• Comfortable seats
• Colourful design
• Slow multimedia

How is the quality and layout?

The 500X’s cabin is styled after the smaller 500, with a large swathe of plastic across the centre which in (RED) models is coloured – you guessed it – red. It encompasses a sporty-styled dual-binnacle instrument panel and a high-set infotainment display, while the climate controls are set low above two USB ports for charging.

Reasonably sensibly laid-out, then, but there are some aspects that really feel dated. There’s no option for a digital instrument panel, and the dials are difficult to read with a tiny TFT display between them. The button-laden steering wheel still relegates the stereo controls to its rear side, making them difficult to use. And keyless start isn’t even an option, which feels very old-fashioned indeed.

Material quality isn’t all that either, with some creaky surfaces and plastics that don’t feel quite up to the mark. You also get an awkward insert in the central tunnel which is where older models would have kept their 4WD controls – no longer needed in the now FWD-only 500X. Next to the plush interiors of a Peugeot 2008 or an Audi Q2 there’s really no comparison.

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Infotainment and tech

Another department where the Fiat 500X is seriously off the mark is in its infotainment offering. The centre touchscreen is a comparatively small 7.0-inches in size, low resolution and cursed with a blocky, awkward interface.

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The blessing is that you can bypass it using the standard-fit Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity, but it’s a shame that it’s unpleasant to use in standard form.

Comfort

It’s easy enough to find a good driving position, with heavily bolstered seats that aren’t quite as violently huggy as they look – the sculpting is actually quite soft. That’s in stark contrast to the rock-hard headrests…

The seats themselves are quite small, though there’s plenty of adjustment in both them and the steering wheel. What we did miss was a bit of length in the squab, with under-thigh support for taller drivers rather lacking.