ArcaMax

A lot has changed in the five years since you could last buy a brand-new Fiat 500 -- the cute little minicar from Italy.

When it was last available -- back in 2019 -- it had a base price just over $16,000, came standard with a manual transmission and could take you nearly 300 miles - in city driving -- on about 10 gallons of gasoline.

Fast-forward to now.

Fiat no longer sells that 500. But you can get a battery-powered version of it that only costs about twice as much -- and goes about half as far.

The good news is, it's still cute.

What It is

The 500e is an updated version of the 500 minicar Fiat used to sell until it was dropped from Fiat's U.S. lineup after the end of the 2019 model year.

It looks pretty much the same but it's also very different -- beginning with how much it costs.

The electric 500 stickers for $32,500 to start for the base Red Edition trim. Prices top out at $36,000 for the other two available trims, Music and Beauty -- each emphasizing different themes. The Music comes standard with a premium JBL audio system and cream-colored interior, while the Beauty comes standard with Rose-colored interior accents and Rose Gold exterior paint.

All trims come standard with the same electric powertrain -- with no transmission -- and a maximum of 149 miles of advertised range on a fully charged battery.

What's New

The 500e is Fiat's only current offering in the United States.

What's Good

-- It's still cute.

-- A little more front-seat leg (and head) room versus before.

-- Odds are high you could haggle down the $32,000-to-start price down considerably.

What's Not So Good

-- Costs about twice as much as the old 500 with an engine rather than a battery.

-- Only goes about half as far.

-- Takes at least five times as long (20-30 minutes) to get going again as the old 500 did when it runs out of charge.

Under the Hood

The old 500 had a small -- 1.4-liter -- four cylinder engine. The new 500e has no engine at all. And no transmission, either -- because its electric motor is directly connected to the front wheels, as is the usual arrangement in an electric vehicle. The 40-kWh battery and 117-horsepower motor allow for an advertised maximum of 149 miles of driving range.

That's not much range, even relative to other EVs. In fact, the 500e is the only 2024 model EV that doesn't advertise at least 200 miles of range on a fully charged battery. You'd think this little car would be able to go farther -- because it is a little car and because (unlike pretty much every other EV on the market) it does not brag about how powerful and quick it is.

Because it isn't.

The little Fiat needs just shy of eight seconds to haul itself to 60 mph, chiefly because it is so heavy: nearly 3,000 pounds empty -- or close to twice as heavy as a similarly small but much lighter car such as a '70s-era Volkswagen Beetle (which weighed about 1,600 pounds).

The old Fiat 500 was no lightweight for its size, either -- but it weighed a relatively athletic 2,505 pounds. The additional 500 pounds (just about) is due to the weight of the battery pack that stores the electricity that powers this EV's electric motor.

And that's why it only goes so far.

On the Road

This could be a fine city car for people who don't need or want a larger car. The problem is its cost. It is one thing to pay $16,000 for a little runabout like the old 500 (which had the additional advantage of being able to go the distance -- on the highway -- if you needed it to). It is another thing to pay about twice as much for a little car that only goes about half as far -- and that's only if you don't take it on the highway, where its touted maximum range of 149 miles is more like 100 miles if you drive it at highway speeds.

On the upside, it's still small -- even if it isn't light. Like its engine'd forebear, it is so small it fits almost anywhere a motorcycle can, at least in terms of length. The short wheelbase and quick steering give it that slot-car maneuverability that made the original 500 so much fun to drive.

At the Curb

To look at the "e," you'd think it was the same 500. It's actually a little different (aside from the big difference).

The old 500 was 139.6 inches long; the new "e" is 143 inches long, so almost 4 inches longer than before. That's why the "e" has more backseat legroom -- 31.7 inches versus 29.5 inches previously -- which (in both cases) is more backseat legroom than you'd have available in several much larger four-seater coupes such as the current Ford Mustang, which is 189.4 inches long -- nearly four feet longer -- yet only has 29 inches of legroom and much less headroom due to the Mustang's much lower, much more steeply raked roofline.

The interior layout is similar to the previous layout, with a few small differences, including a larger (10.3-inch) standard LCD touch screen for the infotainment system and an all-digital main instrument cluster as well as pushbuttons for Park, Drive and Reverse mounted on the lower dash.

The Rest

The "e" versus the old 500 is a very interesting side-by-side comparison of the costs of "electrification." The same car -- basically -- now costs twice as much as it did, and by dint of how limited it is, it's not nearly as useful as it was.

There's also the more subtle cost of faster and steeper depreciation -- a problem all EVs have because of the unavoidable decline over time of the battery pack's capacity to fully recharge. A five- or six-year-old EV may need a new battery that costs half as much as the car itself did before another five years elapse.

The Bottom Line

It's still cute and fun, though less so. And it's definitely no longer the inexpensive ride it used to be.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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