Fiat’s iconic, charming, and effervescent city car has finally made its way to Canadian shores. This is the 500e, an electric two-door hatchback that can trace its lineage back to the late 1950s with the original Fiat Cinquecento. Smaller than the MINI Cooper and Chevrolet Bolt, the 500e looks right at home on the narrow cobbled streets of Rome but it sticks out like a sore thumb in Canada against our backdrop of gargantuan SUVs, pick-up trucks, and uncommonly wide lanes. Unlike the Tuscan countryside, many drivers here (outside of Quebec at least) prefer higher-sitting SUVs that offer a somewhat disillusioned sense of safety and visibility. Will this compact and affordable hatchback work in our automotive landscape then? 

Don’t forget that Fiat is a 125-year-old company, older than BMW, Rolls-Royce, and even Ferrari. So they know what they’re doing. The Fiat 500e also takes the honour of the country’s smallest and cheapest battery electric vehicle, priced accordingly at $39,995 before incentives. 

And we adore how it looks. Cute and playful in design, the 500e is a success story of how to marry retro-style looks with modern chic. As much of an automotive appliance as it is a fashion accessory, our adorable 500e combines white paint with red accents on the exterior badges and mirror caps. There’s even an Italian flag embedded in the signal lamps. It’s not our preferred spec as it reminds us of a spaghetti-stained tablecloth but others call it an Italian bunny. The optional Rose Gold paint would be our go-to and it’s remarkably unisex up close in person.

We wish Fiat had taken a page out of MINI’s playbook and offered more customization options with paint colours, decals, and cabin materials. Only four paint colours are available, a single set of 17-inch wheels, and two interior colour schemes of black or cream. You must cough up $5,000 for the La Prima package to get body-coloured exterior elements. We understand that Canada is a smaller market, so the investment is relatively light, and other markets offer a wider variety of trims and options. Fiat is also no stranger to pairing up with designer boutiques like Gucci and Giorgio Armani for special editions of their 500, but there’s so much potential here in Canada. Get the customization right, and MINI owners might put down their cup of Earl Grey and begin looking for a pint of gelato.

This Fiat may be small, but it sits tall and its roofline towers over an Audi A5 and BMW 3 Series. Thanks to clever packaging and the absence of an engine and gearbox, the cabin is spacious. With the seats lowered all the way, there is a generous amount of head- and legroom for my six-foot self. There’s even an extra four inches between my hair and headliner, meaning the convertible variant shouldn’t be as compromised. A shame there’s no sunroof option, but we never felt cramped. The only room it’s lacking is for our door-side elbow, but swinging our arm out the window is just as fun.

The seating position is much better integrated into the cabin than the last Fiat 500 and it no longer feels like we are sitting on top of the vehicle. Without the need for a gearbox, the center footwell is free for you to store your bags or play footsies with your passenger too. Storage options are aplenty. There is a single cupholder that folds out of the center footwell, along with meaningful cubbies in the door pockets and the center console – more than we expected. No front hood storage, though, and don’t expect to fit actual human beings in the rear ‘seats’ – these token thrones are better suited for holding groceries or day bags. Definitely should be able to throw two suitcases back there and one or two duffles in the trunk, making it a usable weekend warrior.

We were surprised that Fiat didn’t package all their infotainment and climate controls into the 10.25-inch center touchscreen, as this would save space and make the cabin appear larger and more minimalistic. To our delight, the 500e still features numerous buttons, dials, and switches. The steering wheel is also covered in them, and the infotainment unit is lag-free, high-definition, and incredibly intuitive, surpassing those from Honda and Toyota in terms of functionality and ease of use. That deserves praise – Stellantis does connectivity right and doesn’t resort to digital real estate for clean but cumbersome points of interaction.

Much like the Jeep Wrangler, thoughtful Easter Eggs are littered around the interior like the ‘Made in Torino’ badge with the image of a retro Fiat inside the door handle, the Turin skyline embedded in the wireless charging pad, the FIAT logos woven into the seat cushions, and it will even sing a lullaby when you start the vehicle. 

With the constraints of such a short wheelbase, Fiat still managed to equip the 500e with a 400-volt, 42 kWh lithium-ion battery and a front-axle electric motor that delivers 117 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque through a single-speed transmission. Front-wheel drive is the name of the game, but whether or not the spicier Abarth or convertible variants will be coming to Canada is still undecided.

The range is diminutive but better than we imagined. Fiat claims 227 km of range and our real-world driving yielded 234 km, so right on the money. How that fits into your driving lifestyle depends on many factors but if you have access to charging at home, we don’t see how this 500e couldn’t be your commute companion. It’s also compatible with all charging stations from Level 1, 2, to even 3 (DC fast charging). 

Its small stature is widely appreciated when driving in the downtown core, trying to find street parking. Frustratingly cramped and impossible spaces become glowing opportunities, and once the 500e is cleanly slotted into that little nook, the feeling of success is overwhelming. La Dolce Vita is what the Italians like to call it. 

The Fiat 500e is an absolute peach to drive. It feels like we’re back in Italy, minus the cobbled streets, decadent gelato, the smell of leather shops, and, okay, well, just about everything else. But the vibes are there. The charm is there and this 500e grooves to the sound of the Italian Renaissance. 

Acceleration is punchy and enough for drivers who aren’t accustomed to the potency of a GR Corolla or BMW M2. The initial kick down is hard and impressive but the 500e quickly runs out of breath past 120 km/h, as expected for such a limited powertrain and an area we seldom explore. The 500e turns with athleticism thanks to a low center of gravity and without the top-heavy feel that you would expect from a tall hatchback. The ride is layered with an underlying firmness that helps turn-in and general body control, so the 500e isn’t as sensitive to lateral yaw. It does pitch aggressively under heavy braking and the brake pedal could be smoother and more linear past the 50% depression mark, as it’s difficult to modulate past that.

Our wide roads, expansive highways, and vast suburban streets don’t suit its small footprint, which is more advantageous in the tight and charming corridors of Europe. Still, the 500e is fairly stable at triple-digit speeds. It’s susceptible to crosswinds and aerodynamic disturbances in the wake of a lorry, causing the steering to wander from left to right, but it’s easy to control and predictable. You’ll never feel like you’re going to be blown away but the Fiat is more sensitive to turbulence than a larger Volkswagen Golf or Toyota Corolla.

There are three driving modes to select from: Normal, Range, and Sherpa. That last one is cute but is essentially a full-panic eco mode that turns off the climate control and all auxiliary features to conserve as much battery as possible. Range Mode, on the other hand, turns on the brake regeneration, which can’t be adjusted in strength. We kept it on Normal mode for the majority of our drives as we don’t personally enjoy one-pedal driving. It creates a somewhat nauseating experience for passengers and we like to coast and maximize the car’s momentum to improve range.

The Fiat 500e may not appear welcome in our automotive landscape but for just a shade under $40,000, it’s easily one of the most tempting and fashionable ways to enter the electric space. The MINI Cooper S E is the obvious rival but it has yet to launch a convincing full-electric platform. The Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model 3, and Hyundai Kona are also on the shortlist, but none of them comes close to offering the usability, compact footprint, and charm and zest of the smartly packaged Fiat 500e. It’s zero-emission mobility with maximum-emission smiles.

Specifications:

Model: 2024 Fiat 500e Coupe
Paint Type: Glacier White
Base Price: $39,995
Price as Tested: $39,995
Wheelbase(mm): 2,322
Length/Width/Height (mm): 3,631 / 1,883 (incl. mirrors) / 1,684
Weight: 1,342 kg
Powertrain: 42.0 kWh lithium-ion battery, single electric motor
Horsepower: 117 hp
Torque: 162 lb-ft
Transmission: Single-speed transmission
Engine & Drive Configuration: Front-mounted electric motors, FWD
Claimed Electric Range: 227 km
Observed Electric Range: 234 km
Tires: 205/45R17; Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-seasons