Los Angeles (KABC) — There’s a new Fiat all-electric car in showrooms: the 500e – which may look familiar.
Fiat made many headlines in 2013 when it debuted the 500e, an adaptation of the regular 500. And it’s a great electric car, when electric cars were just starting to trickle into the market. It worked well, but had drawbacks, like a range of only 84 miles.
“We are now talking about a car that was designed from the ground up to be fully electric,” said Amer Ahmed, Fiat North America president. “It has been out of Europe for four years.”
The 2024 Fiat 500e looks similar to the previous 2013-2019 model, but it’s also a bit different. The main difference is the driving range, which is now officially 149 miles according to the EPA.
That’s a significant increase, and the new Fiat can accept public DC fast charging, which the previous car never could. A new partner app called Free2move can help find and pay fees.
“Single sign-on, single source of payment. Any of the providers we’ll be using in this app. It’s a really easy way, a really customer-centric way, to drive your Fiat 500 and charge your Fiat 500,” Ahmed said. .
Newer technology also arrives, like wireless Apple Car Play and wireless Android Auto, part of a new, larger touchscreen infotainment system.
However, Fiat has wisely stuck to a kind of old-fashioned sleek interior for style points. The back seat is now larger, but not by much. It’s only for younger passengers, basically.
The Fiat 500e’s base price is $32,500 before any federal or state incentives.
What about the range? The estimate of 149 miles is nearly double the previous model’s estimate of 84 miles. However, many new electric cars are coming to the market with a range of 250, 300 or 350 miles. Plus the ability to charge quickly while on the road.
Well, the Fiat 500e is thought of as the city car in Europe. In fact, it can be considered an ideal city car, as many major European cities restrict access to internal combustion vehicles.
That’s its role in the US now, because as Fiat points out, not everyone drives long distances. Especially in major urban centers in California.
“The average round trip in Southern California is about 9.7 miles. I think San Francisco is about 12 to 13 miles. So, from a daily usage perspective, you have all the range you need,” Ahmed noted.
So, if you tend to stick around town, like electric cars, and want to drive a four-wheeler that falls firmly into the nice-to-have category, you’re in luck: the Fiat EV is back.
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