At a time when EVs come in forms as incongruous as the GMC Hummer or Tesla Cybertruck, it’s refreshing to ride around in something as basic and charming as the Fiat 500e. It’s basically a two-seater. It doesn’t hold much cargo and its range is paltry compared to most other EVs these days. It’s not fancy, but it is molto stylish and fun. It’s the way Europeans drive — pretend you’re motoring (literally) though sunny Italy. Most important, it’s cheap to operate and easy to use. Sadly, it’s not that cheap to buy, but more on that later.
While I spent a week driving around Seattle in this electric Italian tomato you see above that represents the base INSPI(RED) trim, News Editor Joel Stocksdale in Detroit sampled an “Inspired by Beauty” version painted rose gold. No one ever said Italians don’t appreciate a nice, vibrant paint job. Below you’ll find my impressions, followed by Joel’s.
It doesn’t really matter that it doesn’t have much range
People are fixated on how much range they can get out of an EV. 300 miles? 400 miles? But a little city car like this is where an EV really shines. The 500e has just a 42 kWh battery (though it’s still bigger than that of the Mini Electric Hardtop or their granddaddy the standard Nissan Leaf). A smallish battery means you’re not spending money upfront to purchase capacity you don’t actually need, and it’s easier to charge.
I drove it around town on errands all week: Ran 48 miles into the big city and back, then plugged it into a 120-volt outlet and it was good to go the next day; I did 65 miles, then put it back on the trickle charge, and it was topped off again come morning; and so forth, and so forth.
How did it perform at a public charger? Heck if I know. It can DC charge (at a rate of 85 kW), but the very point of the car is that you’ll never have to go there, assuming you live in a house that has electricity. No need for a public charger, no need for a Wallbox, no need for 220 volts. Just unplug a lamp or something and plug in the car.
One nice thing, its charging cord is relatively light and easy to handle.
If you really drive anywhere close to the 500e’s 141-mile range rating in a day, then no, it’s not the car for you. And if you’re so on the go that you don’t stop to eat, relax or sleep so that the 500e can also recharge, then not only is it not the car for you but you should probably seek help. But for most people, a more basic EV like this can do an honest day’s work running errands or commuting, and still arrive home with range to spare.
The car’s a cutie
This was the Fiat 500e INSPI(RED) Edition. Emphasis on red. The paint is non-metallic and vivid. There are cool little touches like the Italian flags set into the side markers. In a traditional look for a Fiat 500, that red bodywork also dominates the dash. The interior is filled with red accents such as piping on the seats, and there’s a “Fiat Fiat Fiat” pattern in the cloth.
You’re going to love parking this thing
Talk about a “Mission Impossible”: I took the Fiat into the bowels of a hospital basement parking garage. Down, down, down we went, no spaces available. On the way back up, three guys struggled to wedge pickups into tiny spots that had opened up, and the aisles were crawling with drivers on the hunt. Finally, I found a Fiat-sized spot everyone else had rejected. If you’re a city dweller, you’re going to love parking this thing.
It rides rough
What do you expect? It’s tiny. Its wheelbase is 7.5 feet – the wheelbase of my riding lawnmower is not that much shorter. It’ll pound you on surface streets, but it’s not bad on a smoother highway surface.
And while you might expect to feel intimidated while mixing it up with bigger vehicles on an interstate, the 500e gets up and runs with traffic and you soon forget how small you are.
Now, do you hear the tires on the highway? Yes, they are quite loud. But of course you are sitting really close to all four of them.
It’s exceptionally economical
See that instrument panel readout down there? The FWD 500e is EPA-rated at 116 MPGe. This one achieved 143 MPGe – that’s an over-performance of 123%.
If 141 miles of range (149 on summer tires) still bothers you, just know that the car clearly is capable of beating that, and looking cute doing it.
Visual simplicity where you want it
The driver’s readout is smartly done, and tells you pretty much everything you need to know in a compact space. Nothing fancy here, it’s just simple, legible, effective. A BMW with their fancy double-chevron display preceded the Fiat in my driveway. I preferred the little Fiat dash.
A button so nice I pushed it twice
Several times, I’d hop in, push the start button, then discover that the car wouldn’t shift to Drive. After hitting the start button a second time, a popup on the dashboard told me it was ready to drive, and the shifter cooperated. So, I was prepared to say here that for some reason the car requires two pushes of the ignition button – except that, sometimes, one push was all it took. Maybe it’s operator error, maybe I wasn’t pressing the brake pedal hard enough. But Zac Palmer had the same problem in Detroit with the 500e Joel’s about to discuss.
Double the latches
The latch on the door grab handle looks like a starter button. Touch it, and the door pops. But wait, down lower, in the door pocket, there’s another latch. What’s that about? The one up top is electronic, there for the cool factor. But in case the car loses all its juice, Fiat needed to provide a manual release, which is the one down low. Use whichever you like, they both worked fine. The manual release is easy and obvious to find (unlike some Teslas where you supposedly have to tear off a speaker cover).
And now, I shall pull the manual release on this post and turn things over to Joel Stocksdale to see if he was indeed Inspired by Beauty.
The styling details are superb
Sure was! This rose gold 500e is definitely cute, but I was more impressed that there’s so much intricacy and thought in every design aspect. The way the hood bisects the headlight unit is slick. The clear winglet turn signals not only blend in with the character line down the side, but they also house little Italian flags. And inside, you’ll find easter egg touches such as the original 500 in the door pulls and the Turin skyline in the wireless phone charger. The Fiat logos stitched into the seats are superb, too, and included even on the basic INISPI(RED) trim that Rasa had in Seattle.
It’s impressive how retro everything feels
Obviously, the exterior is still round and adorable, but the interior holds onto classic cues such as the two-spoke steering wheel and little round instrument cluster. It’s integrated into the clean dash, which is spruced up with some nifty texturing. And all these details are important because they help spruce up an interior that otherwise feels a bit cheap. There are plenty of hard plastics elsewhere that giveaway the fact that this is meant to be a low-cost vehicle.
It’s more spacious than you would expect
The 500e is still quite small. It’s actually a couple inches shorter overall than the old model, though a whopping 10 inches wider (more on that in a bit). The car’s packaging has improved dramatically, however, as it feels surprisingly roomy. In fact, there’s more than 16 cubic feet of additional interior space (a total of 101.2), and it pays off with loads of room for the driver in every direction. Shockingly, the rear seat is kind of useable by adults – OK, maybe “an adult” would be accurate as it’s more likely for the front passenger to slide their seat up far enough for someone in the back and still be comfortable than the driver is. As for cargo, the official capacity is down by 2 cubic feet to 7.5, but at a glance, it looks more usable than the numbers would suggest. Being a hatch, the seats can fold down, and then you can fill up more of that 101.2 cubic feet of interior space.
The driving position is amusing
Just as before, the 500e’s driving position is best described as having motorized barstool feel. It’s extremely high, and feels amplified by the Fiat’s diminutive dimensions. Put another way, it’s kind of like an extremely tiny minivan. It’s not necessarily good or bad, it’s just extremely distinct.
It’s a cheery driving experience clearly intended for cities
Easy, light and nimble are the characteristics that dominate the 500e. The steering is ultra-light, clearly with the intention of easing all the wheel juggling that comes with navigating tight city streets, parking structures and parallel parking. It doesn’t do much for feedback or frisky driving, but it doesn’t get in the way either. The 500e’s extra width and floor-mounted battery pack make its stability more in line with the old Abarth, and as a result, feels like it would really like to carve corners. That is if it had the tires to do it. There’s insufficient grip for doing so, and the traction control is quite controlling. It’s a bit at odds with the electric motor’s torque. This is all to say, while the regular 500e is fun enough, we really, really want to try out the Abarth version, which likely addresses some of the limitations of the standard model.
It’s not the super bargain we’d hoped for
One of the reasons we felt there was a niche open for the 500e a couple years ago was the fact that it promised more range than a base Nissan Leaf, based on European numbers, and had attractive pricing in Europe. It undercut both the Leaf and Mini Cooper SE, the latter of which had less range.
Now it’s here, and with a base price of $34,095, it’s more expensive than either the Leaf or the Mini. Tax credits will be limited on the Fiat, too, as it’s not built in North America. And range is just 141 miles (again, 149 on summer tires), practically identical to said Leaf, but with much less space inside. That’s really unfortunate and significantly reduces the 500e’s appeal.
But there’s still some appeal, even against those two options. The Fiat still has more range than the Mini by literal miles. And with a liquid-cooled battery pack and CCS fast-charging compatibility, the Fiat can be fast-charged in more places, maintain its range better in extreme temperatures, and probably last longer than that of the base Nissan Leaf. It’s far more stylish than the Nissan, to boot. So yes, it’s not quite the super bargain we’d hoped for, but if you’re shopping in this space, there’s still a reason to give the little Fiat a look.
