Fiat unveiled a new All-Wheel-Drive version of its Freemont people carrier, and unlike the car on which it’s based, it’s actually rather interesting.

The normal Freemont is a rebadged Dodge Journey. This AWD version though is made by Fiat themselves, and because it’s jacked up and rides on bigger wheels, it actually looks like a SUV. This is how Europeans improve an American design!

The Freemont AWD features an on-demand four-wheel-drive system, which has an electronic control unit which uses sensors to detect the grip of the four wheels and decides when to transmit traction to the rear. So it is only AWD when you need it to be, and remains a FWD car when you don’t. That makes the whole system more efficient.

The rest of the car is pretty much the same as Freemont MPV. It still has seven seats and tons of space inside. Engine-wise it can be equipped with the 170 HP 2.0 MultiJet 2 with variable geometry and the powerful Chrysler Group Pentastar 3.6 litre engines. Both engines are combined with a new six-speed automatic transmission.