HERE’S the dilemma for Fiat: Lots and lots of people love its little 500, but they have a habit of growing out of them and looking elsewhere for their next car.

You know how it is... along come the children and before long you are trying to squeeze too much into your loveable retro carriage.

The Italian car maker’s solution is to provide a bigger version, one not dissimilar to Nissan’s Juke, to attract buyers aspiring to move up from superminis and seek out more rugged-looking cars promoting active lifestyles.

So now we have the Fiat 500X, the “Italian crossover”,which retains the same “eyes, nose and moustache” as the original but by necessity discards some of the retro cuteness that became a hallmark.

Particularly chunky and rugged in all-terrain Cross and Cross Plus trim, the 500X has a rounded exterior and five-door layout that also boasts a 350-litre boot with the added bonus of a false floor to hide your valuables and a split-fold rear seat arrangement.

The cabin’s high roofline, lofty driving position, generous head and leg room all help to convey a feeling of wellbeing, and if the mood or circumstances suit off-road motoring, the Cross variants offer bash-proof guards and an intelligent all-wheel drive system.

At launch, there are six engines, three transmissions and three traction variants to choose from. Among the engine line-up are a 140 horsepower 1.4-litre petrol plus 1.6 and 2.0-litre diesel units producing 120 and 140 horsepower respectively.

Offered in both front and all-wheel drive, it’s the petrol option that’s likely to find most homes.

The 1.4 petrol engine is exceptionally quiet and still capable of delivering a fun drive.

This quietness is achieved through the extensive use of sound-absorbent materials, from the soft-touch dashboard materials to the PVB layer inside the windscreen and the segment-exclusive acoustic deflectors on the pillars created from absorbent foams.

With an entry price of £14,595 for the Pop version and £18,595 for the Cross, Fiat is keen to point to the car’s undoubted refinement and impressive kit level.

Available in two distinctive flavours – an elegant urban version in Pop, Pop Star and Lounge specifications and the rugged off-road version in Cross and Cross plus specifications, you can opt for a class-leading nine-speed automatic transmission, advanced safety equipment that includes a “brake control” collision mitigation system and techno treats that include 6.5-inch Uconnect system with 3D navigation and Uconnect Live smartphone integration.

There will be 25 models in all, with ten available at launch this month, and Fiat reckons there will be something to suit every need and taste in that line-up.

A choice of 12 body colours and eight different designs for the 16, 17 and 18-inch alloy wheels will help every owner personalise the look of their 500X.

The 500X not only has clear links to its siblings in the current 500 family but also the iconic 1957 original, most notably its large, circular headlamps, its unmistakable nose and distinctive clamshell bonnet.

The four-wheel drive system adopts a fuel-saving rear axle disconnection system that seamlessly switches between two and four-wheel drive for full-time torque management without requiring input from the driver.

When Fiat offered me the chance to try out the system in a field, I was cynically expecting the easiest of challenges.

But no, I was tasked with taking the car up and down some challenging muddy hills that would have had cars with lesser traction systems skidding and sliding to an embarrassing halt. The 500X passed with flying colours.

You can personalise the on-road driving experience through a “Drive Mood” selector (not available on Pop version) that has three different modes - Auto, Sport and All Weather -for engine performance, power steering settings, ESC calibration and shift patterns for automatic transmissions. On the more rugged Cross and Cross Plus versions, All Weather mode is replaced by the Traction function.

There’s a 50 per cent loyalty among Fiat 500 customers, with 20 per cent moving to B segment cars and five per cent choosing a crossover. With an estimated 10 per cent of 500 customers now expected to move to the 500X, the continuing success story of this game-changing car for Fiat seems set to run for many more miles.

At a glance...

Fiat 500X 1.4 Lounge

Price: £19,345 (range from £14,595)

Engine: 1.4-litre petrol, producing 140bhp

Transmission: Six-speed manual, driving the front wheels

Performance: Top speed 118mph; 0-62mph in 9.8 seconds

Economy: 47.1mpg combined

CO2 emissions: 139g/km