Fiat 500e Review

Practicality and Boot Space

The Fiat New 500 is more spacious than its predecessor, having grown by some 6cm in length and width, and with a 2cm longer space between the wheels on the side of the car. That does show in the extra shoulder room you get up front, where it’s comfortable and airy. Those in the back will be less comfy, as the two seats back here are quite cramped so even average-sized adults will have their legs pressed against the front seats. 

The Fiat 500 boot is pretty small, too, although there is underfloor storage for one of the two standard charging cables provided. And it does look cool to have the retro, bottom-hinged lid that topples down rather than lifting up. Due to its folding canvas roof, the Convertible model has less practicality and more awkwardly opening boot lid.

Ultimately, this isn’t a car you buy if you have kids or value practicality. The five-door Honda e, Renault Zoe or Seat Mii Electric will be far better bets. 

Technology

The New 500 finally brings a decent, up to date infotainment system to this popular little car. The Uconnect 5 infotainment system perches a landscape 10.25-inch touchscreen on top of the dash, which offers a window to Android Auto and wireless Apple Carplay. Two phones can be linked simultaneously, and other standard features include TomTom satnav, Bluetooth, DAB, USB connections, wireless phone charging and over-the-air map updates. There’s even the option to add Alexa’s dulcet tones and impressive voice control abilities to the system. 

Our car’s touchscreen worked well and promises great things for screen responsiveness and graphics, if some slightly fussy menu layouts. The only slight complaint we'd have is that the screen is very long and shallow with a menu bar at the top, so when you use Apple Carplay or Android Auto, the actual amount of screen space available is quite small. It's a bit like looking at your television through a letter box. 

Safety

Fiat has pushed the boat out with safety for the New 500. It gets a camera-based system that brings adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, autonomous emergency braking at city speeds, traffic sign recognition and blind spot warning on the top models.