Not too long ago, car buyers in America had a whole buffet of options for tiny cars. You could get the super reliable Honda Fit, quirky Smart Fortwo, sensible Scion iQ, inexpensive Mitsubishi Mirage, peppy Mazda2, or the hot Fiat 500. Even domestic brands were in on small cars with cars like the Ford Fiesta and the Chevrolet Spark. Tiny car competition was hot. But nowadays? Not so much. You can buy a Mitsubishi Mirage and the Chevy Spark, but everything else has fallen to larger, more popular models. Even the Honda Fit didn’t survive and the Spark is also getting cut. There are Minis, of course, though those have grown a bit since their reboot. So, recent announcements from Stellantis have been surprising. In July, Stellantis confirmed that the Fiat 500 was getting a second shot in America, this time purely as an EV. But that confirmation didn’t come with any word on when we’d see the new car. Today, Stellantis has finally spoken, and we’re getting the new car in 2024, about five years after Fiat announced the 500’s departure from our shores. As of right now, this new announcement doesn’t come with any tech data whatsoever. And no word if we’re getting the funky 3+1 door version, either. There is another release happening later today that might reveal more information. But for now, we’re getting a handful of one-offs that show what kind of stunning looks the new car is capable of. For these cars–which are displayed at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show–Fiat teamed up with Italian fashion design house Giorgio Armani, fashion design house Bulgari, and furniture design house Kartell. None of these are production cars, but they show off some creative Italian flair. The Armani 500e features a laser-etched paint job that’s meant to look like a fabric weave.
Kartell takes a different approach. Its version of the 500 covered in sustainable plastic panels and topped off with some pretty incredible wheels. Technology in the new 500e includes Level 2 driver assist technology like adaptive cruise control and a function for lane centering. The Bulgari model goes far out with a colorful interior featuring a dashboard mural. That one also gets a steering wheel-mounted removable brooch with amethyst, citrine, and topaz gemstones. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Fiat said that these one-off concepts will be auctioned off to help organizations fight climate change. The automaker also said that the new 500 differs from the old one in one major way. This new car was designed to be an EV while the old one was an ICE platform adapted to be an EV.
While we wait to hear about official specs, we can take a peek at what Europe is already getting. Over there, you can get your electric Fiat 500 with a 42 kWh battery (37.3 kWh usable) coupled to a 117 HP motor. That setup is good for a 60 mph sprint in 9 seconds and a Europe WLTP range of 199 miles. It also comes with 85-kW DC fast charging, and Fiat says that it can get from a zero percent state of charge to 80 percent in 35 minutes. The automaker goes further, saying that you could get 31 miles of charge in just 5 minutes.
As of now, there’s no information about what the American version will have, but our David Tracy did get a shot of some hardware:
Fiat says that the new 500e will make a debut at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show before first deliveries go out in early 2024. Order books are expected to open six months before deliveries begin.
One thing’s for sure, this car is a big deal for Fiat. In 2014, former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne infamously told people not to buy the last Fiat 500e. Apparently, the company lost $14,000 on each one sold. And that was with Fiat selling them for $32,000 each and giving owners less than 100 miles of range. Hopefully, this new Fiat 500e could do what the last couldn’t.
It’s a shame they are not bringing back the regular 500, especially the Abarth. But Americans Do Not Buy Small Cars, so I can hardly blame Fiat for that decision. At least the 500 design is unique enough to make this new 500e a differentiator among EVs.
It was also charmingly Italian at estimating your range. You would regularly get range estimates of more than 125 miles after charging, when the true capacity of the battery was barely 80.
I’ve been drooling over the Euro spec versions of the new 500 for awhile now and I’m really glad they decided to bring them to the US. I hope they sell well!
I would consider this as a commuter as my office has charging stations in the lot and once I can add one to my existing home.
That car was the worst piece of shit I have ever driven. It felt slower than the Prizm I had in college, and definitely handled worse. It was underpowered, uncomfortable, and handled like a hungover giraffe on roller skates.
My wife got tired of me complaining about it and took the wheel. “It’s not that bad”, she said. I pointed out she was 20mph under the speed limit. As soon as she pushed it to highway speeds (glacially) and attempted to navigate a couple minor curves in the road, she agreed it was awful. As she drove it longer, she eventually decided it was the first and only car she actively hated driving.
Maybe you got one that had been abused, after all, it was Turo.
I do like the irony of hiring Armani to do one, who works with some of the best wool you can get your hands on, and having what appears to be a leather interior. Swing and a miss. Could have totally brought out an ultr-lux interior like the Toyota Century.
Definitely nowhere near Toyota or Honda reliability, though. Maybe not even Fiat reliability. Minis all seem to develop engine misfires or fuel and air control problems (BMW Vanos) around 100-120,000 miles.
Not sure about the MINI electric. I never drove one of those because their range is so limited.
The max distances i have traveled yearly are about 150 miles. i could see doing some quick charging at the end just to get the final distance and then letting it charge overnight. and i could always take our other ICE vehicle if i felt like it. other than the 1/2 times a year at those distances, it’s much less than 50 miles in a given day.
200 miles of range is perfect for a little car like this as well. I agree that it’s an amazing choice for a city car. If we didn’t need more space I’d be interested in one. I hope it sells well and gives the brand a shot in the arm. And who knows…maybe there will be an Abarth version down the road?
A man can dream. I’m anxiously waiting for more quirky EV/PHEV/hybrid fun cars to pop up in the sub 60k range. As excited as I am about the upcoming Ioniq Ns I have a feeling they’re going to command a price premium that I can’t really justify. What I really want is a full GR Prius based on the amazing new design but I’m not holding my breath.
