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Can Fulmine Strike Twice?
When it got here time for my spouse to get a brand new automobile, there have been two issues that had been a should — it needed to be compact, and it needed to be electrical. She doesn’t like driving massive automobiles and doesn’t like utilizing fuel. That mentioned, she had her choose of any electrical automobile available on the market. My spouse is about as Sort-A as you possibly can think about. She’s smart, sensible, measured, understated.
So far as I used to be involved, the selection was apparent: a Tesla Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y. They’ve extraordinary security, performance, know-how, efficiency, effectivity, charging infrastructure, and many others. To prime it off, they a comparatively compact. The record of superlatives that Tesla autos get pleasure from is admittedly fairly astonishing. Clear alternative, proper? Are you aware what automobile she went with? A powder blue 2017 Fiat 500e. Are you aware why? As a result of it was cute. … That’s it. … It was cute. All the opposite attributes I listed above, all the opposite superlatives, all the opposite metrics that one would possibly use to measure what makes an excellent automobile, had been trumped by one metric — cuteness. For my spouse, probably the most pragmatic individuals I’ve ever met, cuteness gained the day. Go determine.
She didn’t want utility, break-neck efficiency, or road-trip-ability. That’s what my Tesla is for. She wished to have the ability to get the place she wanted to go round city, and to look actually actually cute whereas doing so. And what? Mission completed. That 500e is cute. Within the uppity Sarasota suburb of mine, the place Teslas are ubiquitous (you possibly can spot at the least two Teslas at virtually each intersection you encounter), my spouse’s little silent blue Fiat turns as many heads as a rumbling Lamborghini Huracan. Critically. [Editor’s note: I also live in this suburb, and I 100% back David’s statement. It’s a serious headturner. —Zach]
Once we undergo the Starbucks drive-thru in my Tesla, the particular person on the window doesn’t acknowledge it in any respect. Dozens of Teslas have rolled as much as the window earlier than me, and dozens will roll up after me — in all probability in the identical day. However once we roll as much as the drive-thru window in my spouse’s 500e, the Starbucks worker calls their coworkers to the window to take a look at the lovely blue automobile that has come again to go to them. And that’s it. That’s the magic of the “The Cinquecento.” It’s cute. It’s undeniably cute. It’s excruciatingly cute. That’s its factor. That’s its worth proposition. That’s the place it matches within the huge auto market. And remember that my spouse’s Fiat is about seven years outdated. What do you name a automobile that’s a number of years outdated that also garners that form of consideration? A traditional. So, once I heard that Fiat was lastly bringing the up to date 500e to the US in 2024, I used to be each very excited and curious to see if it had retained the traditional cuteness that my spouse’s Fiat exudes.
Welcome to Miami
My likelihood got here final week when Fiat invited me, together with a gaggle of different auto journalists, to a press occasion in Miami’s hip Wynwood neighborhood to take a look at the newest incarnation of the long-lasting cinquecento.
I’m comfortable to report that the brand new 500e retains the appeal of the earlier iterations. That mentioned, I’ve a number of gripes. Low cost feeling plastic dominates the doorways of the “(RED) series” 500e that I drove, which doesn’t appear changing into of a automobile being introduced as a premium product. One other gripe is the piano black buttons on the sprint, immediately riddled with fingerprints that undermine the in any other case slick inside design. With regards to high-cycle contact surfaces like buttons, a matte end is the way in which to go. Lastly, was the Uconnect UI. It had driving modes that had been obscure in explaining what every mode did to vary the driving dynamics of the automobile. One other UI challenge was the automobile’s native SatNav, that saved canceling out for no obvious purpose. A lot in order that my copilot, the intrepid Alex Hevesy of SlashGear, needed to pull over so I may sync my iPhone to the Apple CarPlay of the automobile to get us again on the preprogrammed route that the Fiat advertising crew had arrange for us. Lesson discovered — when not in a Tesla (or Rivian), simply use CarPlay/Android Auto.
In addition to these snafus, the general expertise was pleasant. The automobile zipped by way of the city site visitors with ease. The electrical motor gave its signature on the spot torque, able to transferring the Fiat from 0–30 mph in three seconds. Not lengthy after 30 mph, the ability band flattened out, however for low-speed city driving, it’s greater than sufficient. The steering linkage felt just a little loosey-goosey; however that is tremendous as a result of the Fiat 500 is just not a monitor automobile, neither is it meant to be. Its extensive stance and low battery placement made the 500e really feel very planted whereas scooting round corners and the on/off-ramps of Miami’s inter-coastal waterways. And the MBH was very good, including to the general serene driving expertise.
Zipping by way of the palm tree lined streets of Miami within the Fiat 500e, evaluating its technical components, I felt the sensation … la dolce vita …. the candy life. Perhaps I’m a sucker, however the wining and eating from the Fiat advertising/comms crew, the tremendous cool occasion house (shoutout to The Oasis-Wynwood), the buzzword-filled sentimental presentation given by Olivier François (Fiat’s International Chief Advertising Officer) … it labored. I completely bought it. The brand new Fiat 500e is not only a automobile, it’s a vibe — the identical vibe that resonates from my spouse’s automobile — the identical vibe that turns heads and makes individuals really feel giddy in its presence.
As with many merchandise, notably cars, there may be at all times the stability of type and performance. Some even hit that candy spot that supply each good type and good operate. The 500e unapologetically favors type (or on this case, vogue) over operate. I’ve heard some auto journalists query the 500e’s relevance within the present auto market, arguing that it’s a difficult worth proposition given its restricted vary, and restricted performance at a premium worth in comparison with the likes of the Hyundai Kona EV; which presents extra vary, extra performance, and at a cheaper price level. They ask, “who is this car for?” I imagine that asking that query is lacking the purpose of what the 500e is. It’s not making an attempt to compete with the Kona EV, or the Mannequin 3, or the Ford Mustang Mach-E, or every other high-volume or semi-high-volume providing.
Who’s the client for the 500e? Somebody who desires a very cute EV that turns heads. The Kona and Mannequin 3 don’t flip heads. The Kona and Mannequin 3 don’t have Starbucks staff flocking to the drive-thru window to gleefully look upon the lovable automobile that’s again once more. The 500e does. The 500e is decidedly a distinct segment product, at the least within the US it’s. It’s supposed to be a distinct segment product right here. It’s virtually in a class of its personal (together with the MINI Cooper SE) — the tremendous cute, all electrical metropolitan commuter. By the advantage of being one of many solely of its sort, it could possibly personal the class it’s in.
Is the 500e sensible? For its supposed use case, it’s sensible sufficient. 149 miles of vary, 85kW of DC charging, a prime velocity of 94 mph, the trunk house of an overhead compartment on an airliner — all adequate for metropolitan commuting. Once more, if you happen to attempt to examine the Fiat 500e with different electrical automobile choices or actually every other providing (notably at a mid-$30,000 worth level), you’re lacking the purpose of the Fiat 500e. You don’t purchase the 500e to take the youngsters to soccer observe, or to haul wooden, or to street journey. You purchase it as a result of it appears to be like good and it makes you really feel good.
The 500e is its personal factor. 500e is a vibe.
You don’t purchase an Italian swimsuit due to what number of pockets it has, you purchase it since you look reeeeally good in it.
Fulmine can strike twice.
Photos courtesy of Fiat.
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