The Fiat 500’s ugly big sister

Fiat has taken its "adorable" 500 city car and "larged it", says Martin Love in The Observer. The 500 became a "mighty bestseller" due to its "unmatched combination of retro chic, metrosexual attention to dinky detailing and honest practicality". But the trendy urbanites who bought it have grown up and started families.

This is Fiat's response: the 500L, "a lumbering, bloated mutant hobbling off the production line like one of Cinderella's ugly sisters". But in a good way. For "in a world of anodyne anonymity, there is a place for the unlovely, the teeth-grindingly gruesome". And once you sit inside and drive it, you'll be convinced that Fiat knows what it's doing, says Love.

I adored the sexy little Fiat 500, and now I'm in love with her big sister, says Chris Evans in the Daily Mail. There's something about the charm and spaciousness of the interior that makes you want to spend time there, and when you drive it, it "seems to like life as much as I do".

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And yet, fun as it is, it also provides "all the stuff a family needs to get the job done when it comes to any journey" including an excellent onboard entertainment system and integrated espresso coffee machine. In fact, this might well be "the best car I have ever reviewed". It "makes me happy just thinking about it".

Price: from £14,995.

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