Fiat 500e Review & Prices

This is the Fiat 500e, a city car with lovable retro-chic looks and an all-electric motor and battery – it's a bit like Greta Thunberg, because it's small and eco friendly. The 500e is a bit bigger and heavier than the petrol 500 that's also still on sale, but it still has diddy dimensions. If you're looking for a small EV there aren't many to choose from – but the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, BYD Dolphin and Peugeot e-208 are all great choices.

Rather than add a bunch of fiddly details to the outside, Fiat’s gone back to basics and made the 500 look smoother, more rounded and even more minimalist than before. It’s like your grandad suddenly ditching the dyed comb-over and shaving his head instead. Smoother, simpler, cooler.

For starters, the old car’s headlights have been ditched in favour of two semi-circular lamps with curved daytime-running lights that shine out through the bonnet.

The flush door handles and hidden indicators are pretty much the only difference you’ll spot from the side, and the lack of an exhaust pipe is a dead giveaway that you’re looking at the new car from behind.

OK, so the new Fiat 500e looks pretty similar to the old car on the outside, but it’s a totally different story inside. There’s a brand-new 7.0-inch digital dial display instead of traditional dials, and you get a big 10.25-inch touchscreen on the dashboard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

The physical controls for the heating and air conditioning are grouped together under the central touchscreen and there’s a storage tray where you’d find a gear lever in a petrol- or diesel-powered car.

Space in the front is good for two adults and there are decent storage options, but the back seats cater for two only, and they’ll have to be quite small people at that. Fitting a child seat is pretty much impossible, too, while the 500’s boot is good for the weekly shop, but not much else. It is a city car, after all.

The Fiat 500e comes with two battery options – one that offers a 115-mile range and another with a 199-mile range, which isn't great when each of the other alternatives can go comfortably more than 200 miles in official tests. You can recharge your 500 using a three-pin socket, but that’ll take all night – literally. You’ll be better off getting a wallbox to take advantage of AC charging up to 11kW (or 7.4kW if that's the maximum you can get at your house), which will charge the battery in under three hours.

The quickest way to charge is using a public fast charger, with the Fiat 500 capable of taking up to 85kW. At these speeds it can go from empty to 80% charged in 35 minutes, and add a useful 30 miles of charge in just five minutes.

The Fiat 500 comes with either a 95hp motor that can hustle it from 0-62mph in 9.5 seconds, or a 118hp electric motor with enough poke to accelerate it from 0-62mph in nine seconds. That doesn’t sound particularly fast but the new 500 will do 0-30mph in three seconds, which is nippy in town and faster than most small city cars.

Also handy in town is the new 500’s automatic emergency braking that’ll spot pedestrians and cyclists in your path and automatically apply the brakes if it thinks you’re about to hit them. That’s in addition to adaptive cruise control that’ll accelerate and brake for you on motorways to keep you a safe distance from the car ahead.

There are three driving modes, Normal, Range and Sherpa. Range mode uses the motor to recharge the batteries when you brake to help boost the Fiat 500’s range, while Normal model tones down this ‘regenerative braking’ effect.

The Sherpa function limits the 500’s top speed to 50mph (down from 93mph) and turns off the air conditioning. These extreme measures will be useful in an emergency when you really need to eke out every last mile to reach a charging point.

So, the Fiat 500 is now an electric city car, but we think you’ll agree it’s a good one, provided you don’t need lots of space or expect the last word in interior quality. If you just love the looks, head to our Fiat 500e deals page. If you'd like a used Fiat 500 then head over to our used 500e deals.

You can also check out other used Fiat models, and if you want to change your car altogether, you can sell your car through Carwow with the help of our trusted dealers.

There isn’t a great deal of choice of small electric vehicles, but the Fiat 500e does stack up pretty well price-wise, being less expensive than key alternatives such as the Vauxhall Corsa, BYD Dolphin and Peugeot e-208. However, in recent years there have been a number of affordable electric cars that are cheaper and more spacious than the Fiat, with the MG4 EV having a similar price but being more practical with a longer range.

The Fiat 500e is ideal for driving around town, but take it out of its natural habitat and things get a bit noisy and uncomfortable

In town

The Fiat 500 – the original and the new, modern day one – is synonymous with driving in towns and cities. Therefore, it’s no surprise that it excels in this environment. The steering is very light, meaning that tricky moves around corners, roundabouts or car parks are a doddle. Such is the weighting that it’s possible (although very much NOT recommended) to steer with one finger on the wheel.

Another great attribute about the 500e is the turning circle, which – at under 10 metres – is pretty tight. In fact, it’s bettered only by the Honda e – and tighter than the likes of a Mini Electric.

Put the car in ‘Range’ mode and the regenerative braking kicks in – and then some! It takes some getting used to – it almost feels like someone is putting their foot down hard on the brakes. But the one-pedal driving saves energy – and miles – which is useful if you are someone who suffers from range anxiety.

Parking is also a beneficiary of the light steering, so tucking into tight spaces is made easier, and moves can also be dispatched quickly because the visibility is decent. The huge door mirrors and high-definition rear camera come into their own, here, too.

Going a bit quicker, the car gets a bit more uncomfortable and isn’t the happiest navigating bumps in the road.

On the motorway

Take the 500e out onto dual carriageways and motorways and you’ll notice that wind and tyre noise are quite prominent. It’s quite distracting, but might be expected given the size of the car and the emphasis on town driving, rather than performance at higher speeds.

The 500e does offer automated cruise control as well as auto-steer to help keep safe and secure in what can be a challenging environment for city cars. With the lane-keeping technology, the steering inputs are noticeable, but that just proves that the technology is doing its job!

Acceleration and overtaking times have been improved over the previous petrol 500, which will inspire confidence for those on main roads, or faced with lots of traffic to navigate.

On a twisty road

On country roads, the unsettled suspension is more noticeable than either in town or on the motorway. It feels like the car is constantly checking and re-checking where it is while trying to deal with the bumps in the road to the best of its ability. All in all, it doesn’t make for a very comfortable driving experience, although it is an improvement over the bouncy nature of the previous 500.

The issue is that, for what is a small car, the 500e is relatively heavy, so the suspension has to be firm in order to prevent the body moving around more than it already does. The extra weight over the previous model means the 500e loses a bit of its agility in corners and the extra mass. However, as most of the weight gain is due to the batteries – housed in the floor – the centre of gravity is relatively low, meaning the body still doesn’t lean much.

A Mini Electric is a more fun-to-drive experience, but the little Fiat still has its place and on looks and heritage alone will prove quite popular.

There are loads of storage options in the front, but nothing for rear seat passengers. If you’re sat in the rear, it’s a bit cramped, but at least the boot is bigger than a Honda e!

The 500e is a small car, so people might not expect acres of space to be given over to storage solutions. However, the door bins are wide enough for a generous sized bottle – at a squeeze – and there’s another storage area in between the front seats. Here you will also find a USB port and 12V socket to charge or run electronic devices.

Lift the central armrest in the front (which can be moved forwards and backwards to suit your needs) and there’s another – really quite deep – storage area. And we’re not done yet! Closer to the floor, in between the front seats, there is a fold-out cupholder and the dash also integrates a surprisingly large glovebox for even more items to be stowed.

The generosity of storage space doesn’t really extend to the rear of the car, with a lack of cupholders being an obvious omission. There aren’t any USB charging points or spaces for any belongings.

Space in the back seats

There are only two seats in the rear of the 500e and, being honest, they are best suited to children or small adults. Anyone around 5ft 10 and above will be touching or hitting their head on the roof and will struggle with the leg and knee room in front of them when the front seats are in their natural position.

Children will be fine, although it might be a bit of an issue carrying babies. There are easy access ISOFIX access points in the back, but trying to fit one of the more bulky rear-facing seats into the back will be a challenge, even with the front seats pushed right forwards.

It is a small car, but the likes of the Honda e is bigger in the back and a more comfortable place to be.

Boot space

As you might expect, the boot isn’t huge in the 500e, but it’s enough room to squeeze in three small suitcases and at 185 litres. The Peugeot e-208 is cavernous by comparison at 311 litres, while the Vauxhall Corsa has 287 litres.

Of course, the rear seats can be folded down, but you don’t get a flat floor so some items might move around or end up on top of each other. The seat backs are also metal instead of fabric, which means loads may slide across the less grippy surface unless they are secured in place.

However, there is a huge opening because the tailgate is very tall. Therefore access to the boot is a plus point.

The 500e’s interior has lots of clever and detailed touches, but the quality isn’t quite up to scratch in some places

The inside of the Fiat 500e is very different to the previous model, with more options to customise trims and materials across the dash. There are also lots of great design features that mix up retro and modern in the overall appearance.

There’s a chunky two-spoke steering wheel that offers good rake and reach adjustment, which means getting your ideal driving position is straightforward.

Despite the overall dimension of the 500 being quite compact, there is plenty of headroom inside, while the seats offer plenty of movement up, down, forwards and backwards.

The climate control buttons have been kept separate from the infotainment functions, meaning they are much easier to use – no clicking or swiping through menus to find the specific thing you want to change here! Sat just below the climate controls are the gear selector buttons. Again, very obvious and very easy to use.

Meanwhile, the infotainment system is also an impressive piece of kit. Base models get a 7.0-inch version, which is good enough, although upgrading to the 10.25-inch option is very much worth it. The graphics are nice and clear, the menus are well structured and it is responsive to touch inputs. The 500 offers wireless connectivity to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, should you not want to rely on the in-car systems.

All 500e models feature digital dials as part of the driver display. It’s pretty simplistic but demonstrates all of the information that you would need while either driving or parked up. Steering-wheel mounted buttons can be used to scroll through the menus and there is a voice assistant onboard, too. As well as media, trip information and phone records, there’s also details about the battery’s state of charge and power available.

The 500e is slightly let down when it comes to the fit and finish of the interior and some of the materials have a ‘low cost’ feel about them. But there is a certain charm about the inside overall, with visual nods to Turin, the home of the car, all around.

There are two choices of battery in the Fiat 500e. The smaller one is a 24kWh pack, which provides a theoretical range of 115 miles and can be charged at up to 50kW - meaning a 10-80% charge takes 24 minutes. With that model, you get a 93hp motor, but it still provides ample power and performance, especially in town. 

Those looking for a bit more from their 500e can opt for the larger, 42kWh battery, which boosts the range up to a maximum of 199 miles. Charging can be done at up to 85kW on a fast charger, allowing for 10-80% charging in 35 minutes. Power-wise, we’re talking 118hp for the motor, which enables a zero to 60mph time of nine seconds.

Realistically, the 500e's range varies drastically depending on what type of driving you're doing. In mixed mileage and round town, you can get pretty close to the claimed range. In motorway driving, you'll see around 120 miles

The driving range betters the Honda e, from which you wouldn't even see 100 miles of motorway range, but all other small electric cars can go further between charges. For example, you can get up over 200 miles of range from the BYD Dolphin or the Peugeot e-208.

Charging the 500e via the three-pin plug will take too many hours for some people, so it is worth investing in the optional 11kW charging cable, to bring charging times down to a more reasonable period of time. 

Being an electric car, there are no CO2 emissions, no charge for VED and company car tax rates are much lower than petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles.

The Fiat 500e scored a reasonable four stars out of five when tested by Euro NCAP in late 2022. While it might not have got a maximum score, it fared much better than the Renault Zoe, which surprisingly came away from the evaluation with zero stars.

Adult occupant and child occupant safety were rated at 76% and 80% respectively. Meanwhile, scores for vulnerable road users and safety assist (both 67%) didn’t fare quite as well.

Onboard the 500e offers front airbags and belt pretensioners and load limiters all round, but no knee airbags are anywhere to be seen. There are side head and chest airbags, but no pelvis protection.

From a safety perspective, the 500e’s lane keeping technology, cruise control and keyless operation are welcomed, especially in this class of vehicle.

Fiat does not have a great history when it comes to reliability and the brand has featured near the bottom of numerous customer surveys. However the 500e might be the car to change all that and, although it’s relatively early days, the signs are good.

The 500e comes with a standard three-year warranty and there is the option to extend that by either 12 or 24 months, should you wish to get some extra peace of mind during your Fiat ownership.