The Fiat 500L is the larger version of the 500 model hence the L suffix. When we reviewed the Fiat 500 Abarth some time ago, we were left with constant smiles and mischievous giggles at the ridiculous sounds the exhaust made. When we received the 500L we knew it wouldn’t provide us with the same feeling. We knew the intentions of the L is that of an L on a t-shirt, to give us more space to fit in.

The 500L looks like those toys that expand when you add water to them. The proportions are larger than it’s now discontinued regular 500. The Blue Tornado color has deep color that resembles the blue used by Honda for their 2000 Civic Si. It was a great match for the 500L along with the Nero (Black) roof and mirrors that our test car was equipped with.

The Trekking trim we received has different features that are trim specific. Starting with the front, the upper and lower front grille has a more rugged design. The ruggedness ends with the looks though as it’s not set up to handle anything but smoothed pavement. The 17-inch aluminum wheel design are also unique to the Trekking trim. The larger wheel does fill the wheel wells and have better proportions with the larger size.

Moving under the hood, you’re greeted with a small turbo. The 1.4L MultiAir turbo engine delivers 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque through the 6-speed automatic. According to Fiat, the torque delivery happens from 2,500-4,000 RPM, but we felt the power delivery start around 3,500 RPM.

When we got into the 500L, the feeling was different than we’ve experienced. This sense of airy space was incredible and it was due to a couple of things. The first was white cover used to sun from the large dual pane sunroof. It softened the light from the bright Texas summer sun and kept things cooler than a black cover. The second thing were the windows that made up the A-pillar that allowed for great visibility. The back C-pillar also had the same style of window to allow even more light and visibility.

Overall we enjoyed the Fiat 500L. Even though it didn’t have the angry gremlin sounds and attitude of the Abarth, we knew it’s main purpose was to have more space for people and their cargo.