There’s no other car on sale in Australia quite like the new Fiat 500e. This tiny all-electric hatchback has been on sale across Europe for a few years now but only recently landed Down Under, bringing with it an hefty starting price and plenty of quirks. Is it any good? Let’s find out.
What exactly is it?
Generally speaking, the Fiat 500 has always been a bit of an enigma and it’s no different with this new model. Australia’s electric vehicle (EV) market remains relatively small, and the 500e finds itself in a segment untouched by any other car manufacturer.
Perhaps its closest two rivals could be considered as the GWM Ora and the MG 4 but both of those have four doors. There’s also the Mini Cooper SE that’s quite a bit more expensive and occupies a similar niche part of the market. It too is quite a bit larger.
Read: America’s 2024 Fiat 500e Has A 149-Mile Range, Nearly Twice As Long As Before
Quick facts
It’s impossible to discuss the Fiat 500e without addressing its price first. In Australia, the 500e is exclusively available in a single trim variant called the ‘La Prima’ that starts at AU$52,500 (about US$34,900 at current exchange rates) before on-road costs. With all fees included, it comes to a little over AU$56,000 (about US$36,900). That’s only a touch more than what the 500e costs in Europe where it is well-priced against rivals like the Peugeot e-208 and Honda e, though the later has been discontinued. It’s also eligible for government incentives throughout Europe. The same cannot be said of the Australian market.
Additionally, the local price positions it well above plenty of new EVs coming out of China, like the GWM Ora available from AU$39,990 (US$26,300), the MG 4 starting at AU$38,990 (US$25,700), BYD’s AU$38,890 US25,600) Dolphin and even BYD’s considerably larger Seal sedan that’s available from as little as AU$49,888 US$32,900). So, what do you get for your money? In truth, not much.
For starters, the 500e is considerably smaller than other entry-level EVs sold in Australia. It is just 3,632 mm (142.9 inches) long, 1,683 mm (66.2 inches) wide, and stands 1,527 mm (60.1 inches) tall with a 2,322 mm (91.4-inch) wheelbase. With this in mind, it is sold solely as a two-door with four seats and offered with a choice of six different colors. Our test car was painted in a sparkly color dubbed Celestial Blue that we thought looked absolutely brilliant.
Elsewhere, the 500e La Prima comes standard with LED headlights and daytime running lights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and plenty of important safety features like autonomous emergency braking, lane-centering assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring.
Powering the Australian version of the 500e is a single electric motor with 87 kW (117 hp) and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque, fed by a compact 42 kWh battery pack. Fiat claims it can travel up to 311 km (193 miles) on a single charge but in our experience, hitting that mark is extremely difficult, if not impossible. More on that later…
A cute cabin
The interior of the 500e La Prima is relatively well-equipped. Given that the sole variant sold in Australia is equivalent to the flagship version in some other markets, it comes as no surprise that there are a bunch of elements that feel relatively plush for a Fiat but are to be expected for a vehicle at this price point.
Immediately catching the eye are the seats clad in white man-made leather with the word ‘Fiat’ embossed into the backrests. These seats are manually adjustable and while they have a slightly odd shape, they are comfortable, even on long journeys. Interestingly, Fiat Australia only offers the 500e with a white leather option, meaning those who prefer a darker finish are out of luck.
While cleaning the white leather may be a nightmare, the seats, plus the white elements on the two-spoke steering wheel, door panels, pillars, and headliner, do give the electric hatchback an open and airy feeling.
Other welcome features of the interior include the large 10.25-inch infotainment system with support for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There is also a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster. This cluster may look a little unusual compared to most others on the market but it is easy to understand and configure, while also offering every piece of important driving data one could ever want. For me, it was one of the highlights of the cabin. The main infotainment screen has the same software as other Stellantis models and is similarly comprehensive with plenty of different menus to explore and an altogether premium feeling.
A wireless smartphone charger is located just below the physical climate control buttons and there are also single Type-A and Type-C plugs. There’s not much to speak of when it comes to the second row of the 500e as it is very compact and not suitable for tall adults.
Driven: The Fiat 500 RED Is A Charming And Easy-Going Urban EV
For the most part, the cabin of the 500e is reasonable, but it doesn’t feel as premium as we would expect for a car costing over AU$55,000 (US$36,200). Indeed, several elements feel downright cheap. This is no more evident than with the paper-thin fabric sunroof cover that doesn’t just feel extremely vulnerable to damage but does a lousy job of cutting out heat and midday glare from the sun. Additionally, there is a heaps of hard, black plastic throughout the cabin and the implementation of a plastic fold-out cupholder from the center console seems clumsy.
We were also not fond of the dashboard-mounted buttons used to select gears. The car even lacks a solid dead pedal to rest your left foot. This is particularly painful for tall drivers like myself and to rest my left leg in a comfortable position, I had nowhere else to put it other than underneath the brake pedal (obviously a dangerous thing to do…). The six-speaker audio system doesn’t exactly scream quality, either.
Surprisingly fun and efficient
The Fiat 500e La Prima does somewhat make up for its ergonomic foibles when you start to drive it.
On paper, figures of 87 kW (117 hp) and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) are nothing to write home about, particularly in the world of electric vehicles. Fiat claims it needs 9 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) but off the line and to around 60 km/h (37 mph), it feels impressively zippy, no doubt aided by the fact that it weighs a relatively scant (by EV standards) 1,290 kg (2,843 lbs).
There are three driving modes on offer: Normal, Range, and Sherpa. The first of those acts exactly as you would expect and provides no brake regeneration while Range adds a little bit of regen but not enough to enable one-pedal driving. If you want to enjoy a one-pedal experience, you’ll have to enable Sherpa mode which Fiat says “acts like a Himalayan Sherpa and always gets you home.”
Throughout our week with the car, we drove it primarily in this Sherpa mode, purely so we could enjoy the ease of one-pedal driving. Additionally, driving around in this mode seems to be the only way to get close to the claimed range figure. In fact, whereas Fiat claims the car uses 14.4 kWh / 100 km, we were able to get that figure into the 12 kWh / 100 km range during short drives. The main downside of Sherpa mode is that it limits the car to 80 km/h (50 mph) and also disables the climate control, although you can switch the A/C back on should you wish.
The steering feel is good and while it is light, it provides a solid amount of feedback and does make the 500e quite enjoyable along a twisty road. The ride quality isn’t quite so nice as it feels a little too stiff over undulating surfaces and could benefit from a softer suspension tune.
While we drove around primarily on one-pedal mode, when we did drive the little EV with both pedals, we found that the brakes were well-tuned and approachable. However, the electronic parking brake is in desperate need of a recalibration. The e-brake is applied automatically when you put the car in park and disabled when moved into Reverse or Drive, as with pretty much most other cars. However, it is only disengaged after a solid press of the accelerator. This proved to be an issue when I parked on my inclined driveway and attempted to reverse down to the street as I would have to prod at the throttle pedal to get the e-brake to disengage and then stop on the brake pedal to slow myself down.
The Fiat 500e is also one of the noisier EVs we’ve driven as there is always a slight high-pitch whistle being produced by the powertrain, regardless of how slow or fast you are driving.
Charging speeds are solid with Fiat claiming the 500e’s battery can be charged from zero to 80% at 85 kWh in about 35 minutes. We tested it out at a 50 kWh charging station and found that it happily charged between 48-50 kWh during our 20-minute charging session. Curiously, Fiat only ships the 500e with an 11 kW Mode 3 charging cable as opposed to a cable that can be plugged into an ordinary household outlet, meaning owners will have to install a home charger should they want to charge it at home.
Verdict
Much like previous iterations of the Fiat 500, the latest all-electric model is a very niche product. It is undoubtedly stylish and those who like the design will love it. However, its price tag makes it difficult to recommend to anyone other than those with money to burn on an Italian city runabout that favors style over everything else.
