Fiat’s new 500L is the first sign of a comeback for the Italian manufacturer. Because of the space on offer, it’s a possible family car. It carries the 500 badge, but only in name.

Fiat has used some ingenuity to develop this car. The 500L is compact in terms of width. Its height gives the interior an airy feeling, while the overall length is enough to make the car ideal for families.

I took the Trekking version of the 500L for a test drive as it’s more geared towards rural drivers. It does not have a 4x4 system, but, like the Peugeot 2008, it does have a form of traction control for enhanced driving in poorer and off-road conditions.

The Trekking version has some obvious style differences. The body colour was yellow and this blended in well with the silver and black skirting, while the impressive alloy wheels completed the Trekking effect. Add in the mud tyres that came with the car and you will feel like you’re driving a 4x4 machine. The higher than normal seating position adds to the effect.

The test car was fitted with the 1.6-litre multijet diesel engine. This is a fairly powerful smaller engine for Fiat, with a lively acceleration time of 12 seconds in a 0-100km/h dash. That impressed me and there was never a hint of hesitancy with this car, irrespective of the conditions. The six-speed gearbox was easy to use, with a large head on the gear lever that I found comfortable.

The car was reasonably economical, giving me 600km on a full 50-litre capacity tank. That was a good deal less than my driving performance, which is often lively. I recorded a figure that was about 30% poorer than the rated economy figure of 21km/litre (4.7l/100km or 61mpg) – that’s not impressive enough for what is a reasonably small car.

Instead of a hefty all-wheel-drive system that is rarely put to use, the front-wheel-drive 500L Trekking uses what Fiat calls the Traction+ system, which uses the car’s ESC hardware to continuously monitor the vehicle’s dynamics in slippery conditions. This aims to direct engine torque to whichever wheel has the most grip.

You simply activate the traction system by a dashboard switch. Fiat claims that it operates at speeds of up to 30km/h. Because of the design of the system, it does not impact the vehicle’s efficiency or running costs when not in use, as would happen with a full four-wheel-drive system.

I took the car for some muddy drives and felt that the Traction+, with the addition of the 17-inch mud and snow tyres, was reasonably impressive. Compared with the standard 500L, this car has a specific suspension configuration to raise it an extra 13mm off the ground.

On a safety front, this car has lots of equipment. There are six airbags, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) including ASR/MSR, Hill Holder, ABS+EBD, ERM, DST and BAS. That combination ensured that it achieved a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test result.

There are ISOFIX units in the rear seats and I’m impressed that Fiat has included a space-saver spare wheel.

The car also comes with an impressive service interval of 35,000km and that all adds to lower running costs.

However, it’s the buying cost that bothered me. At €24,000, or £19,950 in Northern Ireland, the entry price for the Fiat 500L models seem high. It’s doesn’t offer value for money compared to the competition.

This Trekking version adds a further €3,000 to the price, and that’s more expensive than the likes of a Toyota RAV4 or the SsangYong Korando SUV – and they both have a more realistic off-road ability.

On balance, the Fiat 500L Trekking was a lovely car to drive. There were no mechanical hitches, which I suppose I still unfairly expect from Fiat. There are lots of pluses for the car, but the price is certainly not one of them. CL