Fiat has launched the hatchback version of its new all-electric 500, following on from the reveal of the convertible 'La Prima' model in March. While the La Prima convertible came in for flack for being way too pricey, this hatchback version is at least a little more affordable.
Waiting for Irish prices
Or at least so we assume. So far, only the UK price of £26,995 has been announced - we now have to wait and see what Irish availability and prices will be like. In the meantime, here's what we do know.
Fiat says that while the La Prima electric 500 has the same iconic style as the existing petrol version, it also has "even softer and more rounded lines than the previous generation." Fiat is also harking back to the post-war period in Italy, when the original 500 essentially put the country on wheels, and is hoping that - in an electric sense - the new 500 EV can do something similar this time around.
The La Prima comes with a panoramic glass roof, a proper tailgate (unlike the boot flap of the convertible) and a pronounced boot spoiler, which Fiat says boost aero efficiency. There are also three exclusive paint colours - pearlescent Ocean Green; metallic Mineral Grey; and three-layer Celestial Blue.
For that (mildly chunky) price tag, the 'La Prima' comes with full LED headlights, 17-inch diamond-cut wheels, chrome-plated inserts on the side panels, and dashboard and eco-leather seat upholstery as standard, as well as a complimentary home wall-box for charging.
320km range
Underneath the cutesy styling, the 500 EV has a 45kWh battery, which gives it a 320km range on the WLTP cycle. The battery has an 85kW charging system, so you can rapid-charge the 500 from the faster public charging points now coming on stream, and Fiat says that just five minutes on a rapid charger will give you 50km of extra range. From the home wall charger, at a speed of 7.4kW, the 500 will fully charge in about six hours.
To keep you going for as long as possible, the 500 EV gets three driving modes - Normal, Range, and Sherpa. Sherpa, named for the legendary stamina of Nepalese mountain climbers, "optimises the available resources to reduce fuel consumption to a minimum, enabling it to reach the destination set on the navigation system or the nearest charging station." In this mode, the air conditioning is turned off, the top speed is limited to 80km/h, and the heated seats are switched off.
Normal mode is pretty self-explanatory, while Range mode dials up the regenerative braking, giving the 500 EV a 'one-pedal' driving mode.
The 500 EV's single electric motor has 87kW, which is 118hp, and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 9 seconds.
Electronic driver aids
It's not just Fiat's first electric car (well, Fiat's first PROPER electric car - the previous 500e barely counts) it's also one of the first Fiat models to come with a broad suite of electronic driver aids. Those include a forward-facing camera system, intelligent active cruise control, lane centring steering, intelligent speed assistant, urban blind-spot warning, attention assist, and a 360-degree parking camera system.
It also gets Fiat's new uConnect 5 infotainment system, which comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, working through a 10.25-inch screen. It also comes with a smartphone app that allows you to manage the car's charging and check its battery and range levels, phone-to-car navigation hand-off, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and a 'My Car' function which monitors tyre pressures and tells you when you need a service.
The electric Fiat 500 won’t arrive in Ireland until early in 2021 but order books are open now, and we'll update this piece when we have more specific Irish details.