a recent snow fall, the system should give you a clear advantage,
and you can read our full review if you want to know more about how the system works. Prices
for the 500L Trekking start at £17,095, although the 1.6 diesel starts at £19,590. While spec-for-spec
that makes entry-level models cheaper than a Nissan Qashqai, the more expensive models
make the Mini Countryman look like better value. The Trekking is more practical, though,
and its quirky sense of design will make your kids feel like they're riding around in an
activity centre. If you're looking to trade-up from a regular Fiat 500 into something more
family-oriented, the 500L Trekking could be just what you need.