What's the news?

Fiat's 500 is no stranger to special editions, so why should the 500L be? The Italian carmaker has teamed up with the audio brand Beats by Dr. Dre to make the 500L Beats Edition. The car will reach dealerships in mid-March, and the price will be announced closer to its launch.

Exterior

Based on the 500L Trekking, the Beats Edition retains the rugged look with a two-tone colour scheme, and other bits and pieces from the Trekking such as the 17-inch wheels, suspension system and Mud & Snow tyres. The Beats Edition is further marked out by red brake callipers and red inserts in the mirror fairings.

Interior

The cabin has the same fanfare as the exterior, with extra touches made to mark out the special edition. The biggest inclusion is a seven-speaker 520W audio system by... you guessed it, BeatsAudio. Six speakers, an 80+80W subwoofer and an eight-channel amp should be enough to get the neighbours up early.

Mechanicals

Two new engines have been added to the 500L range, which will make their debuts on the Beats Edition and then trickle through to the whole 500L range by mid-March. Joining the existing engine line-up of 105hp 0.9-litre TwinAir Turbo petrol engine and 105hp 1.6-litre MultiJet II diesel engine are two new units, namely a 120hp 1.4 T-Jet turbo petrol and a 120hp 1.6 MultiJet II diesel. Extra tech such as City Brake Control and Fiat's Traction+ TCS are present too.

Anything else?

Two new equipment packs are now available on the 500L and the seven-seat 500L MPW. Called 'Premium Pack' and 'Luxury Pack', the two offer extras at a slightly reduced price.

Paranjay Dutt - 17 Feb 2014