2024 Fiat 500e Review and Test Drive
Small in size but big in personality, the electric Fiat 500 is a fun commuter car.
Christian Wardlaw
Drive most places in Italy, and the reason the Fiat 500 exists is apparent. Tight alleys, narrow roads, and limited parking are commonplace, making tiny cars such as the Cinquecento perfect for its natural habitat. Those environments are far less common in the United States, limiting the appeal of the redesigned 2024 Fiat 500e.
That "e" stands for electric. All Fiat 500s coming to the U.S. in 2024 have an electric drive system offering an estimated 149 miles of range. Those facts represent two more strikes against the new 500e in a market where range anxiety and concerns about charging infrastructure are among the top reasons people worry about owning an electric vehicle (EV).
In addition, while the majority of EV owners recharge their cars at home, people attracted to a relatively affordable city car such as the 500e might lack the luxury of installing a Level 2 home charging station, let alone running an extension cord out to the car, forcing them to rely on public charging.
It's not all gloom and doom. After a week of living with the new 2024 500e in suburban Los Angeles, I found plenty to like. It's zippy and fun to drive, it has a distinctive personality, and as long as you're not sitting in the back seat, it's a comfortable commuter car. By simply plugging the 500e into the household-style power outlet on my front porch, I kept the battery charged enough to avoid public charging stations.
Keep in mind that my work-from-home situation and my family's ownership of a midsize three-row crossover SUV make life with a Fiat 500e as a second car stress-free. Your situation might be different.
Christian Wardlaw
The 2024 Fiat 500e Is Priced High
Fiat does not offer the 2024 500e in traditional trim levels. Instead, it rolls out limited-edition product drops featuring exclusive equipment around a specific theme.
The first of them relaunched the 500e in the U.S. market, which is the car you see in the photos. Fiat provided my 500e Inspi(Red) test car, which carried a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $34,095, including the $1,595 destination charge to ship the EV from the Turin, Italy, factory that builds it to your local dealership.
Fiat has debuted three more 500e models, all priced at $37,595, including the destination charge. They include the Inspired by Beauty, Inspired by Music, and Inspired by Los Angeles. Because it is made in Italy, the 500e does not qualify for an electric vehicle federal tax credit. Instead, Fiat offers a $7,500 incentive to help lower lease payments, but there are still several EVs that cost less to lease per month.
Christian Wardlaw
Retro Simplicity With a Side of Style
Italians take fashion seriously, and history and tradition help to define their country. The new Fiat 500e reflects these qualities, drawing deeply on and adhering faithfully to the Cinquecento's past while offering stylish details to set it apart from other small cars.
Inside and out, the 500e's new design is appealing, though my teenagers said the car looked like an axolotl — a type of amphibian. While the interior design leans toward minimalism, the 500e Inspi(Red) simply has less equipment than many modern cars. The relatively basic feature list contributes to the 500e's refreshing simplicity.
Fiat says the dashboard exterior-color trim panel, oval gauge housing, and two-spoke steering wheel connect the 2024 500e to the original 1957 Fiat 500. This gives the car a strong retro flavor paired with a modern 7.0-inch digital instrumentation panel, a 10.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and a Fiat emblem upholstery pattern. However, there is a lot of hard plastic in this car, reflecting the automaker's effort to keep the price low.
Christian Wardlaw
Seating for Four, but Comfort for Two
When Fiat introduced the 500 to the U.S. for the 2012 model year, I had two young children in my household: a two-year-old and a four-year-old. We packed them and their child safety seats into the 500, and once we strapped them in, my older daughter pronounced the car "too squeezy." Today, she's a 5-foot-8-inch tall 16-year-old, and she thought the same thing about the new 2024 500e.
I agree, but I can fit in the back with the front passenger's seat adjusted so that my knees still clear the dashboard. Sitting back there reminded me of a typical third-row seat in a midsize SUV; it's doable for a short trip but not for longer periods. And I could never replicate the "sitting behind myself" trick behind the driver's seat.
Though the back seat remains an occasional-use proposition that could elicit negative reviews from a preschooler, the front seats are terrific. Firm and supportive, with height adjustment for the driver, the two front chairs offer plenty of comfort in this small car.
Christian Wardlaw
Impressive Utility in a Bite-Sized Package
In addition to supplying satisfying room for two people, the 500e has impressive interior storage space. The glove compartment is huge, and there's a deep center console bin underneath the sliding, adjustable center armrest. Separately, a tray forward of the armrest is perfect for incidentals, and a wireless charger lives on a dashboard shelf under the climate controls. Even the door panels contain thoughtful storage spots.
Under the 500e's hatch, you'll find 7.5 cubic-feet of cargo volume, enough to hold a full-size suitcase and a couple of backpacks. The back seat folds in a 50/50 split, but Fiat doesn't publish a maximum cargo volume number. Nevertheless, doing so dramatically increases the amount of stuff you can fit into the 500e.
Unfortunately, expanding the cargo space is a hassle. With the front seats moved back in their tracks, the rear seats don't collapse completely, and after you do get them down, they don't lie flat or create a level load floor. Raising them is also challenging because the rear seat belt buckles get in the way, preventing easy latching.
Christian Wardlaw
2024 Fiat 500e Uconnect 5 Review
If the Fiat 500e has a distinctly retro vibe, the car's standard Uconnect 5 infotainment system is thoroughly modern. Featuring a 10.3-inch touchscreen display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, Alexa Built-in, SiriusXM 360L satellite radio, wireless smartphone charging, and more, it provides the kind of connectivity today's drivers want.
As I've observed in other Stellantis models equipped with Uconnect 5, the native voice recognition system is hit-and-miss in recognizing and responding to commands correctly. Fortunately, pairing to Bluetooth and running Apple CarPlay proved effortless, making it easy to use Siri instead.
The 500e Inspi(Red) has a six-speaker audio system that sounds OK. If you want a richer audio experience, the Inspired by Music and Inspired by Los Angeles drops feature a uniquely tuned JBL premium sound system.
Christian Wardlaw
2024 Fiat 500e Safety Features
My 500e Inspi(Red) test vehicle had a limited set of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The highlights included a driver-monitoring system, forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection capability, lane-departure warning, and rear parking-assist sensors.
When you move up to the Inspired by Beauty, Inspired by Music, and Inspired by Los Angeles drops, you get more ADAS. These versions of the 500e include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, and front and side parking sensors. I missed having several of these features, particularly the blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
In addition, bright morning or late afternoon sunlight frequently rendered the 500e's ADAS inoperable. One morning, a four-inch-wide strip of condensation on the lower part of the windshield also caused a problem.
Christian Wardlaw
Perfect for Short-Distance Daily Driving
Like the rest of the Fiat 500e, the electric drive system is simple. An 87-kilowatt (kW) electric motor powered by a 42-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery spins the car's front wheels to the tune of 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque.
Normal, Range, and Sherpa driving modes are available. Range adds a one-pedal driving capability, and Sherpa restricts power and speed to eke out as much range as possible. According to EPA estimates, you can travel 149 miles on a full charge.
When it's time to recharge the battery, you can use a 120-volt outlet such as those in your home. However, getting from 5% to 100% takes an estimated 37 hours. That represents a gain of 3.8 miles for every hour of charging, which is fine if you plug it in every night and typically drive no more than 40 miles per day.
Otherwise, you can use a Level 2 home charging station and fully recharge the battery in six hours. When you're away from home, the 500e can be DC fast-charged up to a rate of 85 kW and can go from 0% to 80% in 35 minutes.
Christian Wardlaw
Zippy in the City and Fun in the Curves
On paper, the Fiat 500e provides little motive force. In reality, it's a zippy and nimble little car that's plenty of fun to drive.
While 117 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque aren't impressive numbers, keep in mind the 500e's base curb weight is less than 3,000 pounds. This is a city car, and the electric motor's instant torque is enough to squeal the tires occasionally. Fiat says the 500e reaches 60 mph in 8.5 seconds, and based on my experience, that tracks. The faster you go, the less responsive the car feels to the jabs of your right foot.
In Normal mode, the 500e drives mostly like a typical car aside from its lack of transmission shifts and silent powertrain operation. In addition, the brake pedal behaves too much like an on/off switch, making it hard to modulate. Range mode eliminates that characteristic. I used Range mode most of the time, enjoying the challenge of using the one-pedal driving function.
Christian Wardlaw
Sherpa mode is best for maximizing your driving range. It limits energy use and restricts the 500e's top speed to 50 mph. Of course, if you need to go faster, you can — just push harder on the accelerator pedal. But when your battery is getting low, and you're still some distance from home or a charging station, Sherpa mode can help you get there.
As I do with every test vehicle, I enthusiastically drove the Fiat down Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains. Except for steering that feels too light and uncommunicative in that environment and the suspension's inability to control significant excess body motions over a section of poorly repaired blacktop, the 500e was enjoyable to drive, feeling snug in the twists and turns and planting a big smile on my face.
Christian Wardlaw
Later, on the 101 freeway, the 500e zipped up the Conejo Grade without a problem. However, this EV is surprisingly loud inside at highway speeds due to road and wind noise. Regarding efficiency: On the evaluation drive, the 500e's energy consumption rate averaged 30 kWh per 100 miles, coming up short of the official EPA estimate of 29 kWh/100 mi.
One afternoon, I had to drive the 500e into downtown Los Angeles in heavy traffic. The car is ideally suited to this kind of driving, thanks to impressive forward visibility, instant power to scoot into small holes in traffic, and the ability to skirt debris and broken-down vehicles partially blocking travel lanes.
On this drive, I left home with a full battery and 139 miles of indicated range, traveled 89.6 miles, and returned home with a 41% charge and 53 miles of remaining range. After 11 hours of overnight charging using a standard outlet, the 500e was back up to 75% and 100 miles of range.
Christian Wardlaw
A Good Second Car for Commuting
The new 2024 Fiat 500e is a fun and practical commuter car loaded with personality. You can almost picture yourself zipping along, high above the Tyrrhenian Sea between San Pietro and Positano, effortlessly dodging the scooters and tour buses while listening to Andrea Bocelli. But, more importantly, the 500e is an electric vehicle that's easy to live with. The key is to use it as a second car for commuting and running local errands.
Unfortunately, this plucky little Fiat isn't price competitive. Ineligible for a federal tax credit and offered with some lease deals that make the car's payments more expensive than a Honda Prologue, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, or Volkswagen ID.4, the Fiat 500e likely faces an uphill battle in a market where its tiny dimensions and big personality struggle to overcome a "bigger is better" mentality.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
Written by humans.
Edited by humans.
Christian WardlawChris says his first word was "car." For as long as he can remember, he's been obsessed with them. The design. The engineering. The performance. And the purpose. He is a car enthusiast who loves to drive, but is most passionate about the cars, trucks, and SUVs that people actually buy. He began his career as the editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s, and for more than 30 years has created automotive content for CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, the New York Daily News, and others. Chris owns Speedy Daddy Media, has been contributing to Capital One Auto Navigator since 2019, and lives in California with his wife, kids, dog, and 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata.
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