Fiat 500e
Car and Driver
Tested: two thousand thirteen FIAT 500E EV
2017 Fiat 500e
- Jun 2017
- By GREG FINK
Overview: The Fiat 500e is the black sheep of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles family. Built to appease the state of California and its zero-emission mandates, the 500e electrified car has been a thorn in FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne’s side.
“I hope you don’t buy [the 500e],” Marchionne famously told attendees at a two thousand fourteen conference, “because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000.”
While the last three years very likely have lowered the 500e’s production costs (batteries are becoming less expensive), the puny electrical hatchback, surely, still isn’t contributing to the Italian-American automaker’s profits. And like a parent embarrassed of their adult child’s life choices, FCA hides the 500e from the majority of U.S. consumers, suggesting the EV only in California and Oregon, the two states with the highest percentages of zero-emission-vehicle sales.
With a base price of $33,990 before federal or state tax credits, the Fiat 500e is costly compared with the gas-sipping Fiat 500, which starts at just $15,990. Most of the added cost can be attributed to its electrified drive system: a 24.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that powers a front-mounted, 111-hp electrified motor and provides the 500e with an EPA-rated range of eighty four miles on a total charge. Recharging a fully depleted battery takes a relatively reasonable four hours when plugged into a 240-volt power source. Using a household 120-volt outlet takes a total day, tho’. Extra 500e enhancements include model-specific wheels, exterior trim, bumper covers, side skirts, and a rear wing.
The 500e comes in just one trim level that includes a navigation system, automatic climate control, and switch sides parking sensors. Options are few and include a $795 sunroof and the $495 eSport package, which adds tinted headlight bezels, black and orange 15-inch wheels, and orange accents to the exterior mirrors and bod sides.
What’s Fresh: The Fiat 500e carried over to two thousand seventeen unchanged after undergoing an interior refresh last year. Along with a mildly revised dashboard, the 500e also welcomed a fresh multimedia system. Dubbed Uconnect Five.0, it uses a Five.0-inch touchscreen display for controlling the 500e’s various infotainment functions and is worlds better than the old push-button interface found in earlier models.
What We Like: The electrical Fiat’s retro and chic design helps make it one of the market’s most attractive EVs. The 500e is also a hoot to drive. Credit the electrical motor’s one hundred forty seven lb-ft of torque that’s available the instant the go pedal is shoved, as well as the battery pack that’s mounted low in the assets, keeping the center of gravity down—a boon to limiting bod roll. Quick steering and a rigid brake pedal are icing on the 500e’s dynamic cake.
What We Don’t Like: The 500e seems obsolete now that the $37,495 Chevrolet Bolt EV, which boasts two hundred thirty eight miles of range, is available. Styling aside, the Bolt is a better electrified vehicle than the 500e not only due to its awesome driving range but also its more spacious interior. Speaking of space, the 500e’s lil’ rear seating area is all but unusable because of the floor-mounted battery pack; legroom stands at a meager 27.6 inches—4.1 inches less than the standard 500’s already cramped rear seating compartment. Cargo capacity also is compromised, with the 500e suggesting just seven cubic feet against the standard 500’s already meager ten cubes.
Verdict: Take Sergio’s advice and spend your EV dollars elsewhere.