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It’s been three years for the reason that Fiat 500 left North America, a tragic finish to the long-lasting metropolis automobile that when heralded the Italian marque’s return to those shores. Many, myself included, assumed we’d by no means see one other supermini Fiat right here once more. The tiny hatch was cute, however cute isn’t within the American automotive lexicon anymore. Give Fiat some credit score, although — they’re going to offer it one other attempt, this time with an all-electric 500 hatchback.
The second-gen Fiat 500e will land within the U.S. within the first quarter of 2024, the corporate confirmed Thursday in the course of the media preview of the Los Angeles Auto Present. The occasion opens to the general public on Friday, and showgoers will be capable to see the brand new all-electric 500 for themselves on the conference heart ground.
This has been one thing of an open secret for just a few months now, however Fiat has stored its plans on the down low, quietly surveying curiosity at numerous U.S. business gatherings just like the Client Electronics Present. Again in July, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares confirmed the brand new 500e would debut within the U.S. ultimately, although he declined to specify when which may occur. We all know now that we’re just a little greater than a yr away from seeing the tiny EV on American roads.
It’s an enormous deal for Fiat, as a result of the corporate has only one mannequin on sale within the U.S. and Canada at this level: the 500X, which shares its bones with the Jeep Renegade. The 500e on show on the LA Auto Present remains to be technically the Euro-spec automobile; the production-intent model for our market will premiere on the 2023 LA present. To drum up enthusiasm, the corporate has introduced a trio of fashion-inspired particular editions to LA this yr to showcase the 500e’s distinctive fashion.
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The Giorgio Armani take is essentially the most serious-looking of the bunch, with an exterior layering a number of impartial tones, using an etching course of in locations that evokes the feel of carbon fiber. Classical supplies like full-grain leather-based and wooden blanket the inside in conventional opulence.
Distinction that with the five hundred Kartell, which seems to be as if it employs the classical supplies of automobile manufacturing on Jupiter. This factor is otherworldly, with webbed polycarbonate strewn throughout numerous panels, in and out, enjoying off in opposition to glossier and extra crystalline surfaces to create a jewel-like impact.
Lastly, we’ve the youthful Bulgari B.500 “Mai Troppo.” The metallic orange exterior calls to thoughts one of many extra enjoyable colours that Fiat offered the prior-generation 500e in, and the dashboard is adorned with a colourful mural, which mixes properly with the darkish seafoam leather-based seats and gold trim.
No manufacturing 500e will look precisely like all of those, in fact, however every creation highlights the individualism the five hundred platform can present. In an ideal world the place these vehicles offered sufficient to justify it, Fiat would go all-out with paint, supplies and trim choices, permitting you to combine and match lots of of choices to your coronary heart’s content material. No two can be the identical, like they used to say about Minis.
Talking of, the closest factor to the 500e on U.S. roads at this time is the all-electric Mini Cooper SE. Even that may be a significantly bigger automobile than the 500e, however with an EPA-rated 110 miles on faucet, the EV Mini is a non-starter for loads of Individuals. The 500e, regardless of its dimension, ought to be capable to do at the least 40 miles higher than that, based mostly on the Fiat’s 199-mile ranking beneath Europe’s WLTP testing and factoring in what European shops have reported anecdotally. For reference, the previous 500e did about 90 miles at finest.
The 500e’s 42-kWh battery feeds a 117-horsepower electrical motor, good to hit 60 mph from a standstill in a claimed 9 seconds flat. In the event you use DC quick charging, Fiat says you’ll be able to replenish the battery from useless to 80 % in 35 minutes.
Will the 500e be the automobile that lastly will get Individuals on board with small EVs? I’m pulling for it, however we’ve seen this story play out earlier than, and it doesn’t bode for an encouraging future. Maybe it’ll come down to cost, however we gained’t know the way Stellantis intends to place this automobile for a lot of months. Within the U.Ok., the 500e begins at £30,645, or about $36,450, however many components will play into the worth Fiat units for the U.S. market.
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