Electric hatchbacks make perfect sense for city driving but Australians looking to make the switch have not had too many options. Things are about to change with the launch in Australia of the Fiat 500e.Ā
The small two-door EVs specifications and arrival date have today been revealed by Fiat. And itās only months away. Ā The Fiat 500e was the fourth best selling electric car in Europe in 2022, behind only the Tesla Model 3, the Model Y and the VW ID.4.
The car would also be one of the very few European-built EVs to arrive on Australian shores with its design, engineering and manufacturing all done in Turin, Italy. Fiat proudly states this as part of its launch:
āFiat 500e ā the first full-electric model in Fiat history and 100% designed, engineered and manufactured in Turin, Italy.ā
With 3 doors +1, the New Fiat 500 is100% electric and helps you solve unexpected problems in your everyday life, no matter their size. Welcome to the new Dolce Vita.
Discovermore: https://t.co/n24MMGHe0p pic.twitter.com/YjoYIkoqYc
— Fiat (@fiat) July 4, 2022
The first of these Italian-built hatchbacks are expected to arrive at the dealerships by mid-year and will be priced from $52,500 before on-roads. These will only be offered in one trim, the āLa Primaā trim which in Italian stands for āThe Firstā.
The Fiat 500e is rated one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles according to Fiat, scoring a five-star Green New Car Assessment rating. It is the first vehicle to achieve a maximum 10/10 in the Energy Efficiency Index as part of this rating.
This is one of the smallest EVs to hit the Australian market so far and in dimensions according to the ev-database, it sits at:
- Length: 3,631 mm
- Width: 1,683 mm
- Height: 1,529 mm
It also has four seats for passengers with up to 550L of boot space when the rear seats are down.
Getting into the details of its powertrain that gives the 500e some of its green credentials, shows that an 87 kW front-mounted motor powers the wheels. The same motorās peak Torque output is 220 Nm and can get the hatchback from 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds.
The motors are fed by a 42 kWh battery which can offer up to 311 km of range in Europe.Ā
The more you love her, the more you feel good about yourself.
We're talking about your city, of course! š pic.twitter.com/FLyI7fCPdp— Fiat (@fiat) October 5, 2022
The battery can be AC-charged at up to 11 kW. The fast charging speeds are also impressive for a car this size. It can be fast-charged at a suitable DC charger at up to 85 kW. Fast charging using the CCS2 Port on the Fiat 500e can get the battery from 0 – 80% in 35 minutes.
For comparison, the BYD Atto 3 with a larger battery is capped at 80 kW, although we have seen it get up to 88 kW on The Drivenās tests.
The pricing of the only trim starts at $52,500 before on-roads and itās expected to arrive at the dealerships by mid-2023. There is also a āRegister your Interestā page for those considering the new 500e.Ā
Various colours are available for the 500e including:
- Ice White
- Onyx Black
- Ocean Green
- Mineral Grey
- Rose Gold
- Celestial Blue
When it comes to safety and convenience features, Fiatās electric offering includes:
- Autonomous Driving Level 2 as standard
- A forward-looking camera, located behind the internal rearview mirror
- Adaptive Cruise Control (iACC)
- Lane Centering (LC)
- Rearview parking camera
- Blind spot monitor
- Autonomous emergency brake control with pedestrian and cyclist detection
- Lane control, attention assist
- Speed assistant with traffic sign recognition
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
- Automatic headlamp on
- Seat belt reminder
- High-beam assist
- Rain sensing wipers
The Fiat 500e is quite a unique offering, not only because of its two-door design but also the form factor. We need smaller electric vehicles to help our cities decarbonise. The more options on the market, the better.
Fiat 500e First Drive Impressions from Fully Charged
La Prima standard equipment highlights:
Exterior:
- 17ā diamond-cut alloy wheels
- Full LED Infinity headlamps
- LED daytime running lights and rear lamps
- Panoramic fixed glass roof
- Chrome exterior accents including chrome aluminium liner on side and chromed DLO moulding
Interior:
- Ice beige eco-leather seat trim with FIAT monogram & door panel
- Bi-colour soft touch steering wheel
- Premium woven dashboard finisher
- 50:50 split rear seats
- 6-way manual adjusting front seats
- Heated front seats
- Branded floor mats
- Kick plate
- Centre armrest and closed centre console
- 6 speakers
Features:
- Blind spot monitor
- Front & rear parking sensors
- Rearview camera
- AEB (VRU) + TSR/ISA + LSS + DAA
- Tyre pressure monitoring system
- 7ā TFT instrument cluster
- 10.25ā infotainment with DAB and wireless Apple Carplay & Android Auto
- Keyless Entry & Keyless Go
- Climate control
- Privacy glass
- 2 USB ports (A+C)
- iACC with Lane Centering & Traffic Jam Assist
- Auto dimming rearview mirror
- Wireless charging pad
- Auto headlamps, high/low beam and wipers
- Automatic wipers
e-Powertrain:
- Mode 3 charging cable
Pricing
Ā
| Grade | Power | Battery | BVP* |
| 500e La Prima | 87 kW | 42kWh | $52,500 |
*Base Vehicle Price includes GST, excludes all on-road costs and dealer delivery.
Ā
Options:
| Model | Option | Code | MSRP* |
| Fiat 500e | Premium paint Ā¹ | – | $700 |
| Tri-Coat paint 2 | 278 | $1,600 |
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.