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1 speed, Automatic
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Front Wheel Drive
Built for small spaces in small places, the 2024 Fiat 500e is a tiny four-passenger electric vehicle (EV) with plenty of personality. Fiat is an Italian brand, and the 500e is the latest version of the beloved city car that's perfect for streets resembling sidewalks, cramped parking spots, and narrow winding roads.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The 2024 500e marks the model's return to U.S. showrooms following a five-year hiatus. Unlike the previous 500, the new one comes only with an electric drivetrain, hence the 'e.' It has dramatically improved over the previous-generation 500e, is larger inside and out, is equipped with more sophisticated styling and technology, and offers more power and driving range.
Fiat launched the new 500e as the Inspi(RED) edition. Following that version, three additional models arrived. They're called the Inspired by Beauty, Inspired by Music, and Inspired by Los Angeles. Prices range from $34,095 to $37,595, and Fiat offers up to $7,500 in lease-cash assistance to make payments more appealing.
For this review of the 2024 500e, Fiat provided a test vehicle equipped with Inspi(RED) trim, no options, and a sticker price of $34,095, including the $1,595 destination charge to ship the electric car from the Fiat assembly plant in Turin, Italy, to your local dealership.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Getting into and out of a Fiat 500e is easy. Getting comfortable in one is, too, as long as you're sitting in one of the front seats. While the car's back seat is more accommodating than the previous-generation 500, it remains as roomy and pleasant as a typically cramped third row in a midsize crossover SUV. Smaller adults and kids can fit for short trips, but any ride over half an hour will reveal the dark side of anyone's personality.
Fiat wraps the seats in durable fabric with a “FIAT” pattern and red piping. They face a dashboard decorated with a body-color dashboard trim panel, two-spoke steering wheel, and round instrument display housing, giving the 500e a retro interior vibe to match the one on the outside. Conversely, the electronic door-latch releases are anything but a yesteryear detail.
Simplicity is the rule within the 500e, and the stylish cabin has an open and airy feel and plenty of practical storage space. Digital gauges, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and a wireless charging pad in a dedicated dashboard shelf are the nods to modern technology. Unfortunately, to likely keep the car's price as low as possible, Fiat covers most surfaces in hard plastic, cheapening the otherwise stylish interior.
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Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Fiat equips the 500e with a Uconnect 5 infotainment system with numerous useful features. They include:
Fiat Connect includes the Fiat App for your smartphone, and it offers complimentary trial subscriptions varying in length from three months to 10 years. One helpful feature unique to the 500e is finding and navigating to charging stations when the battery is running low.
Using Uconnect 5 is intuitive, but the native voice-recognition technology provides hit-and-miss response to spoken commands. So, aside from evaluating it, I preferred to pair my iPhone, launch Apple CarPlay, and ask Siri for help finding my way.
The 500e's standard six-speaker stereo offers decent sound. Audiophiles will want the Inspired by Music or Inspired by Los Angeles versions of the car, which have a specially tuned JBL premium sound system.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Historically, most Fiat 500 models were underpowered and slow, with the laugh-riot 500 Abarth being a notable exception. That's not true of the 500e—unless you measure it against most other EVs.
Fiat equips it with an 87-kilowatt (kW) electric motor propelling the front wheels, and a 42-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery provides the juice. Output measures 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque, the latter available when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal. The 500e launches quickly, but acceleration to 60 mph takes 8.5 seconds.
Normal, Range, and Sherpa driving modes are available. Sherpa sharply restricts responsiveness and limits the car's top speed to 50 mph as you search for a charging station. Range mode activates a one-pedal-driving function, and Normal mode makes the 500e feel most like a typical car. I primarily used Range mode during testing to enjoy the challenge of one-pedal driving.
While its power ratings are unimpressive, the 500e is a featherweight among EVs at 2,952 pounds. A significant portion of that poundage concentrates low in the chassis where the battery and electric motor live, so slot-car handling plus the rapid off-the-line responsiveness make a 500e fun to drive in urban environments.
At higher speeds on lumpy mountain roads, the 500e exhibits excess body motion, pogoing on its relatively soft suspension when traveling over heaves and dips in the pavement. The steering can feel a little light, too, and in Normal mode, the brake pedal is hard to modulate. Still, the 17-inch wheels and tires and the car's low center of gravity make rounding curves fun.
Highway driving produces more interior noise than you might expect in an EV. Still, the car's limited range prevents you from taking it on longer trips, not the wind rush and tire roar.
On my evaluation route, the 500e consumed electricity at 30 kWh per 100 miles, making it less efficient than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) estimate of 29 kWh/100 mi.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The Inspi(RED) is the base model in the 2024 500e lineup, and it has a skimpy list of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) including:
Upgrade to any of the three "Inspired by" versions of the car, and it adds:
The 500e is small with good outward visibility, but I still missed having those extra safety features. In particular, the Fiat deserves a standard blind-spot warning system. After merging into thick but flowing traffic on the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles, I nearly made a lane change that could have resulted in a collision. Only my habit of leaning forward to expand what I see in the side mirror prevented the action.
Disappointingly, bright morning and late afternoon sunlight frequently rendered the ADAS inoperable, accompanied by an alert telling me the technology was not standing guard and I was on my own. Condensation covering only the lowest part of the windshield also caused a problem. These observations are atypical in modern vehicles.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Fiat reports a cargo volume of 7.5 cubic feet for the space behind the back seat. Fold the rear seats down, and the car can carry substantially more cargo. Unfortunately, Fiat doesn't provide a maximum measurement. Also, the seats don't fold flat or create a level load floor.
The answer to this question is no because the EPA-rated maximum driving range estimate is 149 miles. However, few people will buy a 500e for long-distance driving. Instead, this Fiat is best used for daily commuting or as a second car for local driving. Therefore, this limitation might not be a problem.
I work from home and had no trouble keeping the 500e charged enough using the household-style electrical outlet on my front porch. That source of electricity was good for local errand running, driving my 70-mile evaluation loop, and making a 90-mile round trip into downtown Los Angeles. Eventually, though, I would've needed to visit a public charging station.
Long-distance commuters will want to install a 40-amp/9.6-kW Level 2 home charger, which can fully recharge the 500e in six hours. And if you do take a longer trip, the 500e is compatible with 85-kW fast chargers and can add 40 miles of range in just five minutes. Leave it plugged in for 35 minutes, and you'll drive off with an 80-percent charge.
As of this writing, crash-test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) are unavailable. Therefore, the jury is out on the question of safety.
Fiat does itself no favors by failing to include a blind-spot warning system as standard equipment. Based on my experience, every version of this car should have it, and I would eagerly trade the driver monitoring system or the automatic high-beam headlights for it.
New Fiat 500e prices range from $32,500 to $36,000, plus the $1,595 destination charge. Made in Italy, this electric car is not eligible for a federal tax credit. However, Fiat offers up to $7,500 in assistance to make lease payments more affordable.
The tiny Fiat 500e faces few direct competitors, but in the JD Power 2024 Electric Vehicle Ownership Study, its primary rival, the Mini Cooper Electric, ranks highest among mass-market models. The electric Mini gets a redesign for 2025, likely making it even more appealing.
Otherwise, only the Nissan Leaf S has a driving-range estimate in the same neighborhood as the 500e. While the Fiat is preferable to the aging Nissan, the roomier Leaf is less expensive than the 500e.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Stylish, comfortable, and nicely equipped, a 2024 Fiat 500e makes sense as a two-passenger runabout for commuting and running local errands. Unfortunately for Fiat, larger and more practical EVs with greater driving range are available for the same price after applying the federal tax credit or leveraging lease-assistance programs. That means the fashionable Fiat must find other ways to provide value in an increasingly competitive EV market.
Christian Wardlaw is a veteran automotive journalist with 30 years of experience in the field and has held automotive editorial leadership positions at Edmunds, JD Power, and The New York Daily News. Today, Chris owns a content agency called Speedy Daddy Media, and in addition to JDPower.com, his work appears on Capital One Auto Navigator, CarGurus, and Edmunds.
