2024 Fiat 500e

When the Fiat 500e first landed in the USA as a 2013 model, a range of 84-87 miles was considered decent, but by 2019 - its last model year - it became thoroughly uncompetitive. Built in Mexico, it was never more than a compliance car to earn Fiat Chrysler clean-energy credits in the US; it was also only sold in California and Oregon. Then CEO Sergio Marchionne even said he hoped no one would buy one because the automaker lost money on every one it sold. The new 2024 Fiat 500e is a completely different kettle of fish. It's brand-new and boasts an updated and chic take on the original 500's cutesy styling. Since there are no gas-powered Fiat 500s anymore, the 500e EV's reboot for modern-day life is apt.

While the styling, power output, and performance are pretty similar to the old car, the range is hugely improved and now beats its obvious rival, the Mini Cooper SE, although it can't get up to the levels of the Chevrolet Bolt and Nissan Leaf. We're also hopeful that the US will get the exciting new 152-horsepower Abarth derivative, a sorely needed halo car to re-establish Fiat in the local market.

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While it has been driving around European streets since 2020, Fiat USA has set an approximate local release date for the Fiat 500e and said that the car will only be coming out in the US in the spring of 2024 - with its public launch planned for November 2023 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It will be imported straight from Italy and no longer assembled at the Toluca Car Assembly factory in Mexico.

There are no firm estimates on the 2024 Fiat 500e's price and current speculation seems to suggest that it could start anywhere between $30,000 and $40,000. As a reminder, the old Fiat 500e cost around $33,000 when it was discontinued in 2019; the brand-new car is unlikely to be cheaper than that. A starting MSRP of around $35,000 for the base model with the 42-kWh battery would make it sound value, especially since this Italian import will not qualify for tax incentives, but Fiat could decide to take a more boutique approach in which case a starting price of close to $40,000 is possible.

This might make it a hard sell next to the $34k Mini and sub-$30k0 Bolt. Pricing will be key, and we're curious to see how Stellantis USA will position the car in the market.

If the 2012 Fiat 500 can be considered a masterful modern re-imagination of the tiny tot that was the original rear-engined 500 of the '50s, then dare we say that Fiat has done it again. Far from a tasteless pastiche of retro styling cues, the 2024 500e stays faithful to the spirit of the original and is instantly recognizable as a 500, yet it's a forward-thinking and thoroughly modern little electric supermini that is right at home in the 2020s. It looks fabulous in the fetching oranges and purples that we've seen on the three one-off designer concepts Fiat has teased us with, but it's more likely that the colors for the US Fiat 500e will mirror those of the European 500, especially since it's made in Italy. There are only five colors - Ocean Green (an attractive turquoise), an iPhone-like Rose Gold, Celestial Blue, Ice White, Onyx Black, and Mineral Grey.

The old gas-powered 500 was offered in hatchback and convertible formats in the US, the latter a roll-top using the hatchback's intact roof rails. The 500e was only ever offered as a hard-top hatchback. The new 500e is sold in Europe in the same two body styles, as well as a "3+1" body that has a small backward-opening rear door on the passenger side to ease access for rear-seat passengers. It's a marriage of two concepts - one extra rear door like on a Hyundai Veloster, but rearward-opening like on a Mazda RX-8. We're confident that the US will get the hatchback and convertible, but there is no word on the 3+1, so we'll simply have to wait and see. Since the new 500e is fully imported and not made here, we might just get it.

The last 2019 500e was a tiny car, only 142.4 inches long. The latest Fiat 500e's exterior dimensions have not increased much and it has a length of around 143 inches if the standard European bumpers are retained, or as much as 144.8 inches if some reports are to be believed. It has a width of 66.5 inches (74.8 inches with the mirrors), and a height of 60.1 inches. Its wheelbase increases a smidge to 91.4 inches. Curb weights aren't quite clear at the moment, but we expect the new one to clock in close to the roughly 3,000-pound base weight of the old one, even with the larger battery. This is helped by its advanced lightweight GKN-developed eDrive system. The entire 117-hp electric motor has a total weight of only 138 pounds, which will help keep curb weight in check. Currently, the lightest European version with the 24-kWh battery and base spec starts at 2,767 pounds, and the heaviest version with the larger battery weighs 3,097 pounds.

The new 500e doesn't diverge much from the old one in terms of power and performance. Assuming the US receives the current European spec, outputs from the electric motor are up slightly from the old model's 111 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque. The 2024 Fiat 500e's electric motor develops 117 hp and 162 lb-ft; it's front-mounted and drives the front wheels, as before. Considering Fiat claims a 0-62-mph sprint of nine seconds for the new 500e without the US-standard one-foot rollout, it should yield pretty much the same performance as the old one, which could perform the 0-60-mph sprint in around 8.4 seconds in independent US testing. That's not fast, but this is no Tesla, and given the instant response of EVs and the brisk 3.1 seconds it needs to get to 31 mph, it should feel nicely responsive in the city, which is its natural habitat. Normal, Range, and Sherpa driving modes are available, the latter one designed to maximize your range to help you get to a planned destination without running out of electrons.

The new 500e is offered with a base 24-kWh battery just like the old one, but this time there is a larger 42-kWh battery as well, which is the one for which the above performance claims are made. On the small battery, the range of the European model is claimed to be 115 miles, but that's on the optimistic WLTP cycle, so expect around 90-95 miles once the EPA gets hold of it - an improvement over the 2019 500e's 84 miles and 112 MPGe combined on the same battery size. This low range likely makes it a non-starter for the US market.

The larger battery yields 199 miles on the WLTP cycle, which should translate to roughly 160 EPA miles, enough to beat rivals such as the Mini Cooper SE's 114 miles and the base Leaf's 149 miles, but still a good 100 miles short of the Bolt's 259 miles. The battery is quick to top up though and will accept fast charging, which should provide it with around 25 EPA miles in five minutes and the ability to charge up to 80 percent from empty in 35 minutes.

The last Fiat 500e's trunk space was a tiny 7 cu-ft due to the fact that it was a compromised package, being a gas-engined car converted into an EV. Freed of the space-gobbling battery, the gas-powered 500 offered a more useful 9.5 cu-ft for cargo space. The new 500e was designed from the ground up to be an EV and we expect no such packaging compromises. It should match or beat the old gas-powered 500's 9.5-cube volume.

Fiat claims a figure of 19.4 cubes for the European model but, given the size of the car, that is clearly not behind the second row under the luggage cover but probably a total figure with the rear seats folded, so it'll just about work for two-up touring with luggage. Interior space for knick-knacks has been improved, partly thanks to a new dash-mounted push-button-style gear selector, freeing up space in the center console.

Passenger space inside the cabin is a touch better and while only children will be comfortable on the cramped rear seats, the Fiat 500e's interior style and presentation have certainly been taken upmarket. Assembly quality and materials have been improved and the interior comes across as a lot more premium than before - a requirement, given the expected price increase. The familiar round gauge cluster of the old model survives but is now a configurable digital affair and it's joined by a landscape-style 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen atop the center stack running Stellantis' latest Uconnect 5 infotainment software, so it should incorporate wireless smartphone mirroring, over-the-air updates, Amazon Alexa, wireless charging, a JBL audio system, and navigation. All the modern driving-assistance features such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keep assist are available but probably won't be standard on all trims.