Performance
Comfort
Fuel Economy
Fun To Drive
Interior Design
Exterior Design
Build Quality
Reliability
Review
My wife and I really love our 500X. It's our second Fiat (we continue to own a 2014 500L). Needless to say, if we've bought a second one, then we must be pretty pleased with our first one (we are!). We purchased our 500X with all the bells and whistles (AWD, safety suite (lane departure warning, lane keep assist, auto emergency braking, back up camera and park assist), leather interior). Our 500X feels very solid over bumps, dips and road imperfections, no squeaks or rattles whatsoever. The 9 Speed transmission is often criticized, but for the most part we're fine with it. It tries to get up into the tallest gear as soon as it can when in normal (when mode selector is in default "Auto" mode). I wish it had a 4th mode where it still wanted to shift up to as high a gear as possible for fuel economy, but was more willing to downshift without having to really stop on the accelerator (as is the case in the "Auto" mode)- a mode somewhere between "Auto" and "Sport". The 3rd mode is "Traction+", which has you pulling away from a stop in 2nd rather than 1st, plus it engages AWD regardless of whether a wheel is slipping or not, as well as a less aggressive accelerator pedal programming. So far no problems, though our 500L has become my commuter car so the 500X doesn't get driven so much. The suspension provides for a very good ride on the whole, though I'd say I slightly prefer the ride of our 500L a bit (it's wheel base is nearly 2 inches longer, and the lower ground clearance makes for a little bit less bouncy-ness due to less suspension travel). The fuel economy could be better- I hope FCA is working on a direct injection version of the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder, or perhaps a new engine entirely. Personally I think the 1.4 liter turbo is the superior engine, but to opt for that in the 500X requires that you accept shifting your own gears via 6 speed manual transmission. I will say the 2.4 liter does well enough in suburban driving, especially if you're lucky on the signal lights, as I've seen better than 35 mpg on occasion. I notice that sales figures have the Jeep Renegade outselling the 500X by about 10:1, but I much prefer the X over the Jeep- how it looks and how it drives, even though they are on essentially the same platform. Finally, the 2018's will have Apple Car Play and Android Auto with FCA's latest Uconnect entertainment suite.