I was holding off on my review of the Fiat 500E until today, because I was rather expecting to let you know how it drove. The LA Auto Show organizers had indicated it was going to be one of the cars on yesterday's Green Car Ride-n-Drive event. However, it turned out that it was not, and that Chrysler/Fiat never gave any indication it would be. So why the LAAS had thought that is obviously going to be a mystery for the ages.
And while a number of examples were available for scrutiny immediately following the press conference for it on Wednesday, they weren't available for much more than cursory inspections. I was able to open the doors and climb in, and even play with various exterior features without incident. But the rather gruff bouncer-type hovering over me would not let me open the hood and photograph the motor. Actually, what I probably should have done is just opened the hood and waited to be reprimanded. Lesson learned for next time.
So what I'll have to give you is an impression of what I was able to see and leave it there.
The vibe for the 500E is pretty much the same as that for the 500 - sexy. But in this case
environmentally sexy. It was introduced to us with the tag line "Stop Global Warming. Start Global Hotness" and with the promise that you wouldn't need to give up style to be green. In fact, a TV commercial was shown fit it that was really funny. Hot model gets into Fiat 500E to shoot track footage. All goes well until she enters the first corner, where she spins off, out of control. The camera crew and director run over to rescue her and when they open the drivers door they find her in the lap of a hipster, passionately kissing him.
I have some really awful iPad video of some of the commercial. Would anyone want to see it, if I were to upload what I have? No bitching about the quality though! As soon as I find it available online, I'll post a link to it. Actually I'll do the same for the 500L commercials too. ALL the new Fiat commercials are really, really good, and you should see them all if you get the opportunity.
Another thing that was emphasized (and this was a bit of a kick in the nuts to Nissan) is how the 500E offers performance that is "stable across all weather conditions, which is a big deal in the electric world...", obviously hinting that the 500E has active thermal management.
Some of the pictures I was able to take are at the end of this post and in the one immediately following. I come away with a real appreciation for styling cues that are 500E only, even if some of the color choices are not really my cup of tea. Note the aerodynamic wheels, front air-dam, and side-skirts. The rear diffuser, which obviously doesn't need cutouts for exhaust outlets. On the inside, the push-button transmission looks like it's really the business, so I take back my "slapping a few buttons in where the shifter would normally be" comment earlier in the thread. OK, it's still not as slick as the pyramid of switches you get in the Fisker Karma, but it's not as slap-dash as I'd imagined it either, and the switches they did use have a substantial, tactile feel to them.
And here is the press release, so you can see some of the PR spin for yourselves.
All-new 2013 Fiat 500e Recharges the Electric Vehicle (EV) Segment with Italian Style and Performance
All-new 2013 Fiat 500e electrifies the Cinquecento lineup with even more innovation and style, plus up to an estimated 116 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) city and 100 MPGe highway of pure battery-electric power and zero tailpipe emissions
Fiat 500e is designed to keep electric vehicle (EV) ownership simple with its familiar no-nonsense design, convenience features and intelligently integrated approach to battery-electric technology
More than 80 miles of estimated range, with city driving range typically greater than 100 miles
World-class handling and braking for an EV that adds to the FIAT brand’s lineup of vehicles with highly engaging driving dynamics
Arriving in the second quarter of 2013 to FIAT Studios in California
November 28, 2012 , Los Angeles - Designing city-friendly, environmentally responsible and fun-to-drive small cars is what the FIAT brand and its “Simply More” belief stand for. The all-new 2013 Fiat 500e electrifies the next chapter of the brand’s legacy by embodying the FIAT brand’s simple, purposeful and fun-to-drive values – through iconic style, engaging dynamics and an environmentally responsible zero-emissions design.
"The Fiat 500e changes the paradigm in an electric vehicle market that's quickly becoming crowded," said Tim Kuniskis, Head of FIAT Brand North America. "The Fiat 500e offers iconic Italian design and a great combination of performance and range, with battery technology that delivers consistent performance across all weather conditions."
Designed to be a no-compromise electric vehicle (EV), the 2013 Fiat 500e builds on the Cinquecento’s successful small-car formula, while adding an all-new battery-electric powertrain that produces 111 horsepower (83 kW), recharges in less than 4 hours with its Level 2 (240 volt) on-board charging module (OBCM) and delivers more than 80 miles of estimated range, with city driving range typically exceeding 100 miles without any tailpipe emissions.
Making sure the all-new 2013 Fiat 500e delivers world-class EV handling and braking performance, engineers designed a new chassis and suspension for the new EV powertrain, while further solidifying the engaging European driving dynamics the FIAT brand and Cinquecento are known for.
The all-new Fiat 500e pushes its iconic Italian design forward with its wind-tunnel-sculpted shape and retro-futuristic dot-matrix styled cues for a cutting-edge look. To achieve a 13 percent improvement in aerodynamics (0.311 coefficient of drag (Cd) compared to the 2013 Fiat 500 Lounge’s 0.359 Cd), the Fiat 500e features eight exterior enhancements and more than 140 hours of wind tunnel testing and refinement. The result is a purposeful design that enables this Cinquecento to achieve an additional five miles of range.
Inside, 2013 Fiat 500e fuses retro-futuristic design with unique EV technology elements for an environment comprised of simplicity with innovation. An all-new 7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) instrument cluster displays full-color picture graphics to illustrate vehicle functions, charge levels and trip summary. In addition, a new TomTom Navigation unit enables the driver to view the vehicle’s charge schedule, range, and power-flow gauges, and can even request nearby charging stations with real-time availability. Below its instrument panel bezel, the 2013 Fiat 500e also includes an all-new electronic shifter with easy-to-use push-button transmission mode selection. For added style, the interior environment is available in Nero (black) or exclusive Steam (white), highlighted by Electric Orange to bring even more design character to this Cinquecento.
Keeping passengers of the Fiat 500e connected to vehicle information is an all-new Fiat 500e Smartphone App (compatible with iPhone and Android) that enables real-time vehicle status, manages charging, tracks the driver’s energy use, locates the vehicle and nearby charging stations, plans and sends routes to the vehicle and provides text-message alerts.
The all-new 2013 Fiat 500e arrives at FIAT Studios in California during the second quarter of 2013.
