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2016 Fiat 500X: First Drive

Having ditched its American lovers back in the ‘80s, Fiat is looking to smooth talk us again. The miniature Fiat 500, the reborn version of Europe’s famously adorable Cinquecento, has built a following after a slow start in 2010. Last year gave us the 500L, a creaky, Serbian-built crossover of which the less is said the better.

All the while, Fiat – after swallowing and absorbing Detroit’s Chrysler into the newly constituted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – has broadcast its American invasion with memorable advertising: Fiats cruising across the ocean floor, fussed over by pouty supermodels, and serenaded by Pit Bull in a beach party music video.

Now, the Fiat-Chrysler marriage produces its first joint offspring, and a genuine test of its chances for lasting success: The 500X.

READ OUR FIRST DRIVE REVIEW HERE: