Fiat 500e Review

Performance

The electric 500 feels sprightlier than its 9.0sec 0-62mph time suggests, with zippy acceleration off the line and an easy response even if you go for a mid-range burst of power to overtake or pull onto a motorway. The seamless power delivery of electric propulsion works brilliantly around town or on faster roads in the New 500, with an easy-to-modulate throttle and decent brake pedal feel and response helping things along. Despite it's smaller battery, the entry-level 24kWh model is only 0.5 seconds slower to 62mph.

The wonderfully named Sherpa mode setting neuters things, but it still feels fast enough for town even if it’ll feel very limiting on faster roads. That one-pedal driving that Range and Sherpa modes bring also works well around town; it’s very easy to judge gentle braking, but we prefer the brake pedal for coming to a complete halt. 

Drive

The electric 500 is a doddle to drive. You can just hop in and go, and everything feels intuitive and easy to judge, from the pedal responses to the steering. It’s all very light, and the 9.6m turning circle (which is virtually at Smart levels of u-turn cheekiness) makes it really easy to navigate awkward roads and car parks. 

The one-pedal driving mode we’ve already mentioned will take some getting used to but with familiarity many people like the simplicity of this technology – and you can just leave the New 500 in Normal mode and just drive the 500 completely normally while not worrying about the barely perceptible brake regen.

What does let the whole affair down a little is the ride comfort. It’s not terrible since the damping keeps the worst bumps from jarring the little car, but on the 17-inch wheels of our test car we were bumped and jostled about quite a bit over poor road surfaces.