2024 FIAT 500e Review: A Lovable Electric City Car

When I started as an automotive journalist, the Italian cars I imagined driving were Ferraris and Lamborghinis. I never pictured myself driving a subcompact electric FIAT with a 94 mph top speed and 162 miles of driving range – let alone one painted in a pinkish hue. But, you know what? I really enjoyed my week with the 2024 Fiat 500e as my daily driver. This diminutive car is not only fun to drive, but it has also received a surprising number of compliments from people around town.

The 500e is available in four themed trims. Instead of names like “Sport” or “Limited,” we’ve got “Inspired by Beauty,” “Inspired by Music,” “Inspired by Los Angeles,” and “Inspi(RED),” the latter in partnership with (RED), a global charity with the mission to fight AIDS and the injustices that enable pandemics to thrive. Feeling confident in my masculinity, FIAT set me up with the girliest version of the 500e, slathered in a sparkly hue called Rose Gold, the only color available on the Inspired by Beauty trim. There are four other colors available throughout the lineup: Tuxedo Black, Marine Layer Mist, Glacier Mist, and Red by (RED). Every 500e rolls on 17-inch aluminum wheels with spiffy starburst spokes. The car has many neat little touches like Italian flag winglets on either side of the hood, Made in Torino graphics on the interor door pulls, and a skyline of Torino in the wireless charging tray. To help with pedestrian awareness, the little EV plays a classic Italian tune outside of the car when it reaches 20 mph, and plays what sounds like the Jeopardy thinking music when you turn the car off.

The 500e is driven by a single front motor with 117 horsepower and 162 lb-ft. of torque. That’s powered by a small 42 kWh battery pack with a 400-volt electrical system. On paper, it’s not very quick – with a 0-to-60 time of over 8 seconds. But from 0 to 30 mph, its instant torque makes it surprisingly quick. I found myself launching past all sorts of gas-powered vehicles after stopping at red lights. With an 85 kW maximum charging rate, it can take a little over an hour to charge the battery from o% to 100%, but like all EV batteries, it’s much faster getting up to 80% charge. I was able to add about 80 miles of range in 15 minutes on an Electrify America DC fast charger. With its relatively short driving range, the 500e is best suited to short-range commuting and provides the best range in city traffic, where it can regenerate power more frequently. I live out in the sticks, so it’s a 19-mile drive to the closest DC fast charger, so running out to recharge and using up 38 miles each time isn’t particularly practical. I always tell anyone buying an electric car to invest in a Level 2 home charger so you don’t have to worry about public charging infrastructure, and you can just keep your car topped off overnight like you do with your phone.

Weighing less than 3000 pounds, the 500e is fun and engaging to drive, cornering crisply and offering a good connection with the road. There’s a bit of wind noise at higher speeds, and its suspension is tuned on the stiffer side. It’s got three drive modes: Normal, Range, and Sherpa. I spent the majority of my time in Range mode, which provides one-pedal driving that applies regenerative braking every time you lift your foot from the accelerator pedal. Normal mode coasts more like a conventional powertrain, and Sherpa mode provides the greatest range by disabling the climate control system and limits driving speeds to 50 mph. It’s fine for windows-down city driving on a nice day.

The interior styling of the 500e is cheerful and distinctive. Sharp edges have been banished from the cabin, with curves just about everywhere but the touchscreen, and even that has rounded corners. The dashboard features a nicely textured material that looks like a basketweave, but I’m pretty sure it is just a molded polymer. I give FIAT’s design team points for making an interior that doesn’t resemble every other car. Most Italian cars have a quirk or two, but the only one that really stuck out to me was that the front row has a single cupholder, as does the back row. A 10.25-inch multimedia screen comes standard and is backed by the excellent Uconnect 5 system that comes in other Stellantis vehicles. It’s intuitive and responsive and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Sirius XM, and has integrated navigation. The digital instrument panel is small but easy to read. FIAT included a good amount of safety tech, including electronic stability control, lane departure warning, a rear backup camera, traffic sign information, and drowsy driver detection. All but the INSPI(RED) trim get adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, blind spot and cross traffic detection, and parking sensors.

There’s a sporty D-shaped steering wheel, which comes wrapped in a grippy “TechnoLeather.” That material comes on all trims except the less expensive INSPI(RED). The Inspired by trims get upscale synthetic leather seats and trim, while the (RED) version gets cloth seats. All of the seats get FIAT patterned quilting, a fun and creative alternative to the diamond pattern seen on so many other seats. The front bucket seats are comfortable, even for taller and broader people, and the interior has a shockingly good amount of headroom. I’m six feet tall and had about 4 inches of space between my head and the ceiling.

The back seat is a different story. As with most 2+2 cars, you’d be hard-pressed to sit in the second row unless you’re a little kid or a dog. I suppose with shorter front seat passengers, you might stand a better chance, but it’s not a place you’d want to be for long periods, given the cramped quarters. At least they were nice enough to include FIAT stitching on these seats, too.

As you’d expect from a small city car, the 500e has minimal cargo space. There’s only 7.5 cubic feet of room behind the back seats. That’s enough for groceries and a few backpacks, but that’s about it. That said, I was able to fit a new 27-inch computer monitor in its packaging without a problem. For a little extra space, the rear seats fold in a 50/50 split, but they can’t fold down all the way, so there’s limited value in doing that. A small underfloor storage space holds a 110-volt AC home charging cable. As an EV, I was hoping for some bonus cargo space under the hood, but there’s no frunk – just electrical equipment.

The FIAT 500e is a fun-filled little car with a joyful spirit and appealing design both outside and inside. It’s not practical for long road trips, nor will it compete with larger hatchbacks for versatility, but it’s a real charmer. I got many compliments on its looks, and it’s fun to zoom away from more powerful cars at traffic lights, thanks to its motor’s instantaneous torque. It’s also not crazy expensive like so many cars today. The 2024 500e starts at $32,500 for the INSPI(RED) version, with all other trims starting at $36,000. After the $1595 destination fee, the car tested here had a sticker price of $37,595. Though since it is made outside of the U.S., it doesn’t qualify for federal EV tax credits.

I’m excited to hear that the FIAT 500e Abarth has been released in Europe, so I’m hoping that it comes to the U.S. soon. That model has more horsepower, sportier styling, 18-inch wheels, and a sound generator that produces a simulated exhaust note.