2024 Fiat 500e First Drive: A Small, Affordable EV—What More Do You Want?

If you can package your life in or around the 2024 Fiat 500e’s small, two-door body and modest driving range, it’s a happy little electric vehicle. Look, we don’t critique vehicles for what they aren’t, so we won’t be doing any bellyaching about the 500e’s size—it is the modern, all-electric remastering of Fiat’s 1950s 500 original, a golf-cart-sized mini car. Want or need something larger, with more doors, and with Tesla-challenging range? Go buy that something from another company, because that’s not what Fiat’s selling here.

Making no attempt to be all things (or even most things) to all people, the Fiat’s stance is refreshing in an automotive landscape littered with safe designs approaching focus-grouped convergence. It unapologetically targets urban use—its EPA-estimated combined driving range is 149 miles, but the city range figure is 162 miles—and is pitched as a stylish and fun second or third car that doesn’t take up much space, use any gas, or cost that much money. The 500e starts at $34,095, and although it isn’t eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit when purchased, that credit may be able to be applied on leases.

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What’s New

The 2024 Fiat 500e is also much, much better than the first-generation 500e EV sold between 2013 and 2019. Converted from the gas-fed 500, that one had just 84 to 87 miles of range and was created only for regulatory compliance in certain markets. (Then CEO of Fiat Chrysler Sergio Marchionne is said to have openly wished no one would buy the old 500e, as the per-car losses were huge.)

The new 500e uses the STLA City architecture and is slightly larger than its predecessor, being 0.5 inch longer, 6.2 inches taller, and 2.2 inches wider, with a 0.8-inch-longer wheelbase. This lends the new 500e a bulldog-like stance, which is exaggerated by its snub nose and serious-looking “eyes.” The more substantial appearance is backed up by a 117-hp, 162-lb-ft electric motor driving the front wheels and fed by a 42-kWh battery.

The curb weight quoted by Fiat for the new model reveals one of the many benefits of the 500e’s new dedicated electric car platform—it actually weighs slightly less than the smaller, previous-gen EV version despite its larger, heavier battery. Designed to accept that battery from the outset, the 500e enjoys a roomier, better-packaged interior, as well.

From inside, you might not realize how small the car is externally. The new 500e’s seating position is more natural; it no longer feels as if you’re sitting on the car while paradoxically still looking up at traffic around you. Material quality is OK, while the build tolerances appear tight. With its just-right visual flair, the 500e’s cabin reminds us of the current Honda Civic’s—good for the price but hardly premium or luxurious. The electronic door handles are the spiciest addition, with a button under each exterior pull handle and round buttons on each interior armrest. A manual backup release is clearly visible in the door pockets below.

The passenger seat lacks height adjustment and can leave taller passengers ducking under the lowish door opening. Once inside, headroom is fine, however. Drivers enjoy a manual height adjustment, and the steering column tilts and telescopes. The pedals are actuated with more conventional fore-aft movements rather than stepped on from above like in the old 500.

And yes, you can fit adults in the rear seat. Of course, as with any two-door car, slimmer builds and limber joints ease ingress after you tumble and slide each front seat forward using handy levers on each seatback. Headroom in back is tighter than up front, but the space is a revelation compared to the old 500e, with enough width for a central cupholder. There’s also toe space under the seats and a higher cushion that doesn’t leave knees elevated and butts numb. The back seats split fold (but not all the way flat), while rear cargo space with them raised seems much larger than the 7.5 cubic feet Fiat says fits back there.

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Oh, and It Drives Bigger, Too

Every last-generation Fiat 500 drove small; some of them even drove spooky—jumping on the brakes at freeway speeds induced squirreling from the back end. If you happened to be turning during such an event, lurid oversteer would send the rear tires skidding wide. The first-generation 500e tamped down on the behavior a bit but added in a bouncier rear suspension and at-times rambunctious front-end scrambling thanks to its torquey electric motor.

On an admittedly tame drive around downtown Miami, there was nary a hint of past 500 demons. All we found was a pleasant, almost shocking level of refinement; the ride is smooth, and the new 500e’s cabin is seriously quiet. The way bumps are dispatched, you’d think you were in a larger car—there’s a sense of substance unexpected at this size.

The refinement focus also means the 500e’s fun-to-drive quotient leans heavily on its wieldy size. By dint of its footprint, it darts smartly in and out of traffic and around corners, but not in a way that beckons you to drive it harder. The handling is friendly and secure-feeling—again, at the modest speeds we were able to achieve—and the brakes are strong, with good blending between regen and the mechanical front disc and rear drum brakes.  

With barely more power than before (6 additional hp and 15 more lb-ft of torque) and weighing about the same, the 2024 500e feels about as quick as the old model, which was capable of mid-8-second spurts to 60 mph. The new 500e gets to that mark more maturely, though, without squealy front tire spins or tramping; instead, the Fiat pours itself forward on a gently tapering wave of torque. By highway speeds, the punch fades, although the Fiat doesn’t feel flat-footed—just about average for a small car hustling along with American traffic. There is a solid one-pedal driving setting, which is tied into the Range drive mode; there’s also a Normal mode, in which the Fiat coasts like a gas car, and a curious Sherpa setting that’s essentially a limp-home mode, cutting power, top speed (to 50 mph), and climate controls to maximize range.

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The EV Stuff

Which brings us to … range. Having not yet conducted a complete MotorTrend Road-Trip Range test, we can speak only anecdotally to the 500e’s energy consumption. Around town, with lots of regenerative braking capturing energy as you slow for traffic or stoplights, the miles slowly fall off the range estimate in the digital gauge cluster; on a few highway blasts, they disappear much quicker. This is normal EV stuff, of course, but the Fiat’s coefficient of drag is actually slightly worse than before—likely thanks to its larger frontal area and 17-inch tires. That said, the 149 miles of combined range seems entirely achievable at lower speeds.

Fiat has improved the 500e’s charging somewhat, too, and equipped it with a CCS1 port. With DC fast-charging capability, it can now facilitate up to 85-kW charging speeds, replenishing its pack from zero to 80 percent in about 35 minutes. On a Level 2 charger, zero to 100 percent charge takes six hours; on a household AC outlet, that drags on to 37 hours. The onboard AC-to-DC charger is a zippier 11-kW unit, an upgrade from the old 500e’s 6.6-kW charger, but outside of DC fast charging, the Fiat’s charge times are still slower than before because the battery is nearly twice as big.

If your plan is to buy a 500e and regularly road-trip it, get a new plan or pick a different car. If, like many EV owners with access to home charging, you plan to run errands, commute, and the like with few on-the-go charging stops, the Fiat’s range is more agreeable. Tempting though it may be to play the game of “what else could you buy for $35,000?,” remember the cheaper, four-door Chevy Bolt EV (259 miles of range) is gone. Nissan’s Leaf offers the same 149-mile range as the 500e in entry-level form, provided you remember it exists. Neither of those EVs wear evocative styling; they could instead be mistaken for AI-generated answers to the prompt “design a commuter car from 2037.” And any gas car will challenge any EV at any price point on range for less money, so lining the Fiat up against those isn’t logical, either. 

Among EVs, the Fiat 500e is priced lower than anything outside of the Leaf and the Mini Cooper SE, its chief competitor that also wears look-at-me styling, has only two doors, and is small (but delivers a measlier 114 miles of range). Fiat’s dancing on the edge of a knife with the pricing, though—it’s only a few thousand uncomfortable bucks shy of more practical alternatives, objectively better EVs with more powerful motors, faster charging, and more range such as the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Tesla Model 3. But for those who see the Model 3 as too common and the base Ioniq 6 as too soulless—and either as too big—there may be a Fiat-sized hole the 500e is uniquely equipped to fill. With its refinement, improved interior packaging, and uprated range and charging, only its external size and range could leave you wanting—but remember, it’s a city car, so those aren't the point.