8 ms·

Fiat brings back its 500e electric model for 2024, with 149 mile range

45 points by lxm 2y ago

ryandrake 2y ago
I remember when it initially debuted and the best thing about it was they were offering a $49/mo lease. Now, I'm a militant "you should own your car, never lease" guy, but even I was tempted. That was just a stupidly ridiculous good deal. Wonder if they'll bring that back too (I won't hold my breath).
- aquaticsunset 2y ago
  If you want a screaming lease deal, check out the Subaru Solterra. It makes me genuinely upset I bought one instead of leased. Love the car, didn't mind the price, but wow these things are at a discount.
  - JojoFatsani 2y ago
    Because they are one of the worst vehicles in their class.
    - aquaticsunset 2y ago
      Dunno about that... My criteria was a bit different than the "on paper" stats: 1) Had normal instrumentation and control systems inside. No spaceship tech features. 2) Reliability and build quality cannot be compromised. 3) Strong dealership network with readily available parts and trained technicians. Fast charge rate and long road trip worthiness doesn't matter to me because I don't do that. It's absolutely peppy and will put down the power when you need it for a quick merge or highway on ramp. Overall incredibly happy with this car. Edit: formatting
      - dangrossman 2y ago
        I'd also say it's objectively one of the worst EVs on the market, and as far as the dealership network and technicians go, perhaps only if you can get a Toyota service center to work on it. It's not really a Subaru at all, it's a rebadged Toyota bZ4X, best-known for the "its wheels fall off" stop-sale recall in 2022.
    - CitrusFruits 2y ago
      I leased one and have been loving it. It's a great car if your not road tripping. The lease price really helps too.
    - bryanlarsen 2y ago
      Everything is relative to price. The bz4x and Solterra were not great cars at their original price, but at $169/month lease....
  - rasz 2y ago
    Nothing stops you from selling the car and getting another on lease. And how is #300/mo a screaming deal?
greenthrow 2y ago
Yes the range is limited. That's on purpose. It's intended to be a city car, not a freeway cruising road-tripper. We don't all need to be lugging around a 100kWh battery for our typical 30mi of driving per day.
- JojoFatsani 2y ago
  I believe Stellantis is adopting the NACS (aka Tesla Supercharger compatible) plug. That turns this into a more practical car in case of emergency or if you need to make an occasional longer trip. Everyone shops for the edge case - what if I need to drive from Maine to San Diego, or what if I need to buy three rooms worth of drywall? The answer obviously is just rent an ICE for those rarer occasions. But obviously if you’re a drywaller or a courier, buy something different to begin with.
  - ericd 2y ago
    The problem is that oft repeated advice it makes those edge cases so much more painful, to the point where they might just not get done. Like, have you tried renting a Home Depot truck? The last one I rented was barely roadworthy.
    - Kon-Peki 2y ago
      That’s not really fair. 99.9% of the Home Depot trucks are perfectly fine. The real problem with renting a Hone Depot truck is that the reservations are based on expected availability. You made a reservation and you told them how long you expect to have the truck. But so did the person before you. There is no penalty for being wrong. It’s just an hourly cost and you pay for however long you keep it. Keep it overnight if you want to. Keep it for a few days. If you’ve ever read the fine print (you do read the fine print, right?), it will list a maximum rental charge. If you keep it long enough to hit that mark, they give you the title once you’ve paid the bill! This is all fantastic once you are in possession of the Home Depot truck. But you can never count on it being there when you want it. Imagine that your local store has three trucks and 3 reservations for 2pm. You can call them up before leaving the house and they’ll tell you there are trucks at the store. You arrive in the parking lot and see a truck parked in the parking lot. You then buy all your stuff and walk over to the rental counter and there’s no truck anymore. One of the other people with the 2pm reservations already took it, and the person with the 1pm reservation isn’t back yet.
Phoenix5869 2y ago
EDIT: in hindsight, i shouldn’t’ve dismissed this as just “oh it hasn’t got good range” . I will try not to be so dismissive in future. This should be good for an average commute in an urban area. Side note tho, remember when the high end cars had below 100 mile range?
- saagarjha 2y ago
  Seems more than reasonable for most people's commute
  - Phoenix5869 2y ago
    That’s true, and i’m not saying it isn’t.
- kabigon 2y ago
  $32k USD starting is not what I would call affordable. Even the Nissan Leaf starts lower. This car is honestly a bit of a joke in the US markets even for a small, simple commuter you can do much better here in the EV space. A used 2018 leaf would get more range, charge faster and cost less.
  - jupp0r 2y ago
    Why wouldn't you just get a Model 3 for that price? It's just much better tech, more fun, much better range and probably has better resale value down the road. Not a fan of the CEO for sure, but it seems like there are worlds between the specs and just very little additional $.
    - jwells89 2y ago
      Compared to the Model 3, the Leaf offers seats-down cargo space that’s larger and less restrictive (hatch vs. trunk) despite being significantly smaller (~185” vs ~176”). Despite the 500e being smaller yet at 143”, its cargo space isn’t that much smaller than that of the Model 3 and also isn’t subject to the restrictions of a trunk since it’s a hatch. Of course not everybody is looking for compactness or better ratios of external size to cargo space but for those who are, there are better options than a Model 3.
a_vanderbilt 2y ago
I rewrote this comment because I think the angle I had initially was wrong. While I think it will struggle in the US/Canadian market, in the EU I think it will be popular. It also does have CarPlay, which I was incorrect about. Commenter below was kind enough to point that out.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- jwells89 2y ago
  The 2024 500e comes with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, as noted in this Edmunds review: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2024-fiat-500e-first-drive-review.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2024-fiat-500e-first-drive-...
  - a_vanderbilt 2y ago
    I realized this as I was looking up reviews to get second opinions. I stand very much corrected on the CarPlay/AA feature being present!
- xyzzy_plugh 2y ago
  It's been available in EU since its inception circa 2020. It's popular enough that they're bringing it west.
infecto 2y ago
I am guessing they are just juicing their EPA stats? That’s why one of the other small manufacturers did it. Was it smart car, fiat or someone else. This juices their mpg to meet requirements.
- aquaticsunset 2y ago
  Compliance car for sure.
deevus 2y ago
I got to test drive one of these. It's such a fun little car to drive, albeit not that responsive or fast. If you just needed a little runabout it would be perfect for that. In Australia these cost just under 70K AUD. The interior is very nice, and quite spacious for what it is. There is a lot of leather that looks and feels good. If I didn't need to occasionally do long distance (150km+) it would have been a contender, but at its asking price, cheaper options like the MG-4 and GWM Ora are much better value.
- Always42 2y ago
  70k AUD ~= $47k
  - posguy 2y ago
    Seems really expensive given when these were last in the USA they were offering $99 a month leases for 36 months, and you got the tax credits as though this was a purchased vehicle which nearly covered all of the monthly lease payments.
    - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
      I don't think there are many places in the world where cars are as cheap as in the USA. The prices in Australia also include taxes and fees, which I don't think is a practice in the states.
      - bagels 2y ago
        Taxes and fees would amount to at most 3-4k in the US on the 35k car, depending on the specific local taxes.
gigel82 2y ago
Is it going to be California only, like the last model they had? There is clearly demand for low cost, medium range EVs for commute all over the country, yet this kind of cars are only available in California for some reason.
jwells89 2y ago
I’m looking at leasing one of these because I don’t need a whole lot of car, since I don’t commute — mostly I just need a grocery-grabber, and it’s one of the handful of EVs that’s small enough to fit in my somewhat undersized garage while still leaving ample room to move around the car. We really need more Honda Fit type EVs… think small, cheap, and high utility, but the way things are looking the next several years will continue the endless stream of scarcely distinguishable midrange-and-up SUVs with the odd luxury sedan.
- vladgur 2y ago
  Have you looked at Kia Kona EVs. I think they are close to Fit’s size
  - jetofff 2y ago
    The kona is close, but is larger in every dimension and still has less cargo space than a Fit. https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/honda-jazz-fit-2017-5-door-hatchback-vs-hyundai-kona-2023-suv-electric/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/honda-jazz-fit-2017...
  - jwells89 2y ago
    It’s close-ish but about 5” longer. Might consider with a good lease deal, but the high number of recalls on Hyundai/Kia vehicles is concerning. Have read they’re also more expensive to insure.
    - SkyPuncher 2y ago
      Hyundai/Kia just makes the news because it’s trendy. Our 2020 Hyundai is the most reliable vehicle we’ve owned. All of our other vehicles have comparable level of recalls. In fact, our Ford currently has a recall because the rear axle bolts are at risk of sheering off. Major issue, but not something that makes headline news.
  - ramesh31 2y ago
    Kia is getting close, but they still refuse to break the $30k barrier. The floodgates to EV adoption will open for the first manufacturer to sell 60kwH+ for a true sticker price under $25k. That's enough range with a payment right at the edge of affordability for most Anericans.
asveikau 2y ago
"Brings back" is funny, US market centric. They've had the revamped electric one in Europe since 2021. They stopped exporting to the US in 2019 or so. Now they're bringing it back to the US.
- xyzzy_plugh 2y ago
  I found this headline mind boggling, as I've been reading reviews that cover the 500e continuously since it was introduced. A "brings back (to the US market)" or something would go along way.
  - metadat 2y ago
    It's just another submarine*. * Or similar media manipulation. https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html P.s. I hate linking to [what I perceive as to be] another stereotypically "privileged" guy's website, but it was the original place I learned of this mass-manipulation phenomenon. To be clear, some of his writing is good but what he stands and represents doesn't vibe with me. Yet I'm still in HN, fml.
    - gnicholas 2y ago
      Is it a submarine if it doesn’t hide the ball? If the topic is right there in the headline, isn’t it more of an aircraft carrier rather than a submarine?
      - metadat 2y ago
        A good point.
  - asveikau 2y ago
    Cars are one of those things that make Americans think backwards, and global markets don't exist anymore when some people talk about them. I saw a lot of commentary when they stopped importing Fiats that Americans don't want a car in that size. It's still one of the most popular cars in San Francisco, despite the fact that they haven't sold it here new in 5 years. But we don't want that kind of car. They tell us that and we don't get nice things which are popular because we don't want them..
ramesh31 2y ago
If they could do it for ~$20k out the door, it could be a compelling little vehicle for some people. But at $35k this is just a bad joke.
quasarj 2y ago
Hasn't this been known for months now? We need them to bring back the gasoline version.. nobody wants an electric car with poor mileage, no matter how cute it is.
- trog 2y ago
  I do - if it's cheap. 99% of my driving is < 30km. I'd love to have a small electric car that costs little to buy, little to run, and deals with the vast majority my trips, and have a second car with longer range for the rare times I do long trips. "Long" for me is to the beach, which is about 100km away, so say 250km round trip range would be excellent - which this car almost does. But the base price on this seems disproportionately high.
- KennyBlanken 2y ago
  VW has sold a million or so eGolfs which had similar range numbers in the latter years. 150 miles is enough for someone who has a 30 mile round trip commute to drive a full work week without doing any charging. 150 mi range is enough for many city drivers to go weeks between charges, or make a trip out of the city for a day/weekend. Repeat after me: "what I want is not necessarily what others want."
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
andsoitis 2y ago
$35k !! Tesla Model 3 base model sells for $39k and gives you 270 miles.
jmward01 2y ago
I want car privacy to be a top feature mentioned for every vehicle. Every time I see integrations with service x, y or z, I don't think convenience, I think privacy nightmare.

45 points by lxm 2y ago

I remember when it initially debuted and the best thing about it was they were offering a $49/mo lease. Now, I'm a militant "you should own your car, never lease" guy, but even I was tempted. That was just a stupidly ridiculous good deal. Wonder if they'll bring that back too (I won't hold my breath).

aquaticsunset 2y ago
If you want a screaming lease deal, check out the Subaru Solterra. It makes me genuinely upset I bought one instead of leased. Love the car, didn't mind the price, but wow these things are at a discount.
- JojoFatsani 2y ago
  Because they are one of the worst vehicles in their class.
  - aquaticsunset 2y ago
    Dunno about that... My criteria was a bit different than the "on paper" stats: 1) Had normal instrumentation and control systems inside. No spaceship tech features. 2) Reliability and build quality cannot be compromised. 3) Strong dealership network with readily available parts and trained technicians. Fast charge rate and long road trip worthiness doesn't matter to me because I don't do that. It's absolutely peppy and will put down the power when you need it for a quick merge or highway on ramp. Overall incredibly happy with this car. Edit: formatting
    - dangrossman 2y ago
      I'd also say it's objectively one of the worst EVs on the market, and as far as the dealership network and technicians go, perhaps only if you can get a Toyota service center to work on it. It's not really a Subaru at all, it's a rebadged Toyota bZ4X, best-known for the "its wheels fall off" stop-sale recall in 2022.
  - CitrusFruits 2y ago
    I leased one and have been loving it. It's a great car if your not road tripping. The lease price really helps too.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    Everything is relative to price. The bz4x and Solterra were not great cars at their original price, but at $169/month lease....
- rasz 2y ago
  Nothing stops you from selling the car and getting another on lease. And how is #300/mo a screaming deal?

greenthrow 2y ago

Yes the range is limited. That's on purpose. It's intended to be a city car, not a freeway cruising road-tripper. We don't all need to be lugging around a 100kWh battery for our typical 30mi of driving per day.

JojoFatsani 2y ago
I believe Stellantis is adopting the NACS (aka Tesla Supercharger compatible) plug. That turns this into a more practical car in case of emergency or if you need to make an occasional longer trip. Everyone shops for the edge case - what if I need to drive from Maine to San Diego, or what if I need to buy three rooms worth of drywall? The answer obviously is just rent an ICE for those rarer occasions. But obviously if you’re a drywaller or a courier, buy something different to begin with.
- ericd 2y ago
  The problem is that oft repeated advice it makes those edge cases so much more painful, to the point where they might just not get done. Like, have you tried renting a Home Depot truck? The last one I rented was barely roadworthy.
  - Kon-Peki 2y ago
    That’s not really fair. 99.9% of the Home Depot trucks are perfectly fine. The real problem with renting a Hone Depot truck is that the reservations are based on expected availability. You made a reservation and you told them how long you expect to have the truck. But so did the person before you. There is no penalty for being wrong. It’s just an hourly cost and you pay for however long you keep it. Keep it overnight if you want to. Keep it for a few days. If you’ve ever read the fine print (you do read the fine print, right?), it will list a maximum rental charge. If you keep it long enough to hit that mark, they give you the title once you’ve paid the bill! This is all fantastic once you are in possession of the Home Depot truck. But you can never count on it being there when you want it. Imagine that your local store has three trucks and 3 reservations for 2pm. You can call them up before leaving the house and they’ll tell you there are trucks at the store. You arrive in the parking lot and see a truck parked in the parking lot. You then buy all your stuff and walk over to the rental counter and there’s no truck anymore. One of the other people with the 2pm reservations already took it, and the person with the 1pm reservation isn’t back yet.

Phoenix5869 2y ago

EDIT: in hindsight, i shouldn’t’ve dismissed this as just “oh it hasn’t got good range” . I will try not to be so dismissive in future. This should be good for an average commute in an urban area. Side note tho, remember when the high end cars had below 100 mile range?

saagarjha 2y ago
Seems more than reasonable for most people's commute
- Phoenix5869 2y ago
  That’s true, and i’m not saying it isn’t.
kabigon 2y ago
$32k USD starting is not what I would call affordable. Even the Nissan Leaf starts lower. This car is honestly a bit of a joke in the US markets even for a small, simple commuter you can do much better here in the EV space. A used 2018 leaf would get more range, charge faster and cost less.
- jupp0r 2y ago
  Why wouldn't you just get a Model 3 for that price? It's just much better tech, more fun, much better range and probably has better resale value down the road. Not a fan of the CEO for sure, but it seems like there are worlds between the specs and just very little additional $.
  - jwells89 2y ago
    Compared to the Model 3, the Leaf offers seats-down cargo space that’s larger and less restrictive (hatch vs. trunk) despite being significantly smaller (~185” vs ~176”). Despite the 500e being smaller yet at 143”, its cargo space isn’t that much smaller than that of the Model 3 and also isn’t subject to the restrictions of a trunk since it’s a hatch. Of course not everybody is looking for compactness or better ratios of external size to cargo space but for those who are, there are better options than a Model 3.

a_vanderbilt 2y ago

I rewrote this comment because I think the angle I had initially was wrong. While I think it will struggle in the US/Canadian market, in the EU I think it will be popular. It also does have CarPlay, which I was incorrect about. Commenter below was kind enough to point that out.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
jwells89 2y ago
The 2024 500e comes with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, as noted in this Edmunds review: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2024-fiat-500e-first-drive-review.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2024-fiat-500e-first-drive-...
- a_vanderbilt 2y ago
  I realized this as I was looking up reviews to get second opinions. I stand very much corrected on the CarPlay/AA feature being present!
xyzzy_plugh 2y ago
It's been available in EU since its inception circa 2020. It's popular enough that they're bringing it west.

infecto 2y ago

I am guessing they are just juicing their EPA stats? That’s why one of the other small manufacturers did it. Was it smart car, fiat or someone else. This juices their mpg to meet requirements.

aquaticsunset 2y ago
Compliance car for sure.

deevus 2y ago

I got to test drive one of these. It's such a fun little car to drive, albeit not that responsive or fast. If you just needed a little runabout it would be perfect for that. In Australia these cost just under 70K AUD. The interior is very nice, and quite spacious for what it is. There is a lot of leather that looks and feels good. If I didn't need to occasionally do long distance (150km+) it would have been a contender, but at its asking price, cheaper options like the MG-4 and GWM Ora are much better value.

Always42 2y ago
70k AUD ~= $47k
- posguy 2y ago
  Seems really expensive given when these were last in the USA they were offering $99 a month leases for 36 months, and you got the tax credits as though this was a purchased vehicle which nearly covered all of the monthly lease payments.
  - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
    I don't think there are many places in the world where cars are as cheap as in the USA. The prices in Australia also include taxes and fees, which I don't think is a practice in the states.
    - bagels 2y ago
      Taxes and fees would amount to at most 3-4k in the US on the 35k car, depending on the specific local taxes.

gigel82 2y ago

Is it going to be California only, like the last model they had? There is clearly demand for low cost, medium range EVs for commute all over the country, yet this kind of cars are only available in California for some reason.

jwells89 2y ago

I’m looking at leasing one of these because I don’t need a whole lot of car, since I don’t commute — mostly I just need a grocery-grabber, and it’s one of the handful of EVs that’s small enough to fit in my somewhat undersized garage while still leaving ample room to move around the car. We really need more Honda Fit type EVs… think small, cheap, and high utility, but the way things are looking the next several years will continue the endless stream of scarcely distinguishable midrange-and-up SUVs with the odd luxury sedan.

vladgur 2y ago
Have you looked at Kia Kona EVs. I think they are close to Fit’s size
- jetofff 2y ago
  The kona is close, but is larger in every dimension and still has less cargo space than a Fit. https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/honda-jazz-fit-2017-5-door-hatchback-vs-hyundai-kona-2023-suv-electric/ https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/honda-jazz-fit-2017...
- jwells89 2y ago
  It’s close-ish but about 5” longer. Might consider with a good lease deal, but the high number of recalls on Hyundai/Kia vehicles is concerning. Have read they’re also more expensive to insure.
  - SkyPuncher 2y ago
    Hyundai/Kia just makes the news because it’s trendy. Our 2020 Hyundai is the most reliable vehicle we’ve owned. All of our other vehicles have comparable level of recalls. In fact, our Ford currently has a recall because the rear axle bolts are at risk of sheering off. Major issue, but not something that makes headline news.
- ramesh31 2y ago
  Kia is getting close, but they still refuse to break the $30k barrier. The floodgates to EV adoption will open for the first manufacturer to sell 60kwH+ for a true sticker price under $25k. That's enough range with a payment right at the edge of affordability for most Anericans.

asveikau 2y ago

"Brings back" is funny, US market centric. They've had the revamped electric one in Europe since 2021. They stopped exporting to the US in 2019 or so. Now they're bringing it back to the US.

xyzzy_plugh 2y ago
I found this headline mind boggling, as I've been reading reviews that cover the 500e continuously since it was introduced. A "brings back (to the US market)" or something would go along way.
- metadat 2y ago
  It's just another submarine*. * Or similar media manipulation. https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html P.s. I hate linking to [what I perceive as to be] another stereotypically "privileged" guy's website, but it was the original place I learned of this mass-manipulation phenomenon. To be clear, some of his writing is good but what he stands and represents doesn't vibe with me. Yet I'm still in HN, fml.
  - gnicholas 2y ago
    Is it a submarine if it doesn’t hide the ball? If the topic is right there in the headline, isn’t it more of an aircraft carrier rather than a submarine?
    - metadat 2y ago
      A good point.
- asveikau 2y ago
  Cars are one of those things that make Americans think backwards, and global markets don't exist anymore when some people talk about them. I saw a lot of commentary when they stopped importing Fiats that Americans don't want a car in that size. It's still one of the most popular cars in San Francisco, despite the fact that they haven't sold it here new in 5 years. But we don't want that kind of car. They tell us that and we don't get nice things which are popular because we don't want them..

ramesh31 2y ago

If they could do it for ~$20k out the door, it could be a compelling little vehicle for some people. But at $35k this is just a bad joke.

quasarj 2y ago

Hasn't this been known for months now? We need them to bring back the gasoline version.. nobody wants an electric car with poor mileage, no matter how cute it is.

trog 2y ago
I do - if it's cheap. 99% of my driving is < 30km. I'd love to have a small electric car that costs little to buy, little to run, and deals with the vast majority my trips, and have a second car with longer range for the rare times I do long trips. "Long" for me is to the beach, which is about 100km away, so say 250km round trip range would be excellent - which this car almost does. But the base price on this seems disproportionately high.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
VW has sold a million or so eGolfs which had similar range numbers in the latter years. 150 miles is enough for someone who has a 30 mile round trip commute to drive a full work week without doing any charging. 150 mi range is enough for many city drivers to go weeks between charges, or make a trip out of the city for a day/weekend. Repeat after me: "what I want is not necessarily what others want."

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

andsoitis 2y ago

$35k !! Tesla Model 3 base model sells for $39k and gives you 270 miles.

jmward01 2y ago

I want car privacy to be a top feature mentioned for every vehicle. Every time I see integrations with service x, y or z, I don't think convenience, I think privacy nightmare.