500 not out
This little car is a Very Big Deal. Because it’s a new Fiat 500, and this is only the third of those since 1957. OK, there was a large gap 1975–2007, but the more important thing here is that it’s Fiat’s first EV.
A proper one, too – like the Honda e the new 500 has its own newly developed platform, body and interior. It shares no components with the hugely successful ‘old’ 500, which Fiat says will remain on sale alongside the new car for the “foreseeable”.
And it looks great, doesn’t it? The cheapest one comes with a tiny 24kWh battery and at £20,495 after the £2,500 plug-in car grant, is one of the least expensive EVs you can buy. Fiat claims 118 miles of WLTP range. So most people will rightly buy a 500 with the bigger 42kWh battery (as tested here), costing between £23,995 and £27,495, for its impressive 199-mile claimed range.
With a clean sheet design Fiat could have totally reinvented the 500, but it chose to keep everything comfortingly familiar. To install the 117bhp motor under a conventional bonnet and have it power the front axle, to stick the charge port where you’d normally find the fuel filler and to calibrate the chassis and drivetrain so they don’t feel too alien.
The cabin, too, is very much an evolution. Fine for two but a squeeze for four, the boot isn’t very big either, at just 185 litres, though you can flip the rear seats down. There’s decent storage elsewhere and material quality is broadly good, with exceptions. The driver sits high – the must-have heightadjustable seats are part of a £300 option pack, or standard on top trim. The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, but there’s not much space for your left foot and the side of the dash could do with a bit of padding, should you lean your knee up against it.
The flagship infotainment system is packed with features, broadly easy to use, and helped no end by having a strip of physical buttons underneath dedicated to the climate controls. The digital instrument cluster is excellent, and mercifully the controls on the steering wheel are physical buttons instead of terrible touchpads. They operate clever (and optional) level two driver assistance tech such as adaptive cruise and lane keep assist.
The 0–62mph run takes nine seconds. The rate of acceleration starts to tail off thereafter, although when we tested the 500 abroad last year we did eventually hit its 93mph top speed. In the UK it’s happy enough on the
motorway, but you’ll need to swap swift outside lane overtakes for considered passes.
But the 500 belongs in town, and it’s here where it feels happiest. Though it’s bigger than the old one, the 500 is still a little car and ideally suited to ducking and weaving its way around congested city centres. It’s comfortable too, with a softness about how it porpoises off sleeping policemen and passes over potholes. The progressive throttle and brakes help you drive smoothly, and make precisely nipping into rapidly disappearing gaps all the easier. One pedal driving is available in ‘Range’ mode and takes some getting used to.
Ramp up the speed on your favourite B-road and you’re met with adequate traction and good roll control. But out here the 500’s ride gets a bit jiggly, and the remote, woolly steering that isn’t a problem in town limits how much fun you can have threading it through a series of bends. Not what the 500’s for, admittedly, but still – the Mini and Honda are better at this kind of thing.
Ah yes, the Mini and Honda. More expensive and, with less range, not as versatile. It’s the 500 that wins the mathematical argument, but the Honda and Mini are more fun. And that matters. So, bring on the group test...