Any thoughts/experiences with the Fiat 500e?

[tigerbalm]

My wife is close to pushing the button on a new Fiat 500e (model: La Prima BY BOCELLI – aka. all the things) as a city run-around. Range/battery size not a major concern – other then at 42 kWh (37.5 kWh usable) it's a little small from a degradation perspective.

She'll be moving from a Peugeot e-208.

Just wondering if any forum members have any experience or advice with the 500e?

 

[W1NGE]

My wife is close to pushing the button on a new Fiat 500e (model: La Prima BY BOCELLI – aka. all the things) as a city run-around. Range/battery size not a major concern – other then at 42 kWh (37.5 kWh usable) it's a little small from a degradation perspective.

She'll be moving from a Peugeot e-208.

Just wondering if any forum members have any experience or advice with the 500e?

All I can say is that it's cute but a tad expensive - I'm sure it will be fine for intended use case.

 

[f1eng]

My wife is close to pushing the button on a new Fiat 500e (model: La Prima BY BOCELLI – aka. all the things) as a city run-around. Range/battery size not a major concern – other then at 42 kWh (37.5 kWh usable) it's a little small from a degradation perspective.

She'll be moving from a Peugeot e-208.

Just wondering if any forum members have any experience or advice with the 500e?

I really quite fancy the soft top version. I like open top cars in our not-too-hot summers!

 

[tigerbalm]

Had a 40 minute test drive today and we placed an order. It has a nice little trip summary screen on shutdown – when you're finished driving.

Initial thoughts:

• Infotainment system is quiet impressive. In some ways its more intuitive then the PCM. The built-in navigation looks good.
• The blending of regen and mechanical brakes was well done – much better then the Peugeot e-208 – but that wouldn't be hard.
• Suspension felt fairly harsh over speed bumps.
• Acceleration is non-existent– but a Taycan Turbo S will probably do that to you!
• It's use of space in the cabin is quiet clever.
• It knows its a city car and does not try to be anything else.
• The JBL stereo seemed really nice.
• Getting wireless CarPlay up and running took seconds. And its resolution looks better then the PCM.
• I now realise I drive all cars as if they were as wide as a Taycan – it would take me a while to get used to the spaces a 500e can squeeze into.
• You pick your model and you pick your colour and that is pretty much the end of the options list. There is something beautiful in that simplicity compared to the Porsche configurator!
• That said, it amazes me that you only get a reversing camera on the most expensive model. All other models get beepers.
• The model we ordered has adaptive cruise control and active lane keep. Good to see that stuff make it into a city car. Even if its main benefit will be auto-brake and emergency stop, etc.
• You get a clear battery % level – amazes me how many EVs (like our Peugeot) where you don't and are left guessing how much you've left from eyeballing a meter graphic.
• It pored rain during the test drive and the air-con and front/rear wipers had no issue keeping windscreen clear.

Should only be two weeks or so until delivery. Will do a fuller review then if people are interested.

 

[Keysersoze]

Look forward to your review. We have a 500 petrol pub car / wifey town car that could possibly replaced…..

 

[Hanny]

We looked into one as replacement for wifey’s run about, currently got a Renault Zoe, found the battery pack on the small side limiting range a bit too much for us, and the performance was too ‘soft’ for our wants/need.

Now about to pull the trigger on a Cupra Born V3 for wifey’s run about and to replace the Zoe GT line.

 

[mangobay]

We have a Cupra Born. I really really like it. Ok the infotainment isn’t that great (well publicised id3 unit) but the best compliment I can pay it is I really don’t mind getting into it straight after the Taycan.

 

[FredC057]

Hi,
My wife has the 500e Cabrio La Prima for a year now.
Always shows 260km range when 100% whatever the weather and the way you drive it.
There is no way to stop the charge at a certain %, it goes to 100% if you leave it plugged.
It’s perfect for the town and I often drive it instead of the Taycan.
We have the same thought as you wrote on your test drive.
I would add that I miss the possibility to lower the driving seat, it’s way to high for me. And for an open roof and the top spec version I would have liked a heated steering wheel.
For the camera, you don’t need a front one as it’s so short and the reverse camera is way better than the Taycan when we reverse from the same place in my garage.

My wife loves it and receive a lot of compliments.

 

[tigerbalm]

Well the 500e arrived two days ago. The Taycan appreciates how easy it is to park beside it! Right now, its a much rarer car in Ireland than the Taycan with 47 car's registered in the country so far.

I suspect it will remain a fairly rare car here – its too expensive and too small to be practical for many potential buyers.

I think FIAT have done an amazing job on the styling of this EV variant – its got the potential to be a future classic.

Compared to the Peugeot e-208 (a supermini) the 500e is down a size class to a mini. Unusual for this class, the interior is high-quality and well designed. There are cheap plastics on the doors and the glove box – but somehow it works – the overall package feels comfortable and high-quality.

Things like adjustable arm rests are well integrated. Coming from driving Porsches, the drivers seat is too high – but in a car this size – they have to put the battery somewhere.

One of the more impressive aspects is the infotainment. It has built-in navigation (from TomTom) that seems capable. However, while it could help find you chargers out on the road, it doesn't seem to do a very good job of estimating arrival consumption.

That said, this is a city car – that will spend 99% of its time within a 50 km range of home and be charged there overnight.

Setting up scheduled timers was a breeze – no confusion that's present on the Taycan here! The flat wireless charging pad under the screen – charges our iPhone 14 Pro without difficulty. With the camera bump – iPhone's can be tricky to get wireless charging – but the FIAT seems to handle it without too much difficulty.

Wireless CarPlay kicks in without any issues and the infotainment screen renders it to a much higher resolution than on the Taycan.

While driving, the car can give you excellent consumption stats – showing exactly how much energy is being consumed (or generating) by the electric motors. It also splits out the air conditioning energy requirements.

Additionally it has a "eco driving" screen that rates your driving in acceleration, de-acceleration and speed categories. I had fun trying to get the lowest score possible!

This car comes with full Level 2 driving assistance that appear to work very well. Adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, auto-steering, traffic assist, etc all work well. Again, very unusual to have this on a city car of this size.

It's unclear to me yet – if the cruise control is radar assisted or only using the vision camera (like Tesla's).

For a car this size, the stereo is amazing. This car has the variant that FIAT calls "La Prima by Bocelli" and it really delivers. We listen to a lot of classical music and this has "virtual rooms" – sound processor settings – that have been optimised for this genre. It works surprisingly well.

This is a massive step-up from what was in the Peugeot e-208.

https://news.harman.com/releases/jb...sound-to-the-fiat-new-500-la-prima-by-bocelli

To deliver this sound – there is the compromise that the already tiny boot – looses its underfloor charging cable storage to a subwoofer.

The car was delivered with the cables, tyre repair air pump/goo and towing eye in a "500" branded tote bag in the boot.

Unlike the Peugeot e-208 – which was a compromise design to support petrol, diesel and electric versions – the FIAT 500e is designed from the ground up to only use an electric drivetrain.

Under the hood is neat, looks easy to work on – you can clearly see the HV cables coming up from the underfloor battery to the inverters.

For the tiny size of the car – it comes with a beefy 12V battery – likely to power the infotainment/stereo options.

The car is still on its first charge from the dealer – so too early to figure out range.

This car can fit into any parking spot – a key requirement of a city car. The Ocean Green colour working very well here in Ireland – where surprisingly, green cars are unusual.

Can't believe our first two-door EV wasn't a Porsche!

 

[anonymouse]

Great to hear how you are getting on with the 500. Cool car. It’s been under serious consideration here too, as a second car. we thought of waiting for the Abarth version but it doesn’t seem to have much power either.

Our main issue was that in the right hand drive version they forgot to design somewhere to put the left foot, and the driver felt very cramped. What‘s your experience been?

 

[tigerbalm]

we thought of waiting for the Abarth version

That was the variant we wanted too – but it just isn't available in Ireland.

Our main issue was that in the right hand drive version they forgot to design somewhere to put the left foot, and the driver felt very cramped. What‘s your experience been?

Yes,, this is definitely true and if the car was used for any length of road trips – it might even be a deal breaker. But our use of the car is more for 30 minute run arounds shopping/chores/collecting things – and for that use case it is not a problem.

When driving our left foot tends to just be back against the seat – rather then to the left of the brake pedal in a normal car.

 

[f1eng]

I like the roof off in summer and keep looking at the 500C.

 

[ciaranob]

Great info - thx for sharing - saw one in Germany on our visit a week or so ago and indeed stepped up the design imo too.

We are still holding out for the next gen Mini E as the wife is a die hard fan and I actually prefer the aesthetic over the Fiat also - but never say never !

I may have missed it but how is the driving in respect regen 'interference' i.e. has it got the ability to favor coast akin to Porsche vs forced 'one-peal' Tesla style auto regen braking?

 

[MrB]

My wife has had one (La Prima hatch) for a year now and it’s an absolute gem. Chock-full of character and beats the Taycan hands down around town. Surprisingly well screwed together too bar the charging port door that loves to stick closed, especially in the winter.

Perfect compliment to the CT4S and we’ve had to use it on some long trips too whilst we waited for a replacement windscreen for the Taycan.

Regen-wise, in normal mode it just feels like the Taycan. Personally I really dislike regen as it feels very unnatural in a car but, like the Taycan, it’s there if you want to switch it on.

 

[tigerbalm]

I may have missed it but how is the driving in respect regen 'interference' i.e. has it got the ability to favor coast akin to Porsche vs forced 'one-peal' Tesla style auto regen braking?

The 500 has three selectable modes: Normal, Range and Sherpa.

Normal: Light forced regen when you lift off the accelerator. I'd say 5% of possible regen.
Range: Much higher levels of regen. I'd describe this as one-pedal driving as it will regen down to a stop.
Sherpa: This is user selectable limp mode. High levels of regen.

So no coast in any of the modes unfortunately. Though its nearly there in normal mode. Give the urban/city nature of this car, it doesn't feel too bad.