2024 Fiat 500e is a Much Under Rated EV – Here’s Why

What an utterly charming little darling the Fiat 500e is.

Unlike previous models, Stellantis OZ is only importing the La Prima EV 3-door hatch. Sadly, the world has fallen out of love with passenger cars, once the backbone of the industry..

Fiat 500e is beautifully built, crafted like Italian haute couture. Delightful touches inside and out mark a well-considered city coupé that fulfills every need, yet buyers have been thin on the ground. Why is that? Stellantis boss has threatened to axe brands that aren’t pulling their weight, and no brand is safe. Although the new platform 500e drives brilliantly, its sales are as diminutive as the classic Bambino from which its name is drawn.

A combination of fairly limited range, high price, and rabid competition, have done the handsome Fiat 500e no favours.

Specifications HERE: fiat-500e-buyers-guide-sept2023

Range: Claimed at around 310km, we never bettered a range in the mid 200’s, and while that is tons for a city car, it scares most buyers witless. A recent survey cited range as the biggest barrier to buying an EV, putting it several steps above price.

Then, there are the Chinese EVs which are slaying the entry level market stone cold dead. Established mastheads are already shimmying in a very stiff breeze, and 10 to 15 new Chinese EV brands will land this year alone, fanning the breeze into a cyclone. The Chinese EVs have longer range, more equipment, faster charging and above all, a lower price.

While much of the action has been at the entry level, Chinese EVs also challenging the King of Volts, Tesla. The big American’s sales have fallen off a cliff, making us wonder if Elon was always overcharging and underdelivering. Clue: Yes, he was.

That brings us back to the frisky little Fiat 500e, in all its quaint ambivalence. It doesn’t care about the opposition; in fact, it seems to snub its nose at the pretenders on the forecourt. Is that the problem?

Most of her figures are par for the course. 87kw/220Nm is average for a small FWD EV, and the 42kWh battery is as entry level as it gets. The bigger the battery the bigger the cost.

On the upside, the bijou cabin is far more spacious than her Lilliputian exterior would have you believe.

For 60k on the road, I’d hope for more range. Prices for white 500e models were reduced to $49,990 Drive Away for September, a saving of near 10 grand. This suggests Stellantis needed to move old stock. Stellantis was contacted for comment but did not reply. If this changes we’ll update the story.

49k is about where an EV of this quality should sit, but that’s not my opinion, that’s the buyers speaking.

Specifications HERE: fiat-500e-buyers-guide-sept2023

Above: This Week’s VIDEO Car Review – 22024 Fiat 500 E Review – An UNDER RATED ITALIAN BEAUTY

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ABOVE: 2024 Fiat 500 E Review – An UNDER RATED ITALIAN BEAUTY

Equipment

One or two cheeky corners have been cut.

The exterior door lock button only appears on the driver’s side, and the reduced range only suits city sites. The plastic is a little on the hard side, and The Mini EV has the same issue, and is in the same ball park and like the Fiat, buyers aren’t picking up what the retailer is laying down.

Audio sound is adequate, and the infotainment system easy to use especially for anyone familiar with Uconnect. Fiat Chrysler persist with volume and channel selection buttons mount on the back of the steering wheel. GET.IN.THE.BIN. I search for hours every time I get into a car that has silly rear-mounted controls.

The is a USB-A, a USB-C, and a Qi phone charger, but larger iPhones are too fat to fit.

There is safety gear including lane and braking control, smart cruise and blind spot, airbags and a host of other features, but there are a few things missing, centre airbag for example. You expect that in a 30k EV, but at full price the 500e drives away near $60,000 drive-away with a 4 star safety rating.

The lone cup holder folds out of the front of the centre console, sitting low down near the floor.

Specifications HERE: fiat-500e-buyers-guide-sept2023

The Drive

500e builds the stout reputation and heritage of thrifty micro-cars of the 60’s, a time when power and luxury were not even a gleam in their mummy’s eye. Dad’s Cortina Ghia was considered posh, the straight 6 was essential, and power steering and AC was something only a Roller had. Passenger cars reigned supreme.

Now, SUVs and Utes are the go-to and the remaining sedans, coupes, and wagons have to give 100%, all of the time. Does the 500e drive stack up?

The 500e rear end has torsion beam suspension which can get nervous in corners, otherwise the little Fiat is a little bundle of joy. Not only has it got more power than her ICE sister, it can be filled up at home.

Compare that to the dinosaur-burning museum piece that has to drag its sorry self to a place of extorsion. There, fuel that took millions of years to transform from dead T-Rex to black sticky goo, then be refined, then be transported and pumped into an underground tank, only to be pumped from a that underground tank into a second tank.

There the reformed T-Rex waits for its chance to be squirted into a tiny barrel, squashed, set fire to, then spat out to mutilate the atmosphere.

The electric 500e can have her batteries refilled from gently revolving fans, or streaks of golden sun. It is also cheaper to run and does not spit out planet-killing fumes. The simple motor has a single moving part, and is powered by the same battery tech that is in your pocket phone, your shaver, your watch, your torch and anything else that is electric and not tethered to a wall.

A button press selects direction where you can steadily move from 0 to 100 in 9 sensible seconds.

Steering and brakes feel nice and breezy, and the seats, though firm, are comfy even after a few hours on the go. You can stow a surprising 550L of trinkets, trifles or trash, and folding the seats will get more gear in the gaps. Sadly, there is a big hump in the back, but that’s where many of us have done our best work.

Every drive feels like the set of a film.

You’re gliding along a road clinging to the cliffs high above the Med’s majestic blue glow. You actually look forward to shopping, and sitting in traffic makes you calm. The cabin is Zen, cooled by gentle wafts of zero-emissions air. Soft lounge music hangs delicately in the air, and while all around you want to explode, you sit on your own little island.

Yes, the 500e corners well, sits on the freeway like a brick, and parks in a matchbox, but it is the story of the drive that counts. That’s what stays with you for the rest of the day.

Conclusion:

Although bigger than her Bambino granny, 500e still creates memories. That, ladies and gents, is the difference between the petite Italian masterpiece and the cookie-cuttered clones penned by what appears to be the only Chinese car designer in existence.

Specifications HERE: fiat-500e-buyers-guide-sept2023

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