Following success within the European market, Italian automotive producer Fiat has launched the brand new 500e, the primary electrical model of its beloved compact automotive, within the United States. It marks the return of the Fiat 500 line to the nation because it was discontinued in 2019, and with its return, it brings a rousing new roll of options.

Fast-paced tech, trendy new particulars, and classic Fiat design hark the 500e as a trendsetter for contemporary, compact EV metropolis automobiles, serving to to rid our metropolis facilities of emissions. Fiat has gracefully described the automobiles themselves as being impressed by the 2 symbols of Italian tradition – music and wonder. Building upon that, it has launched three editions of the automotive: the RED, the ‘Inspired by Music’, and the ‘Inspired by Beauty’.

In order to provide the most modern and correct info attainable, the info used to compile this text was sourced from the official Stellantis press launch, the Fiat USA web site, and nicely as first-hand driving expertise from TopSpeed reviewers.

The Fiat 500e Makes Up To 117 Horsepower

The Fiat 500e runs on a three-phase AC with a everlasting magnetic motor, which places out a decent 117 horses and 162 pound-feet of torque. This, when in Normal or Range mode, permits the automotive to achieve a prime pace of 94mph, or 151km/h, which is greater than sufficient for town middle lifetime of a Fiat 500e. Stellantis, the father or mother firm of Fiat-Chrysler, recorded a 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds.

2024 Fiat 500e Powertrain Specs

(Data sourced from Fiat)

0- to 80-percent In 35 Minutes

The automotive has three driving modes, to steadiness vary administration with driver expertise. These are Normal, Range, and Sherpa. Fiat gave the automotive a manufacturer-estimated vary of 162 metropolis miles and 149 mixed driving miles. When in Range mode, regenerative braking expertise is utilized, and the automotive is able to decelerating to a whole cease, utilizing a system Fiat calls one-pedal driving.

In Sherpa mode, Fiat means that you can take this one step additional and switch off all local weather controls and auxiliary tools to assist handle energy output. Sherpa mode additionally places a restriction on the pace to 50 mph, to cut back vitality consumption. The 42kWh, liquid-cooled Li-ion battery, constructed on the Mirafiori facility in Turin, Italy, is able to a full Level 2 house cost in six hours at 11kW, or 0 to 80-percent Level 3 cost in 35 minutes.

The Compact Size Makes It A Great Urban Commuter

Despite the Fiat 500e completely persevering with the quirky, charismatic look that the automotive is so famously recognized for, it isn’t simply an altered older mannequin. The automotive relies on a model new, EV-specific platform referred to as the STLA-City structure that was constructed afresh from the bottom up.

Weighing in at solely 2,952 kilos (1339kg), the Fiat 500e is the lightest battery electrical automobile in the marketplace. Additionally, it is just 142.95 inches (3.63m) lengthy, 66.3 inches tall (1.68m), with a wheelbase of 107.3 inches (2.73m) and a width of 74.12 inches (1.88m) when together with the mirrors. Although barely wider and longer than older fashions, this makes the Fiat 500e still a brilliant car for narrow, double-parked streets and fast-paced, busy metropolis facilities. Not to say that, with none exhaust emissions, the automotive is great for lowering air and sound air pollution in built-up areas.

(Data sourced from Fiat)

A Classic Exterior, Refreshed With Modern Features

An iconic design, the Fiat 500, has been nipping about our cities because the Fifties. As automotive producers start to merge into the electrical automobile period, the basic, famed designs we all know and love are present process revitalization whereas sustaining their authentic character. That is precisely what occurs right here with the Fiat 500e.

The automotive is available in three important colours; Tuxedo Black, Glacier White, and RED. The two particular editions, ‘Inspired by Beauty’ and ‘Inspired by Music’, supply barely completely different physique packages. ‘Inspired by Beauty’ is available in a metallic rose gold, whereas ‘Inspired by Music’ is available in a Tuxedo Black with chrome trim.

The Fiat 500e rides atop 17-inch diamond lower wheels, with flush-set, entrance and rear LEDs, and e-latch door handles. Noticeably, the entrance grill has been redesigned to spotlight the automotive’s EV capabilities, however the iconic strains and 500 badges stay as current as ever, paying homage to the automotive’s trendy origins. With its Italian flags set inside the aspect markers and charging port cowl that imitates a classic gas cap, it elegantly mirrors the automotive’s beloved previous, whereas highlighting the fashionable potential of electrical automobiles.

Despite Its Compact Size, There Is No Dearth Of Features Inside

Like many new electrical automobiles, the Fiat 500e comes filled with fashionable expertise and options. The new oval dashboard is an eye catching design shakeup inside the automotive, complementing the automotive’s enjoyable, sporty aesthetic whereas paying homage to the unique 1957 Fiat 500. Similarly, the skinny, dual-spoke steering wheel instills a refreshing distinction to the ten.25-inch display screen, which comes geared up with Stellantis’s cross-platform UConnect 5 infotainment software program, that options over-the-air updates similar to real-time vary and consumption updates. The standard myriad of tech additionally fills the system, with Apple Car Play and Android Auto connectivity, Fiat navigation software program, and the standard local weather management techniques.

Alongside this in-car tech, Fiat 500e homeowners may also be capable of get the FIAT Connect software program and the Fiat App, to regulate a decent variety of distant operations. Fiat has made it in order that drivers can pre-set local weather features, activate locks and lights, and modify the cost schedule all from a smartphone. The app additionally reveals close by charging stations, in addition to dynamic vary mapping, syncing with the automotive’s battery life to point out accessible distances on a map.

A Compact Car With Compact Dimensions

Space inside the automotive is surprisingly roomy, a minimum of within the entrance. The driver and passenger seats have a legroom of 41.8 inches (106cm) and a headroom of 39.3 inches (99.8cm). In the again, nevertheless, the legroom is a tiny 29.5 inches (74.9cm), although the headroom drops solely to 35.35 inches (89.8cm). The again seats, then, are in all probability greatest used as an extra cupboard space, particularly as a result of the rear cargo house is just a modest 7.5 cu-ft (212L). Against the Mini Cooper SE, the Fiat’s closest rival, the inner house is fairly comparable, with the Mini’s rear legroom solely barely greater at 30.8 inches (78.2cm).

The Fiat 500e additionally comes geared up with some slightly fashionable security options, similar to; drowsy driver detection, to watch and alert drivers feeling fatigued; pedestrian and bicycle owner emergency braking system; clever pace help, a system which may acknowledge street indicators to take care of a continuing driving pace; and superior lane help software program to inform the driving force of unintentional lane swerving.

Optional Differences

The ‘Inspired by Beauty’ and ‘Inspired by Music’ editions of the automotive each include barely completely different interiors, to match their upgraded bodywork. ‘Inspired by Beauty’ comes geared up with Fiat-embroidered leather-based seats and a bi-color gentle contact steering wheel. ‘Inspired by Music’ takes a sleeker, tech-focused method, upgrading the speaker system to a specialised JBL Audio System that options JBL Venues to emulate 4 distinct musical venues chosen by Maestro Bocelli. This version additionally comes with improved security options, similar to 360-degree, surround-car parking sensors and entrance and rear park help.

The 2024 Fiat 500e Starts At $32,500

For all of its breadth of options, the Fiat 500e is available in at a reasonably modest value of $32,500. The ‘Inspired by Music’ and ‘Inspired by Beauty’ editions each add one other $3,500 on prime of that, although $36,000 remains to be a cut price for the premium fashions of a brand-new EV.

Areas with EV subsidies will discover themselves paying even lower than that, with the Canadian EV incentive program knocking $5000 off of the worth, and in Quebec, an extra $7000 could be taken off of that. In the US, nevertheless, the $7500 tax credit score requires electrical automobiles to be made inside the US, whereas the 500e is made in Turin, Italy.

How Does It Stack Up Against The Mini Cooper SE

The closest rival to the Fiat 500e is the Mini Cooper SE, one other low-range EV mannequin of an previous, basic European hatchback. Compared to the Fiat, the Mini is barely extra highly effective, with 181 horses and a 0-60 time of only 6.9 seconds. The prime pace, nevertheless, does are available in at a decrease pace of 93 mph. As nicely as that, the vary is admittedly the place the Mini Cooper SE drops off, with a mere 114 miles of battery.

The Mini is available in at 151.7 inches (3.85m) lengthy and 75.9 inches (1.93m) huge, with a wheelbase of 98.2 inches (2.49m) and a slightly excessive curb weight of three,143 kilos (1425.64kg). The Mini Cooper SE additionally boasts a barely lower cost tag than the Fiat, with costs ranging from $30,900.