It’s also nice to have a car with modern conveniences like lane guidance and automatic braking when it detects a pedestrian. Heck, even having a reversing camera is nice. However, the Fiat 500e constantly warns me on the screen about “emergency vehicles” ahead (and also makes a frighteningly loud sound), but unfortunately it gets it wrong 80 percent of the time. Stop giving me a heart attack!
The old problem of autonomy and charging
The Fiat 500e has a range of about 150 miles, which is fine for how often I drive. I don’t commute to work, so most of my trips are for pleasure. I drove the 500e more often than I probably would in a normal week, but after four days, I went from 96 percent to 41 percent after about 53 miles. This poses a problem when I need to take the occasional longer jaunt, such as when I visit my in-laws or take a road trip.
Photography: Julian Chokkattu
Photography: Julian Chokkattu
I have a house with a parking spot in New York City, which makes me feel very privileged and lucky to be able to charge my car from home. However, the charger that Fiat included was a bit too short to reach the charging outlet at the back of my house. Many people aren’t going to have a luxury like that anyway and will have to use charging stations. When I tried to look for charging stations near me, almost all of them were described as “slow.” Luckily, there was only one marked as “fast.”
But before that, I found myself near WIRED’s Manhattan office earlier in the week and figured I’d find a place to park and charge the car while I sat in the office for two hours. The first parking lot I went to was full, so I was turned away. The second one I went to told me it would cost $60 to charge and park for two hours because, in New York City, you pay not only for electricity but also for real estate. Sixty bucks boosted my battery from 41 percent to 77 percent. It’s worth noting that I typically pay about $35 every two weeks to fill up my gas-powered Fiat 500 (and it takes a few minutes).
Find the good The fast charging station is important. The one near my house had plenty of spots available (on a Thursday night) and I saw a lot of EV drivers hanging out in their cars while charging, watching videos on their phones. I pulled over, plugged the car in, and after about 20 minutes I had gained 20 percent, which cost me about $4. Now I can get used to it. that.
I wasn’t able to test the Fiat 500e on a longer trip, though I imagine I’d have to be a bit more meticulous about making sure there were fast chargers on my route and timing the 30-minute charge to coincide with a lunch or bathroom break. It’s more complex, and this is arguably the biggest hesitation I’d have about buying an EV if I frequently make long trips (but I don’t).
Let’s talk about money
While looking for a car to buy, I frequently saw the Fiat acronym: Fix It Again Tony. These cars seem to have earned a bad reputation for reliability and maintenance over the years. I had the 500 I bought inspected and it was in good condition, although the previous owner did Tell me they had to replace the car door handles after they broke. I’ve never heard of car door handles breaking just like that, but apparently it’s a common problem among Fiats. I can’t say much about the reliability of the Fiat 500e in the US, but I hope it’s improved.
The elephant in the room is the $32,500 starting price (the model I tested starts at $36,000). You have tons of EV options with more space and better range, like the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona Electric, and Tesla Model 3.
However, if what you are looking for is a little As for cars, there really aren’t many options in the US, save for the new Mini Cooper SE, which starts at $30,900. I’m always envious of seeing my UK counterparts enjoying a range of small, affordable electric cars; we need them here too. (I’d definitely drive the Mini Cooper SE.) Microlino.)
The Fiat 500e is overpriced, but we don’t have a lot of options in the U.S., especially for small, good-looking electric vehicles. The Fiat 500e is just that. I’d easily choose it over my gas-powered model; it’s just a shame it’s out of my budget. Plus, it doesn’t come in yellow (boo!). If Fiat could solve those two problems, I’d gladly open my wallet.