2024 Fiat 500e Review

From the outside, it’s hard to think of anything other than how good the 2024 Fiat 500e looks.

Somehow, that Italian brand has succeeded in making the adorable retro-modern car even more stylish with this generational refresh. Unfortunately, once you’re behind the wheel, it becomes difficult to focus on anything other than how far the batteries will take you.

Design 9.5/10

I mean, just look at it. Even in pictures the 500e’s round face, sleepy headlights, and go-kart proportions look fantastic — but I assure you the car looks even better in real life. A triumph in non-aggressive automotive design, this adorable electric vehicle (EV) generated smiles from onlookers wherever I drove it.

The car is also attractive inside, albeit in a slightly less triumphant way. The 500e is Canada’s cheapest new EV, and it shows inside. There’s a lot of plastic and a total dearth of luxurious materials, but Fiat has done well to prevent the cabin from becoming depressing. In the version I drove, a base model 500e (RED), a bright red piece of dash trim brightened the interior and the “Fiat” stitching in the cloth seats reminded me of the high-end bags stylish people wear around town. Unfortunately, the 500e’s interior does not have the premium polish of, say, a Mini Cooper, but it has its own charm.

Comfort 7/10

While the interior is a nice place to sit from a design point of view, it’s decidedly less so when it comes to comfort. The seats, though soft, are very upright, forcing you into more of a kitchen chair position than a lounger position. Although the result is a good view of the road, it eventually led to thigh soreness for this six-foot tall driver. Fortunately, it’s otherwise a reasonably spacious vehicle for its size, with loads of headroom for front-seat occupants, and more than you might think for those in the back.

Practicality 6/10

Unfortunately, the 500e has exactly as much room in the trunk as you might expect: not a whole lot. Its 213 litres of luggage space isn’t useless (there is, in fact, enough space for some luggage), but it isn’t generous either. Without a frunk to help juice this compact EV’s cargo volume statistics, the availability of space is only the first reason this car is better suited to commuting than weekends away.

Power 7/10

Even the most measly modern electric motors feel surprisingly punchy, and this 500e has more than enough get-up-and-go to propel it around town confidently, and just enough to make highway driving comfortable. You shouldn’t expect the 500e to be a race car, but you also shouldn’t be put off by its humble 117 hp or its 162 lb-ft of torque.

Driving Feel 8/10

In addition to the instantaneous nature of electrified torque, the 500e’s small size is a big part of what prevents it from feeling underpowered. That same quality, combined with wheels that are pushed out to all four corners, also means it darts around city streets nimbly. I wouldn’t call it go-kart-like in its handling — that’s too high a compliment — but it does feel sharp and placeable.

Features 6/10

If you think of it as Canada’s cheapest EV, the 500e’s feature list is decent, but if you aren’t dead set on getting an EV, you could get more for less money. The car comes with a seven-inch driver display and a 10.25-inch touchscreen as standard, and it also has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, the heated seats can only be turned on or off (not adjusted), there’s no ventilated seating option, and there’s no power adjustability.

Safety 6/10

Crash-test results for the 500e were pending at the time of writing, but it comes with a range of advanced safety options. Disappointingly, buyers will have to pay for the La Prima package — which also adds vegan leather upholstery and a better sound system — to get several important advanced safety systems like lane departure warning and keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam control, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. The safety systems in this tester were a little confusing, and the car beeped at me frequently without clarifying if it thought I was drifting out of my lane or if there was something wrong with the car.

User-Friendliness 9/10

On a more positive note, the relative lack of features in the base 500e mean it’s very simple to operate. A row of physical buttons high on the dash controls the climate system, while a row lower down allows the driver to select their gear. There are just two switches on the centre console (a volume knob and a drive mode selector), and even the steering wheel is simple to use.

Fuel Economy 5/10

Up to this point, the 500e seems like an imperfect but likeable city car and, if we stopped there, that might seem like enough of a recommendation for people who like the look of it to pull the trigger on buying one. However, the elephant in the room has yet to be addressed: the car’s 42-kWh battery that has an estimated range of just 227 km, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). That’s more or less the same as the Nissan Leaf, but that model was introduced to the market seven years ago. More to the point, 227 km is almost half as much as the average Canadian believes they need to live with an EV comfortably.

Now, I’m the first to declare that range anxiety can be overcome, but anxiety is unpleasant. Even though 227 km was enough to get me everywhere I needed to go and back in my week with the car, its state of charge was always on my mind, and a longer weekend trip would have been significantly complicated. Under ideal circumstances, the battery can be filled in six hours at a Level 2 charger, but charging times were longer than that at the plug near my house.

Value 5.5/10

Although the 500e has the accolade of being the cheapest new EV on sale in Canada (with a price of around $40,000 before incentives), the majority of other battery-powered vehicles can go 50 per cent — if not 100 per cent — farther with every charge, bringing them much closer to the magical 400-km mark. That leaves the Nissan Leaf as the Fiat’s main competitor. Although the Japanese EV costs around $4,000 more, it’s also larger and can go a little farther (13 km) with every charge, despite having been on the market for about a generation.

Unfortunately for Fiat, the short range brings other old EVs into the picture, too. If you’re willing to buy used, you can get a Chevrolet Bolt EV (that goes nearly twice as far and may have a brand new battery thanks to a Chevy recall) for less than half as much even after incentives. Sure, there’s risk involved in buying a used EV, but let’s not forget that it also comes with an enormous advantage in terms of environmental friendliness.

The Verdict

What is otherwise a passable, even charming little EV is let down by its battery. While there are certainly buyers for whom the 2024 Fiat 500e could work, its lack of range is a profound limitation that steals the focus away from everything else. You may like the looks, but can you live with its range? You may like its price, but can you live with its range? You may like a small car, but can you live with its range? The question comes up again and again, making it impossible to ignore.