Fiat released the first official images of the new elongated version of the 500, the Fiat 500L, ahead of its official debut at Geneva Motor Show in March.

Now, it’s not like they just took a 500, stretched it a bit, and put four doors on it. It is practically a whole new car. The reason it’s called a 500 is, probably, because marketing men insisted it would help with the sales.It is in fact an spiritual successor to the original Multipla.

Fiat says the 500L offers MPV passenger space combined with the feel of a small SUV on the road and the restrained dimensions and efficiency of a B segment car. Not sure about the SUV feel bit, but in terms of space and practicality, it seems to be properly good car. It features a 5-seater single-volume structure which is 414 cm long, 178 cm wide and 166 cm high.

Unlike other compact MPVs in this segment though, the 500L is also a tad stylish and trendy. Scheduled to go on sale in the last quarter of 2012, the car will launch with two petrol engines (TwinAir and 1.4-litre) and a turbodiesel engine (1.3 MultiJet II).