There is a school of thought that reckons Fiat should just bite the bullet and rebrand itself 500.  

Sure, the company still sells a few Tipos and Pandas, along with the odd 124 Spider, but the overwhelming majority of cars leaving Fiat showrooms start with a five and have a zero in their name. 

Obviously, there's the near-iconic and hugely popular hatchback sitting alongside the rather gawky, family-friendly 500L, but the model that Fiat sees as increasingly vital to its rude health is the 500X. 

A fresh look

With this in mind, the compact SUV has been given a bit of a shake-up, including some alterations to the bumpers plus LED headlight and tail-light clusters.

Inside, although the interior panels remain retro-inspired, and visually alluring, with a plethora of body coloured panels set into the door tops and dashboard, there's now a redesigned steering wheel and some revised instrumentation to freshen things up a bit. 

Unfortunately, the 7in infotainment screen remains rather retro in terms of its speed and clarity, especially compared with the latest gadgets you find in cars like the Seat Arona, but at least the Fiat system is now complemented by Apple Carplay and Android Auto. 

As for space, although things are far from cramped up front - think of Peter Kay and Sian Gibson from Car Share in an identically dimensioned 500L - rear legroom certainly isn't huge, so the rear seats are best suited to children, while the boot is also pretty compact at just 350 litres.

Petrol power

Very much in keeping with modern times, the previous model's diesel engines have been ditched and replaced by a pair of spanking new petrol engines, including a 1.0-litre three-cylinder and a 1.3-litre four-cylinder unit.

Both engines are turbocharged, so despite its dinky capacity, the 1.0-litre manages to produce a healthy 120hp, which propels the X's relatively lightweight body along at a fairly brisk rate without needing to squeeze the pips out of the rev counter.