Ready for its formal unveil in Geneva, the new Fiat 500L is set to become the newest and biggest member of this distinguished Italian family when it goes on sale in Europe late this year and heads to America in 2013. Not surprisingly, Fiat says the "L" designation stands for "Large," and that this five-door variant was created to offer decidedly more family appeal than its diminutive 500 Coupe and 500c Cabriolet kin.
Although details about the new Fiat 500L wagon are still fairly limited, Fiat categorizes this five-passenger cross between a crossover and an SUV as a "marriage of functionality and emotion" that "creates a distinctive alternative to the traditional B and C segments." Production of the new Fiat 500L will take place at the automaker’s factory in Kragujevac, Serbia. Although its U.S. powertrain specs have not been released, European versions will be offered with two gasoline engines — a turbocharged 875cc two-cylinder Twin-Air and the 1.4-liter four — as well as a state-of-the-art 1.3-liter MultiJet II four-cylinder turbodiesel.
