2024 Fiat 500e first drive review: Reborn EV has its own style, plays music through the front bumper
MIAMI – These are difficult times for fiat currency fan. The brand stopped production of the 500 series after 2019, leaving only the four-door crossover model 500X sold and while planning to introduce substitutes for its products 500e City tram Around that time, a small pandemic affected work. Now, in 2024, the guys from Turin are finally ready to give Americans a taste of the Dolce Vita offered by that new 500e. Is the wait worth it? I went to Miami to find out.
As you would expect, 2024 Fiat 500e again an all-electric city car. Unlike its predecessor (2013-2019), this 500e feels more like a complete EV package than a “compliance car” intended to meet regulations in states like California. New one Fiat 500” has been on sale in Europe since 2020, so even though it’s new to the US, it’s now an established platform.
Like the old 500e, the 2024 500e features a front-wheel-drive design, with a permanent-magnet motor delivering a whopping 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. That motor is paired with a 42 kilowatt-hour output battery (about 38 of which are usable, according to Fiat engineers) for an EPA-estimated range of 149 miles (or 116 with summer tires). That might not sound like much – and it’s not – but this is not a vehicle designed to last road trip or people who are super mobile. Fiat claims a 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 94 mph, but I suspect driving at that speed will be sketchy.
It’s not that the 500e feels unstable around town (the Fiat didn’t include any highway driving during my short time with the car). It offers quick, precise steering and small-car agility that makes the stock 500e a lot more fun to drive than it needs to be. The steering is light but not overpowering and has a very tight turning circle of just 31.5 feet, making you say “Oh wait, there’s parking! Take it!” Maneuvering is much easier than on a larger vehicle.
Although the steering system is excellent, the 500e’s driving experience is not pleasant. It’s not a brutal full-size truck, but calling it busy on empty city streets seems like a charitable understatement. This isn’t an expensive car with a complicated suspension, and again, given its intended use, I wouldn’t consider the ride a huge point against it.
One of the biggest leaps from the old 500e to this new version is the addition of DC fast charging capability. Model 2024 uses a CCS (combined charging system) plug for fast charging at up to 85 kilowatts. That sounds more like a straw for electronics than the typical 150 or 350 kW firehose-like charging capabilities of most modern electric vehicles, but it’s superior. Little Cooper The SE adds 35 kW and Fiat claims it will charge from 10% to 80% in 35 minutes. Fiat is also focusing heavily on Level 2 charging by giving 500e buyers the choice between a free Level 2 wall charger or $600 in charge credits with Stellantis partner Free2Move.
A simple car overall, the 500e offers three driving modes. There’s Normal, Ranged, and the questionably named Sherpa. Normally quite self-explanatory, Range reduces the acceleration rate for better efficiency and Sherpa is like Range plus mode. It shuts down the HVAC system and gives you the least reactive accelerator pedal and maximum regeneration brake. Or in Fiat’s words, the Sherpa regime will be “in full charge exploration and guide it to its destination” by adjusting the above parameters. Unlike other brands’ electric vehicles (looking at you, Germans), the 500e offers one-pedal driving, ideal for city commuting.
The 500e has a skateboard-style chassis with the battery pack located under the passenger compartment floor. This is a pretty standard tool for almost all construction purposes tram and benefits from a very low center of gravity, delivering a fun, agile driving experience. That’s good, because agility is what the 500e is all about.
The new 500e has evolved in almost every direction compared to its predecessor, but not by much. The difference is mainly felt internally and that’s a good thing. Up front, the new 500e has 39.3 inches of headroom (up 0.4 over the old 500e), 41.8 inches of legroom (plus 1.1 inches) and hip and shoulder room 49.8 and 51.1 inches (plus 2 inches and 1.7 inches) respectively. That increase is welcome, especially for a very tall individual – 6 feet, 4 inches, although as a passenger I would have liked if its seats had height adjustment Similar to the driver’s seat. Rear-seat legroom also increased by 2 inches, but that still doesn’t help those with whom you want to spend long periods of time. Goods predictable volume piccolo at just 7.5 cubic feet, an increase of half a cubic foot.
The 500e’s interior is very basic with some materials feeling cheap, but it’s aesthetically pleasing and not a terrible place to be. The seats are firm and offer no real support, but are upholstered (in my base test car) with embossed Fiat logo covers, which look cool. There are plenty of places to store all your stuff, although having just one cupholder seems like a mistake in an American car, no matter how small the car is. The 500e also has a wireless charging pad as standard.
From a technological standpoint, the 500e is similarly basic. The base RED model lacks features like adaptive cruise control or active lane-keeping assist, but still has features like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning, and lane-departure warning. If you want additional driver assistance features, upgrading to the “Inspired By” edition is the only way to get them. Infotainment is handled by Stellantis’s usually excellent Uconnect 5 system, which includes a large 10.25-inch touchscreen for the cabin that I found to be sharp and responsive to touch inputs. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard along with a perfectly serviceable stereo system; “Inspired by Music” models feature seven-speaker JBL systems, but we won’t be driving those.
One thing that Fiat is extremely proud of but didn’t seem to have on our test cars is the “Audible Vehicle Warning System”, which plays a song on the outside speakers to warn pedestrians. This song you can listen to below is called “The Sound of 500” and was written by Flavio Ibba-Marco Gualdi. It’s supposed to play every time you set off up to 12 mph or whenever you drop below that speed, then gives way to more typical white noise. Sadly, despite my best efforts, I still couldn’t activate it. Perhaps it was a pre-production problem, but either way, the bumper concert will have to wait for another day.
One interesting thing about the 500e is that the 2024 is slightly cheaper than the old model despite being better in almost every measurable aspect. It’s not cheap per se, as Fiat considers itself a premium brand in the United States. Still, with a sticker price of $34,095 (including a $1,595 destination charge) for the base (RED) trim and $37,595 for the “Inspired” trim, it’s not exactly huge either. That’s bolstered by the fact that the only options available on the RED or “Inspired by” trim levels are tire choice (summer or all-season) and those charging perks mentioned before. that’s what you want. That’s unfortunate, because the 500e is built-in Italy (specifically Fiat’s famous Mirafiori plant in Turin), it is not eligible for the federal electric vehicle tax credit.
While not terrible, that price is more than you’d pay for the much faster Mini Cooper SE and its 181 horsepower. However, you pay for that extra performance in a different way, with an EPA-estimated range of just 114 miles. The Mini starts at $31,895, but the base spec is somewhat plain with 16-inch wheels and no Android Auto compared to Fiat’s great-looking standard 17-inch units and smartphone connectivity. wireless for both Apple and Android devices. The Mini also only fast charges at 50 kW, so if you plan to use a public DC fast charger, expect to spend more time waiting in the Mini (and bothering others waiting to charge).
Fiat 500e Inspired by Music
Now, the answer to the good question: Is the 2024 Fiat 500e worth the four-year wait? In short, yes. Fiat claims that it took time between the initial announcement in 2020 and now to find and fix the car’s flaws and ensure that it is as ready for the US market as possible. Driving it, I found that, while still a little rough around the edges, it’s a great choice for drivers suited to the 500e’s narrow uses.
It’s nimble, super engaging (subjective, but important), offers a good enough cabin, and enough range and performance to not feel like it’s blocking traffic or burdening your lifestyle. If you live in a densely populated urban area like New York or Los Angeles, the little Fiat will make life easier and more pleasant, but if you’re somewhere with large distances between destinations then it’s not the car for you.
I wouldn’t call the refreshed 500e a home run or a big sales car, given its very specific purpose, but I enjoyed my time with it and would recommend It’s for those looking for a little bit of La Dolce Vita.
