Fiat 500 EV - any good?

[Ste-EVo]

So having bought an EV last year to replace our primary family car and being very happy with the whole experience a few months down the line, we are looking to replace my wifes little run around that she uses for work and wanting another EV.

It's not exactly 'needed' as the little nissan note does the trick but it's a nice to have kind of purchase.

My ideal would be a new Renault R5 but it seems over kill for how far/how much it will be used, unless there are some really good deals on them.

Anyway, thinking of a Fiat 500 EV, possibly used, so as the title suggests, they any good? Anyone have one/had one? Looking for input good or bad. What's the real world range like? Any issues to be aware of?

Thanks.

[vladcjelli]

Added to my watchlist as we've got a long range ev on order, but we too would like another small ev for the local commuting/errands etc.

We've had two Leafs and a Seat Mii electric before, so well versed, but it would be nice to have a decent looking small ev this time.

Keen to see what peeps think of them.

[Shrek595]

We like ours. It is nippy round town / country road's. We always charge it after 120 miles or so as we only do local. The only thing that pee'd me off given that they aren't particularly cheap is that ours didn't come with a reversing camera. Id just assumed it would and it never occurred to me to check. It's a small car but we sometimes need to reverse very close to a fence.

[survivalist]

They are decent enough, but I’d be wanting a massive discount or a very good lease/pcp deal.

Also annoying that only the premium spec ones come with LED headlights, which I’d expect these days.

If it were me I’d definitely be ordering a R5 EV or the new electric mini over the Fiat.

That said, we bought one for my wife to use as a run around and it’s been used way more than we expected., especially in winter when there’s not much point in taking any of the fun cars out.

Also very small in the back. Our children and 6 and 10 and wouldn’t want to be in the back for more than 20 mins or so.

[LaserTam]

Had one for 3 years, pcp deal is up so going back next week as depreciation is big. Great car around town, I hated my wife's previous ICE 500 but this is much better, nippy, way more comfortable to drive in. Because of deprecation, seriously consider used. I've been looking at 18mth old cars that are only slightly higher than the final payment was for my pcp deal.
Check the specs and consider what you might need. Such as on only the top spec LaPrima does the driver seat have a height adjustment.

[MarkT17]

Wife's had one since they first came out, La Prima in that lovely(!) pearlescent blue. Honestly, it's been great (bar the depreciation - at one point it was 6k in positive equity, then a month later, 4k neg LOLZ). Never missed a single beat, servicing is yearly but £70 or so at Stoneacre (who 'cos they're so cheap try it on 'oh you need xyz' when they hand it back). Three-phase charging so gets 11kW/h at work. Ridiculous tech for the size of the car (adaptive cruise, self-steering on the motorway), lovely big pano roof. It gets a LOT of attention, none of it negative. 42kWh battery got me a 120 mile roundtrip but it was a bit close at the end - town driving is far better economy-wise.

ONLY downside is the seats for me as I've a bad back, so on anything 80 miles or more it's a bit uncomfy, and of course it's SMALL in the back, but not crick-your-next-if-your-6ft small.

It's only got 6 months or so left, and she's quite sad about it going. Honestly don't know what to replace it with, it'll probably be the Renault, but it'll be quite sad to see go. Not THAT many others on the road either.

[Ste-EVo]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

The La Prima seems to be the one to go for looking at specs and prices, with some really nice colours available. The pearlescent blue is the one I'd want but I have a feeling she would opt for the very pale pink...

We have two kids 6 and 10 so only relatively little so the limited back seat space wouldn't be a major issue for how often they would be in it.

[TheDeuce]

We had one for q couple of weeks as a loaner when our car was in the bodyshop. It's not really my type of car but Mrs Deuce adored it! It's definitely a nippy and easy town car.

It had carplay and android auto so no problems with nav etc, it all just worked fine. The back seats are a joke - that's what you get with a Fiat 500 though... Still big enough for the dog to get comfy and the boot was fine for a town car too.

In terms of running costs, it might as well be zero. I definitely plugged it in so it must have consumed a few quids worth of power, but they're so small and light it's definitely not very much! I suspect you'd never replace the brake discs or even the pads too, so far as I could tell it never used them as it arrived with a few rust sport on the discs and went back with them in that same condition. If I owned the car I'd perhaps do an occasional heavy braking manoeuvre just to keep them shiny...

Regards general comfort and driving satisfaction, despite it being a town car I'd have no problem driving it for several hours on a longer trip. It was perfectly comfortable and smooth etc.

The only thing I'd say is that overall, I think the VW up!/Seat Mii is perhaps an even easier car to park and no less practical overall. Also a better looker to my eye.

[zorba_the_greek]

There have been several lime coloured 500 abarth EVs sat for atleast 6 months on the forecourt of the dealership on Chiswick round about.

[Tophatron]

I owned a 22 La Prima for a couple of years and can echo the overall positive feedback.

Positive:

A lot of tech for a small car which gives it a real premium feel. La Prima is the model to go for. The wide-screen CarPlay is a particular highlight.
Pretty nippy (felt quicker than the 0-60 time would suggest, especially around town)
Efficient around town and especially in the warmer months
11kw AC charging allows you to get meaningful top-ups even with an hour or so on public chargers
Overall driving experience a hell of a lot better than the petrol 500
Fantastic looks

Negative:

Range isn't amazing at motorway speeds, especially in winter
Drop links are a weak point, mine were replaced under warranty at 16k miles. Listen for creaking when steering lock-to-lock while stationary.
The one pedal driving works well, but you'd often get an annoying noise when coming to a halt and moving off

I owned a Mini Electric before and had a friend with a Honda E. Personally I preferred the 500e overall.

If you're looking at used ones the La Prima specs fluctuated wildly during Covid - especially around 2023 - so worth being careful. An example is the Adaptive Cruise which started off being standard, dropped to become a £1k+ option and then became standard again. The most recent (roughly 2024 onwards) La Prima spec has everything back on it, plus the winter pack which used to be an option.

[Ste-EVo]

Some more great info there folks, I really appreciate it.

May look at getting a new one if we can find a decent deal on one. La Prima certainly looks to be the one to go for.

[wink]

We bought a new Icon a few months back as a town car and it's brilliant. Fun, really easy to drive in one-pedal mode, and obviously the size makes it easy to park. I like the keyless entry - just walk up to the car, get in, press two buttons and away you go. It feels well designed, I think Fiat have done a great job with it. Range seems to be about 170 miles in autumn, down to 130 - 140 in winter. Presumably summer will be a bit better. Our weekly mileage is no more than the range so it's easy to charge overnight once weekly on a 13 amp outside socket. For our use I don't even need a 7kw charger.