The Fiat 500X Yacht Club Capri at a glance
Built for Italophilic natures
Are you more of the extrovert type? Do you look less at the content and more at the outside? Then you might want to check out the latest addition to Fiat’s 500X family: the Fiat 500X Yacht Club Capri (combined fuel consumption: 6.4 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 148 g/km)².
This “Venezia blu mettallizzato” painted example of the 500X, which has now been on the market for a good eight years, is the latest craze from the Italians. Thanks to official cooperation with the Yacht Club of the attractive holiday island of Capri, he is allowed to wear several silver badges together with his logo. Rims painted blue, white decorative strips, leather interior in “Bianco” and wood paneling round off the trip south for every connoisseur of Italian lifestyle. And if that’s not enough, you can open the blue soft top, which also gives the backbenchers a view of the hopefully blue sky over a meter in length.
Official from Groß-Gerau to Capri in less than five seconds
The 500X Yacht Club Capri is not an experience for sober people who only go to the beach with socks and sandals even at 30 degrees. He wants to touch the soul, wants to conjure up a daydream in Groß-Gerau in the land of handmade spaghetti, olio di olive and the Autostrada del Sole, wants to let the sun into the heart. Of course, he would also like to get from A to B, but that was, it seems, a lower priority in the specification.
Not that we’re saying we’ve been disappointed with its everyday qualities. However, there are a few quirks to be aware of as you approach the 500X Yacht Club Capri. After all, according to the recommended retail price, it costs 30,490 euros – at least.
The salt in the soup
First: ignition key. So someone with a beard that you actually have to use. It’s available if you don’t order the X-Tech package including keyless entry and start (550 euros) – we only know that from Dacia so far. You look at analog instruments and the very fast, but still outdated Uconnect multimedia system offers a rather meager 7-inch screen. Although there is Apple CarPlay, its display is then shrunk to about half of the available display. No comparison to today’s touch display standard from other manufacturers.
With the exception of speed limit display, distance radar and blind spot control, you will also look in vain for driving assistants. One could reprimand that long-distance life of any automotive standard in 2022, but one could also find it sympathetic. Because the Fiat 500X Yacht Club Capri is a car that you simply get in and drive off. Without first having to turn off all the technical whiners that are able to take any fun out of driving. In addition, there is no need to study the operating instructions in order to be able to operate the air conditioning at the end.
Ambitious engine, outdated gearbox
Speaking of driving fun: It can actually come up. The 1.3-liter Firefly engine in the test car is an old friend and, thanks to 150 hp, drives the relatively light 500X forward quickly, but with an average consumption of around 6.7 liters per 100 kilometers it stays away from the usual drinking habits. The liveliness is also inhibited by the no-alternative six-speed dual-clutch transmission, which the Italians miraculously instilled with the shifting behavior of a 30-year-old converter: Slow shifting processes, hesitant implementation of shifting commands and holding low gears for unnecessarily long periods rob the drive of a lot of potential – from a speed-friendly one completely disregarded further gear for the Autobahn. Sport mode, which you can easily confuse with the button on the leisurely responsive heated seats (who needs them on Capri?), doesn’t make it any better either.
The chassis, on the other hand, is balanced and cuts a fine figure, especially on the motorway – on bad roads in the city and in the country, on the other hand, it gets a bit bumpy from time to time. Moved briskly, the 500X pushes over the front wheels early and lets the driver know with a decent side lean that the corner could also have been approached at a moderate speed. The steering responds directly and is a lot of fun, especially in the city and on country roads – on the Autostrada, on the other hand, a little more indifference and thus more composure would be an advantage.
Conclusion
Would we buy the Fiat 500X Yacht Club Capri? Yes. Would we recommend it to our friends? Yes, on condition that they are fine spirits with a penchant for the Italian way of life. Because you need it to be able to overlook certain shortcomings more easily. This has meanwhile been eliminated by the competition for a similar price, but it is not nearly as emotional. That’s the big selling point of the 500X. And nowhere does rain sound more romantic than under a soft top. (Text: Maximilian Planker | Pictures: Manufacturer)
