Used 2016 FIAT 500e Consumer Reviews
Zippy Electric Vehicle
The 500e has a better response than the gas-powered version. It handles better, has the best pickup and go, and is so fun to drive. I wanted to lease an electric vehicle so I wouldn't have to pay for parking in my city's parking meters and garages (my city has an incentive to lease/purchase EVs) especially as I work downtown and must pay to park. It's a dream to drive and park, and recharges when you break, so it becomes a game to get as much mileage from a charge as possible. So far, I've had no problems with the car at all. The lease is up the end of the year, and I've become spoiled with having an EV; it's wonderful not to pay for gas, oil, or smog check! I hope to continue with either leasing or owning another EV. At least in California, this is the way to go especially as the state has a pay back money incentive to own/lease an EV.
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Great-ish car.
I like the way the car drives, but dislike a lot of the interior features. First off, the performance is great and I've never had such a fun car to drive. The acceleration sets you back in your seat and is instantaneous. I don't mind the range as we kept our gas cars and 95% of our driving is local. The charging has been fine with the standard 110 outlet and I don't see a need for the fast charger. My 7 year old daughter fits in the rear seat without a problem, but I'm happy the lease will be up in a few years as we'll run out of room as she grows. As for the bad....Headroom is awful. I'm 6'3" and basically have to put my head into the sunroof area to drive. Backing out of a driveway is difficult as the rear visibility is very poor. I'm happy for the sensors. Storage inside the car is also horrible. The glove box interior is flat so all your stuff comes out when you open the door. The cupholders are too close together for even 2 medium drinks. There's nowhere to put a cell phone. I hate the radio. There's a navigation warning that comes on for a while that prevents you from changing the channel...unless you take your eyes off the road and hit the "accept" button twice. I don't need navigation as my cell phone does it better. The Satellite Radio sounds compressed and worse than a cassette tape. There's no CD player. I love audio and honestly can't speak to the quality of the speakers since broadcast radio is the best quality thing I've listened to. I hate that every statistic is listed in MPGe, but we fill the car in kilowatts. I find MPGe to be a worthless number. One cool feature about the car is the smartphone app that allows me to turn on the climate control before I get to the car. It's just tough that it only turns on the last setting you had. If I drove with the air off and the windows down, I have to remember to turn it back to automatic 68 degrees when I park if I want to use the app. I also love/hate the App's function to show where the car is because it allows the person with whom you share the car with to spy on you. I have nothing to hide, but it gets weird when the other person knows where you went out for lunch. The regenerative braking is cool, but it doesn't seem to activate fully until the car is less than 90% charged. i.e. It will regenerate up to -10kw, but after 89% battery remaining it will go up to -40kw regeneration. It almost pays not to fully charge the car if you don't need the range. There's also a weird spot between 5mph and 0 where the brakes engage differently and grip strongly into a forceful stop. Overall I like the car as a car, but don't like the comfort features. I'll miss it when the lease is up because it is such a unique experience.
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- Battery Electric 2dr HatchbackMSRP: $11,99059 mi away
- Battery Electric 2dr HatchbackMSRP: $8,222573 mi away
- Battery Electric 2dr HatchbackMSRP: $7,995717 mi away
nice commuter car, but not for a family
If you're single and need something to get from A to B and happen to live in the city with access to a charging station either at home or near a chargepoint (where you have to pay) then this may be the car for you. I am a leasee of this and plan to drive it and give it back at the end of my 3 year stint, but I will have to say that you have to make compromises with this car. PROS/CONS as they come to me. Small, can park anywhere, stable up to about 80mph on highway, with the seats folded down you can fit a wide variety of items. If you have small kids, the back seat is great, if you are tall and an average sized adult you may have a lot of problems. You also can not carry a golf club bag in the back if you have those seats occupied, maybe just one 3 people in the car and have one seat folded down. Charging at 32A which is the max rated for this car will take about 3.5 hours to charge to full which isn't bad. I use this car to travel back and forth to work at around 35mi away, you can barely make it back. If had to take detours you may be stretching it. I've also noticed that the battery is degrading after driving it hard for about 1 year. If you plan to drive this for longer than 5 years you may not be able to reach the rated 80mi on a single charge. Be prepared to stop or have that charging card ready. With all the short comings, I do enjoy my drive in the car, but with all the SUVs out there if god forbid you get into an accident, you may get out alive, cause there's not many crumple zones. I would highly recommend this car in city situations, but probably look towards volt or battery capable car to get you places. I think my next car will be a bolt because 200mi range is the sweet spot and calms my range anxiety. Cause you know, sometimes you just gotta go far. Many folks will need to have a backup gas car to go further places, but this may be a good interim car. I have no idea why but the insurance on this thing is SUPER expensive in CA, and parts are as well. Factor that in if you ever do get into an accident. Remember guys and gals, EVs are still new and in a few years time you're going to see a lot of choices. My recommendation is to get this car if you need to tie you over or just save up and bye our friend's Elon's brand. Thanks for reading.
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Excellent value if bought off lease.
Buying these cars off lease is the way to go. You can easily acquire one for under $10K out the door for a 3 year old car with under 20K miles. New car price (and only in CA or OR) is a staggering $34K. Off lease is a bargain! Being electric one always has to consider how you would use your car and whether you will have "range anxiety". I live in the upper Midwest so I see all 4 seasons. This greatly impacts the range of the electric car. EPA rates it at 84 miles, which is a good general average. Depending on your commute and weather conditions will impact whether this works for you. I travel about 53 miles round trip of mixed driving on 2 lane roads. Speed limits range from 25-55 mph. In the summer, I only use about 50% of battery charge which is excellent (better than EPA). But in the dead of winter with snow, I use almost 90% of the charge and that is with limited use of heater/defogger. There are tricks that I learned to get better range under these cold conditions such as using the heated seats (which work well) to stay warm and uses the 12V battery to function and not the main battery. You can then get by using less of the main heater which eats a lot of electricity/range. Remember too the battery heats itself to maintain optimal reliability and function and that consumes some range as well. That covers the range anxiety concerns which scare most people about electric cars. Other than that, this car has been dead reliable. Maintenance costs are nil given it is electric, (no fuel system, ignition system, cooling system, transmission, alternator, etc to worry about) . The low center of gravity (600 lbs of batteries in the floor near the back half of the car) makes it handle better than any other Fiat 500 with a better fore/aft weight distribution. This make it more predictable and stable in the turns. The weight of the batteries also improve the ride quality too, but the short wheelbase still makes it a little more bouncy when you hit real rough bumps. Despite the extra weight, it more than compensates with the electric motor which makes this accelerate much quicker than you would think. Electric motors make 100% torque instantly from a standstill. Other drivers are surprised when the light turns green and you run away from them! Last the quiet operation of the electric motor makes driving serene almost luxury car feeling in such a small car. Love it!
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Great Electric Car. Fun to drive.
I recommend this car to anyone that is looking for a car that feels like it came from the distant future of the automotive industry. We purchased a used Fiat 500e and we are very happy with it. We test drove about 8 Fiat 500e at different dealerships until we found one that we liked. We studied the car and read many reviews before making the choice to buy the car. The battery is the most expensive part of the car and Fiat provides an 8 year or 100,000 mile warranty on the battery.
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