SINCE its arrival in 2007 the funky little 500 has been a roaring success for Fiat.

It's trendy retro-chic styling and diminutive dimensions, plus a plethora of personalisation options, have made it one of the must-have motors for the hip young, and not so young, things about town.

So I suppose the Italian car-maker can hardly be blamed for cashing in on one of it's biggest brands.

But on the face of it there seems little similarity between the 500 and the 500L, which launched in the UK this year.

Yes, the bigger car does take some style cues from its diminutive namesake, but the expanded dimensions of the 500L mean that, although stylish and good looking in its own right with its soft curved edges, it would be a stretch to say that it has the same cute looks that have endeared the 500 to so many.

It definitely does not look like a bigger 500 in the same way that, say, a MINI Countryman looks very much like a Mini.

In fact, from a distance, especially with the metallic paint and contrast roof sported by my test car, the 500L would be much easier to mistake for one of the ‘big' Minis - as at least one friend did during the few days it spent on my drive!

None of this is necessarily a bad thing, however.

If you buy a 500L you won't be getting a bigger version of the 500 - but you will be getting an amazingly versatile family motor that's still small enough to be easy to live with on busy city streets.

Think of it more as an estate version of Fiat's other supermini, the Panda, or a much better looking Qubo and you'll start to get the idea.

A wide range of petrol and diesel engines are available all of which boast Fiat's now expected frugal performance.

The 1.6-litre MultiJet diesel, for instance, offers more than 60 miles per gallon on average with carbon emissions of 117g/km, so will be very reasonable to run and tax.

But with 105bhp, plenty of torque across a wide rev range and a smooth six-speed manual tranmission it also has enough durability to handle town traffic while motorway cruising was relaxed and refined.

An automatic start/stop system helps with the fuel economy while Fiat's ‘city' button tweaks the steering the make maneouvring in town easier.

Being bigger, of course, means it's unreasonable to expect the 500L to be quite as nimble as its little sibling.

Nevertheless steering is sharp and accurate and, although there's a little body roll at times, grip is good and the car always feels stable thanks to a its wider chassis.

Stability control, brake assist and six airbags are standard across the range and helped the 500L earn the top five-star rating from Euro-NCAP's crash tests.

All of which stands the 500L in pretty good stead in the family car stakes.

But where it really excels is in its versatile and practical use of the interior space on offer.

The cabin is very light and airy thanks to wide expanses of glass, which also greatly benefits all-round visibility for the driver.

The seats are comfortable and supportive and there is excellent head and leg room for five people to travel comfortably.

There is also some clever trinket storage, with a double glove box and integrated shelf on passenger side of dash, generous door bins, an array of cup and bottle spaces, and a convenient solid shelf/cubby arrangement on the rear of the front seats, rather than the usual flimsy pockets, with room for the kids' portable games consoles, etc

The 60/40 split rear seats slide forwards or tip up and fold easily to boost what is already a generous boot at 400 litres and there's also a concealed space beneath the boot floor, which can be raised and lowered, as well as more cubbies, pop-out bag hooks and a power point.

Impressive kit includes aircon, Bluetooth, cruise control and a nifty tiouchscreen infotainment system.

And what the 500L does share with its trendy namesake is a wealth of personalisation options and accessories which even in clude a dash-mounted Italian coffee-maker believe it or not.

Which means the fun and frivolity of the 500 can be retained - even in it's bigger sibling.