2024 Fiat 500e Might Be All the EV You Need

A starting price barely over $34,000. A claimed curb weight under 3000 pounds. Power and acceleration figures that aren’t chasing modern sports cars. Enough battery capacity for several days of around-town driving. Healthy levels of standard equipment. While a parade of big-battery, multi-motor, mega-horsepower, high-dollar electric vehicles are pushing EVs in one direction, there’s a dearth of small, affordable EVs that keep it simple, and the 2024 Fiat 500e is such a presence.

Staggeringly Normal Specs

Most modern EVs make enough horsepower to put generation-old sports cars to shame, and that’s not exactly what everyone wants or needs. The 2024 500e is more of an anachronism in this sense, returning to the days of small, inexpensive cars that provide tepid acceleration. Here, a single permanent-magnet electric motor powers the front axle and produces just 117 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. Fiat claims the 500e will meander its way to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds before topping out at 94 mph. And while that pales next to the dual-motor Hyundai Ioniq 5, which gets to 60 in 4.5 seconds, it is quicker than a Chevy Trax or a Kia Sportage.

Under the body lies a similarly modest lithium-ion battery, which we estimate has roughly 37 kWh of usable capacity and will be good for 140 to 150 miles of range. Our projection would’ve been lower, but the 500e’s compact dimensions mean Fiat was able to keep the curb weight at a respectable claimed 2952 pounds, a far cry from those 5000-plus-pound Chunka Lunkas rolling around. The battery will charge from empty to 100 percent in a claimed six hours on a 6.6-kW Level 2 charger or in less than 4.5 hours on an 11.0-kW connection, and at its max DC fast-charge rate of 85 kW, it will refill to 80 percent in 35 minutes, Fiat says.

Aesthetically, this little one is clearly a Fiat 500. The exterior picks up some LED lighting front and rear, as well as flush electronic door handles. But the flashiest of the new stuff as well as the throwbacks lie in the cabin. The dashboard trim, rounded gauge cluster, and two-spoke steering wheel are meant to evoke the OG 1957 Cinquecento. We dig the dedicated wireless-charging nook just below the (physical!) climate controls and 10.3-inch center display, which runs the latest version of Stellantis’s Uconnect 5 software. A 7.0-inch digital gauge cluster is a nice thing to see, especially as fellow small-car manufacturer Mini seems intent on eliminating that feature in favor of a cheapo head-up display.

While the eyes may deceive, the 500e is a bit larger than it was before, ringing in nearly an inch longer in both wheelbase and overall length and also 2.2 inches wider. An additional 1.7 inches of shoulder room in the front row keeps the Fiat from feeling truly cramped, and the cargo hold will swallow eight cubic feet of stuff, or a few backpacks or several bags of groceries, with ease. The back seat will fit an adult, though not for long journeys—but then, you’re not going on a long journey, are you? Behind a seat set for a six-foot-tall driver, there was decent headroom, but the legroom was more reminiscent of a budget European airline than a car.

Despite the small accommodations, the center console has a decently sized hidey-hole that could hold a small tablet. Two USB-A ports and another USB-C reside in various crannies. There’s only one cupholder that isn’t integrated into a door panel, but it can be folded and stowed when not needed, opening space in the cabin’s lower half.

In addition to the tech, there’s a bunch of other standard kit in this package. LED headlights, automatic climate control, keyless entry and start, wireless device charging and smartphone mirroring, and rain-sensing wipers all are included. Also standard is the buyer’s choice of a Level 2 home charger or fast-charge credits through the company’s Free2move Charge program.

Staggeringly Normal Demeanor

While the Fiat 500e’s vibe might fit our Miami drive location well, this locale is not exactly suited for, well, driving. Endless parades of stoplights, confused drivers piloting rented convertibles (with the top still up, natch), strips of asphalt where lunar-rover testing clearly takes place (or should)—Vice City has it all. The 500e’s ride was, as we expected, a little on the flinty side, but we found very little unwanted interior noise until higher speeds. Chucking this little guy into corners at normal speeds made for a fun urban jaunt, with an appropriate amount of body roll for a small but kind of tall car.

It’s fortunate that the 500e feels zippy at a relatively modest pace, because that’s all the pace the Italian jelly bean can muster. There’s a good bit of right-pedal sensitivity at lower speeds in both the standard Normal mode and the more efficient Range mode, and the zero- to 30-mph span is what matters most in a car of this ilk. Switch into Range mode, and the pedal does require a smidge more prodding to get going, but the increased regenerative braking permits one-pedal driving, so it’s the mode we preferred. If you’re not a fan of regen, Normal mode’s coasting and braking feel like any other small car’s. There’s also a Sherpa mode that limits the top speed to 50 mph and cuts max motor output to 76 horsepower. It was explained as an “Oh crap, I have less battery than I thought and need to get home” mode, not one for normal use.

Dollars and Sense

Achieving a $34,095 base price is not the easiest thing to do, especially at a time when the average transaction price for a new car is approaching the $50,000 mark, and that becomes clear in places like the torsion-beam rear axle and rear drum brakes. Unlike with Fiat’s last foray into battery-electric models, parent company Stellantis probably won’t lose the farm on every car it sells this time, despite that the new 500e’s MSRP is lower than its 2019 forebear’s, even with years having passed between their debuts.

While it won’t solve the problem of charging access for those who park on the street, the 2024 Fiat 500e does help address one issue the EV space needs to work on: affordable variety. It’s a true city car, with the thrift and capability needed for most weekly forays, and it works well as a second around-town-mobile when long trips aren’t on the docket. It’s a turtle among hares, but if that’s all you need, why go overboard?

Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com