Fiat 500 review | Auto Express

Despite the small, affordable electric car market not being as established as other sectors, there has been quite a bit of change in it. When the Fiat 500 electric was launched, its main rivals were the Honda e and MINI Electric. The former has since been discontinued, while the latter has been replaced with a model named MINI Cooper. 

Other options have popped up since: the Ora 03 (formally known as the Funky Cat), and the electric versions of established superminis such as the Peugeot E-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric. However, the 500 is also going to face some stiff opposition in the form of the Citroen e-C3, which has already secured our overall 2024 Car of the Year gong, while the upcoming Dacia Spring undercuts the 500 significantly on price.

Buyers get a choice of two battery sizes and power outputs in the 500, although both use a single electric motor to drive the front wheels. The base model gets a fairly small 24kWh battery and produces just 92bhp, a combination which Fiat says allows the car to cover 118 miles on a single charge.

That might not be enough for some buyers, but you can get the 500 with a much larger (and heavier) 42kWh battery. This version has a range of 193 miles, while power is increased to 116bhp so that the 0-62mph dash still takes around nine seconds. That’s quite nippy for an electric city car, but that hasn’t stopped the brand from introducing the hot Abarth 500e, which provides plenty of extra go in the same diminutive package.

The 500’s trim structure has been overhauled several times since it launched, including the axing of the cheap and cheerful Action specification, which was so basic that it used a smartphone cradle in place of an actual infotainment system. The three trim levels currently available are the base 500, (RED) edition and top-of-the-range La Prima. 

Prices for the electric 500 start from around £25,000, making it among the cheapest EVs on sale right now. Upgrading to the bigger battery increases the price tag to around £28,000, while the Convertible version starts from around £31,000.