fbpx
Newspress Awards 2024 wide

Automotive Website of the Year

Automotive Website of the Year

Newspress Awards 2024 wide

Automotive Website of the Year

Automotive Website of the Year

Find an Expert Rating: 

Fiat 500X and Tipo gain mild hybrid power options

Fiat has added mild hybrid power to its 500X and Tipo model ranges to boost efficiency and provide a small level of electrical power

Our Expert Partners

Motorway 600x300

Sell your car with Motorway
Find out more

Motors 600x300

Find your next car with Motors
Find out more

Leasing dot com 600x300

Car leasing offers from Leasing.com
Find out more

ALA Insurance logo 2022 600x300

Warranty and GAP from ALA Insurance
Find out more

MotorEasy logo 300x150

Warranty, servicing and tyres from MotorEasy
Find out more

Drive Fuze logo 600x300

Car subscriptions from Drive Fuze
Find out more

spot_imgspot_img

Fiat has added mild hybrid engines to its 500X small crossover and Tipo family car models.

The two new models join the existing mild hybrid versions of the Panda and (old) 500 city cars in the Fiat line-up. However, only the all-new Fiat 500e (which is completely unrelated to the old 500) is available as a fully electric model.

The new mild hybrids combine the existing four-cylinder 1.5-litre 130hp petrol engine with a 15kW electric motor (equivalent to 20hp). A new seven-speed automatic transmission is standard on both models.

The setup is slightly more useful than a regular mild hybrid installation as it can provide a limited amount of power to the vehicle using just the electric motor, which most mild hybrids can’t do. However, this is limited to start-up, creeping in stop-start traffic and some parking manoeuvres. When you actually want to drive at more than a few mph, the petrol engine will immediately kick in.

Most of the time, the electric motor works like any other mild hybrid to support the petrol engine. It provides additional performance to minimise turbo lag, and it can also warm up the catalytic converter in cold weather to reduce pollution on short journeys. Overall, official CO2 emissions are improved by up to 11%.

In addition to the mild hybrid engines, the 500X will continue to be available with a 1.0-litre 120hp petrol engine, and the Tipo with a 1.0-litre 100hp petrol unit.

As with the 500 and Panda, the mild hybrid models will be distinguished by a Hyrbid logo on the tailgate depicting two leaves with blue dew drops. They will be specified in similar fashion to their petrol equivalents, with both models available in three trim levels and the 500X with both hard and soft-top options.

Optional on both models will be Fiat’s driver assistance package – among its features are autonomous emergency braking, a driver drowsiness alert, traffic sign recognition, lane control, blind-spot warning and auto high-beam headlamps.

Fiat dealers start taking orders for the new versions this month, the 500X Hybrid priced from £27,585 and the Tipo Hybrid from £27,595. First deliveries are expected in the spring.

The latest from The Car Expert

Andrew Charman
Andrew Charman
Andrew is a road test editor for The Car Expert. He is a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and has been testing and writing about new cars for more than 20 years. Today he is well known to senior personnel at the major car manufacturers and attends many new model launches each year.