In 1957 Fiat began to rise from the post-war period with the launch of the Nuova 500, an urban mini, suitable for the weakened finances of Italians (in the first instance), but also of Europeans. 63 years later, it reinvented itself and the new 500 became only electric, being the first model of the Group to be so.
The 500 is one of Fiat's models with the best profit margins, sold around 20% above the competition, thanks to its retro design that evokes the dolce vita past of the original Nuova 500.
Launched in 2007, the second generation continues to be a serious case of popularity, with annual sales always between 150,000 and 200,000 units, indifferent to the life cycle rule that teaches that the older the car, the less it attracts buyers. Justifying its iconic status — and icons only gain charm with age — in the last two years it reached 190 000 registrations.
bet in the right direction
The bet on a new 500 electric car seems to be, therefore, an important step in the right direction. Fiat took a while to introduce its 100% electric car which — if we exclude a first 500e from 2013, a model purpose-built to comply with California (USA) regulations — was even the first of the Fiat Chrysler Group, which reveals the delay of the North American consortium in this field.
Who thanks is mr. “Tesla” who already sees his pockets even fuller at the expense of emission credits he is preparing to sell to the FCA, far from being able to meet the CO2 emissions targets for 2020/2021.
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And just this urgency to reduce CO2 emissions immediately justifies that, in a framework of imminent merger between FCA and Groupe PSA, it is not possible to wait for the adaptation of the French electric platform to Italian models after the two consortia manage to conclude their union, in fact, which should take place in the first quarter of next year.
The 80,000 units of the new 500 electric expected for the first full year of production (at the deeply renovated Mirafiori factory) will be a precious help for the decontamination at FCA to begin to take shape.
Electric, yes… But above all a 500
This is, therefore, one of the cars that best managed to take traces of the past and fuse them with current lines in a universally seductive way, without any traces of aging. And it is a model that has an image that is much superior to that of other Fiats, to the point that, today, the CEO of the Renault Group, the Italian Luca De Meo, came, in his days as Fiat's marketing director, to consider creating a sub-brand 500…
That's why, even with a new platform and an unprecedented propulsion system (Laura Farina, chief engineer, assures me that “less than 4% of the components of the new model are carried over from the previous one”), the new electric 500 has adopted the dresses, retouched, from the 500, a fundamental decision, according to Klaus Busse, vice president of design at FCA Europe:
“when we launched the internal competition for a compact electric Fiat, we received very different proposals from some of our style centers, but for me it was clear that this would be the way forward”.
The car grew (5.6 cm in length and 6.1 cm in width), but the proportions remained, only noticing that the widening of the lanes by more than 5 cm also gave rise to a widening of the wheel arches, to make the car more “muscled”.
Busse even explains that “the 500 from 1957 had a sad face and because it was a rear wheel drive it didn't need the front grille, the 500 from 2007 was all smiles, but Fiat got a technical solution to make a small, lowered radiator grille and now the Novo 500, whose facial expression has become more serious, dispenses with the grill as it does not need cooling in the absence of the combustion engine” (the small lower horizontal grill is used to cool down when charging higher power).
interior revolution I
In the new 500, the interior is also greatly improved, namely with the most advanced infotainment system used by a Fiat to date. And there are “Dolce Vita” innovations like the sound to warn pedestrians of your presence, a legal requirement at speeds from 5 to 20 km/h. It's just that, let's face it, it's much nicer to be alerted by the melodious chords of Nino Rota to the film Amarcord (by Federico Fellini) than by the hum of a cyborg as happens in many electric cars today.
There are gains in livability due to the increase in width and length (the wheelbase has also increased by 2 cm) and this is particularly noticeable in the shoulder width at the front and not so much in the legroom at the back which remains very tight.
I experimented with sitting behind the wheel of the 2007 car and this one from 2020 and stopped hurting my left elbow against the door panel or my right knee against the area surrounding the gear selector, in this case because there is no classic transmission, because there is a lot more free space on the floor and the bottom of the car has been flattened. As a result, the center console has one more storage space for small objects, the existing one having increased its volume by 4.2 l.
The glove compartment is also very large and drops (instead of “falling”) when opened, which is not common in this segment, but the dashboard materials (generally more serious than the predecessor) and panels of doors are all hard-touch, as you would expect: after all, this is the case with all electric cars, even higher-class cars and all A-segment models. In the second row, the gains are less evident.
interior revolution II
The dashboard is completely flat and contains few physical controls (those that exist look like piano keys) and topped off with a new 10.25” infotainment screen (in this version), fully configurable so that each user can more easily view the elements they need considers to be the most relevant.
The graphics, the speed of operation, the possibility of simultaneous pairing with two mobile phones, the customization of up to five user profiles constitute a quantum leap compared to what Fiat had on the market to date and is part of the standard equipment of these richly equipped launch versions “La Prima” (500 units per country of the cabrio, already sold out, and now another 500 of the rigid roof version, with prices starting at €34,900).
There are automatic high beams, smart cruise control, wireless AppleCar and Android Auto connectivity as well as wireless mobile phone charging, HD rear view camera, emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus an interior with recycled materials and eco-leather ( plastics recovered from the oceans), which means that no animals were sacrificed during its execution.
The 7" instrument panel is also digital and allows for configurations, which allows a vast amount of information to be obtained between the two monitors, easily accessible, according to what was possible to understand in this first experience behind the wheel, which took place at the city of Turin, more than a month before the official presentation to the press, which will also take place at Fiat's host city.
Promising driving experience
Even with a few questions in mind — like how Fiat is going to sell a 500 from the previous generation, which now only exists as a mild hybrid (mild-hybrid), alongside a new 500 100% electric, but which is a full-fledged car. new and for almost double the price, even when the “access” versions arrive to the range before the end of the year — expectations were high to see how the new whooping cough from the Italian brand performed.
Some fundamental data for us to realize what we have in hand, explained by the chief engineer, Laura Farina, even before the start of a 45-minute journey, no more than 28 km:
“The battery, made by Samsung, is placed between the axles on the floor of the car, it is lithium ion and has a capacity of 42 kWh and a weight of around 290 kg, bringing the weight of the car up to 1300 kg, feeding the front electric motor of 118 hp”.
As a consequence of this heavy floor element, the car's center of gravity has been lowered and the distribution of masses is more balanced (Mrs. Farina puts it at 52%-48%, versus 60%-40% in her gasoline predecessor) , promising more neutral road behavior.
Finally, behind the wheel of the new 500 electric
I open the canvas hood that goes to the trunk lid — with the same 185 l as the old 500 — making the trip much more airy and scenic, but hindering rear visibility, and I try to make the eardrums reach the relaxing musical notes — or vice versa -versa — but without success, at least in open spaces (and it makes sense: it is to warn pedestrians, not the driver, about the presence of the car that is rolling “in slippers”).
The steering wheel soon gained points for being able to now be adjusted in depth (the only one in the class), as well as height and a few more decimal places for having a less "lying down" position (less 1.5º), setting the tone for a fun 45 minutes driving.
The urban roads of the Piedmontese capital are full of potholes and bumps, making it clear that, even though it has been tuned for a balanced response between comfort and stability, the new electric 500 treads more firmly than its predecessor.
In some cases the suspension is a little noisy and shakes the bodywork (and the human bones inside), but in compensation there are clear gains in stability (courtesy of such widened tracks). The challenges created by the instantaneous delivery of 220 Nm of torque, when we have a heavy foot, are quite well managed by the front axle, at least on the roundabouts with asphalt with good friction that we were picking up along the way.
3.1s from 0 to 50 km/h can make the new electric 500 the king of traffic lights and leave some bubbly Ferrari with some heartburn, but it is not very advisable to adopt this type of more aggressive tunes, which are guaranteed to be paid at the sacrifice of autonomy .
In any case, this record turns out to be more relevant than the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 9s, taking into account that the 500 will spend most of its existence in the urban jungle. Where the turning diameter of just 9 m or the new 360° sensor system that allows generating a zenithal view, as if captured by a drone, is very useful.
Going far?
Italian engineers speak in 320 km (WLTP cycle) autonomy and much more in the city, but what is certain is that I only drove 27 km in the city and the battery charge dropped 10%, and the average consumption indicated in the instrumentation was 14.7 kWh/100 km, the that would not allow you to go beyond 285 km on a single full battery charge.
With the aggravation of this record having been achieved in Range mode, one of the three available and which helps to go further, because it increases the regenerative capacity through deceleration.
The other two modes are Normal and Sherpa. The former lets the car roll more — too much, even — and the latter shuts down battery-consuming devices like air conditioning and seat heating to, like the faithful guide to the Himalayas, ensure that its precious cargo reaches its destination.
I heard a fellow from the Spanish press complain that the deceleration in Range mode was excessive, this before my driving shift. I don't like to disagree for disagreeing, but it was the mode I liked the most, because it allows you to drive "only with one pedal" (the accelerator pedal, forgetting the brake) if the process is done smoothly — managing the course of the right pedal , there is never uncomfortable braking, but rather the feeling that you are accelerating and braking at the same time. A way of driving that would be negative in a car with a combustion engine, but which adds advantages here.
Important to note that in Sherpa mode the speed is limited to 80 km/h (and the power does not go beyond 77 hp), but the maximum output is just a step away from the bottom of the accelerator, so that no situation is generated distressing in the face of a sudden need for power.
Charging 100% of the battery in alternating current (AC) to 11 kW will take 4h15min (to 3kW it will be 15h), but in fast charging in direct current (DC, for which the new 500 has a Mode 3 cable) to a maximum of 85 kW, the same process may take no more than 35 minutes.
And, as long as you have a fast charging station nearby, you can even add 50 km of autonomy in no more than five minutes — the time to sip a cappuccino — and get on with the journey home.
Fiat includes a wallbox in the price of the car, which allows charging at home with a power of 3 kW, which can be (at extra cost) more than doubled to 7.4 kW, allowing one charge complete can be done in just over six hours.
Technical specifications
| Fiat 500 "La Prima" | |
|---|---|
| electric motor | |
| Position | Forward |
| Type | Permanent Magnet Asynchronous |
| power | 118 hp |
| Binary | 220 Nm |
| Drums | |
| Type | lithium ions |
| Capacity | 42 kWh |
| Guarantee | 8 years/160 000 km (70% of load) |
| Streaming | |
| Traction | Forward |
| Gear box | one speed gearbox |
| Chassis | |
| Suspension | FR: Independent — MacPherson; TR: Semi-rigid, Torque Bar |
| brakes | FR: Ventilated discs; TR: Drums |
| Direction | electrical assistance |
| Number of turns of the steering wheel | 3.0 |
| turning diameter | 9.6 m |
| Dimensions and Capabilities | |
| Comp. x Width x Alt. | 3632mm x 1683mm x 1527mm |
| Length between the axis | 2322 mm |
| suitcase capacity | 185 l |
| Wheels | 205/40 R17 |
| Weight | 1330 kg |
| Weight Distribution | 52%-48% (FR-TR) |
| Provisions and consumption | |
| Maximum speed | 150 km/h (electronically limited) |
| 0-50 km/h | 3.1s |
| 0-100 km/h | 9.0s |
| Combined consumption | 13.8 kWh/100 km |
| CO2 emissions | 0 g/km |
| Combined autonomy | 320 km |
| Loading | |
| 0-100% | AC — 3 kW, 3:30 pm; AC — 11 kW, 4h15min; DC — 85 kW, 35min |