2024 Fiat 500e Bets Big on Being Small

• The 2024 Fiat 500e packs a single drive module that sends 117 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels.
  

• The 2024 Fiat 500e carries a 42 kWh battery pack that feeds that single drive module for up to 149 miles on a single charge.

• The 2024 Fiat 500e is arriving at dealerships now, with a $34,095 starting price.

In the United States, Fiat is putting all of its sales-figure eggs into the basket of the battery-electric 500e—the automaker’s sole offering now that the Fiat 500x has left the building.

With a crossover-hungry U.S. customer base, the folks at Fiat are taking a different approach to the prevailing trends, and trying to borrow other parts of American culture to help drive interest in this tiny hatchback.

This push for electrification isn’t new to the company or the 500 nameplate. Fiat launched the first-generation 500e in 2013, which was then limited to certain markets. Before even the 500e, the folks at Fiat showed interest in an EV with its Panda Elettra way back in 1990, though the Panda Elettra never made its way to the States.

This new 500e draws sees its front wheels driven by a single electric drive module making 117 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque. Feeding that electric drive module is a 42-kWh battery pack, which advertises a relatively short 149 miles of range on a single charge.

Compared to the outgoing 500e, those are all improvements. The ’24 Fiat 500e bests the outgoing car by 6 hp, 15 lb-ft of torque, and 65 more miles of range per charge. However, that last figure does come with the penalty of a larger battery, with the previous 500e packing only 24 kWh worth of battery pack.

Even though the new 500e still qualifies as a city car, it has grown over the previous generation. Fiat stretched the 500e almost an inch in length, and added 2.2 inch in width. That might not seem like a big bump, but it does translate to more interior space than the outgoing 500e, especially in shoulder room.

The short, 91.4-inch wheelbase makes navigating congested city centers a nimble affair. And while that extra track width does give you a surer footing than the outgoing model, you’re not going to be too concerned with how planted the 500e feels relative to its predecessor; rather, if you can fit into the turning lane at your local Starbucks.

Power delivery is EV quick, but it will fall off the more you push it. Even though the 500e has a higher top speed than its predecessor, you’ll only be able to run it up to 94 mph.

Fiat says that the 500e jumps from a standing start to 30 mph in 3.1 seconds, which isn’t exactly impressive in a world where high-end BEVs are doing twice the speed in less time, but it does fit with the general direction of the car. Climbing to 60 will take you 8.5 seconds. Adaptive cruise control and a speed limiter are both standard issue.