Why we’re running it: To find out if the reborn Fiat 500 in fully electric guise is just as charming to live with as it is to look at
Month 6 - Month 5 - Month 4 - Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Fiat 500 EV: Month 6
A short sample for our staff writer impresses - 1 June
I had the chance to sample our 500 recently and was really impressed with how fun it was to drive. I reckon I would pick the cabriolet version, though, both for the added fun factor and because my head was slightly pressed against the ceiling (I’m 6ft 1in). I’m unashamedly a fan of the £600 rose-gold paint, too.
Mileage: 3300
Our EV meets its potent, Abarth-badged petrol sibling. Is it a taste of what’s to come? - 4 May
It would be easy to assume the electric cars rapidly reshaping our definition of performance exist only at the upper end of the price spectrum: think Tesla Model S Plaid, Rimac Nevera or Lotus Evija. But it’s occurring in the city car segment too.
Where once you might have walked into an Abarth dealership, ticked a few options boxes and driven away in a 595 Competizione, now you can head to the other side of the office, spend a similar amount on an electric Fiat 500 and be comfortably beating ICE-engined cars at every set of traffic lights on your way home.
Does that sound like an easy decision? Perhaps, if you never leave the city limits. Both cars achieve 0-30mph in a little under 3.0sec and have not too dissimilar torque outputs (162lb ft in the 500 versus 184lb ft for the 595), despite the EV being about 300kg heavier and some 60bhp down on power.
But while the Fiat’s accelerative efforts then begin to drop off as its speedo needle continues to climb, the Abarth is still surging forward. Officially, it’s more than 2.0sec faster to 60mph, and is accompanied by a rorty four-pot soundtrack.
The thing is, I’ve found the 500 to be rather entertaining when shown a good bit of B-road, with stiff suspension that allows for very little roll through corners and a low centre of gravity, thanks to the placement of the battery.
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As a second car i find the 500e ideal epecially for minor roads in Cornwall. Its miles/kwh, range and performance shame many similar cars costing more. Overall i am very pleased with the car but like the reviewer I am experiencing the reseting of many functions and it is becoming a real issue - affecting charge settings, displays, miles to kms, headlamp sensitivity etc etc. If you look at Fiat forums this is a fairly common problem which effects some more than others. It appears to be weather dependent with bright sunshine affecting the sensors. At present Fiat have no solution and cannot give a date for a software update to correct these issues. Fortunately the resetting has not in anyway affected the ability to drive the car. Regarding range i get about 165 miles when warm and 140 miles when cold which like all EVs falls short of claimed mileage. As for the 5th gear test - who tests CITY cars around a race track? Plus a number of the figures they gave were wrong. Do they test supercars in a city?
A lot of car magazines raved about the Fiat 500e when launched but I suspected it was a case of style over substance if you concentrate on what really matters and the price of what you're actually getting.
And that suspicion appears to have been correct as a recent 5th Gear Recharged episode rated it as one of the worst small EVs on test when taking into consideration driving experience, practicality, range, performance and value for money.
And rear windows that don't wind down in a £30k car is unforgivable.
There will always be dissenters of course, but generally the reviews have been quite posiive, even in comparos. Also, name a 3 door hatchback or coupe for that matter made in the last decade that has roll down rear windows? That's th weirdest complaint I've heard about a car in a long time.
What do you think a reasonable price for a high quality, desirable, electric city car would be?
Don't want to sound like a stuck record, and I know that prices have gone up a lot, but the monthly pcp payment is far more important a figure than the list price these days. Nobody is going into a Fiat dealer and plonking down 30k cash on a new 500e.