Fiat isn’t a firm known for being ahead of the curve. In fact, it usually watches from afar to see if trends take off before getting in on the action – it even admitted as much at the launch of an (exceptionally) mild-hybrid 500 last year. That model extended the lifetime of the petrol 500 further, which has been on sale since 2007. Though – impressively considering it’s never been substantially changed – sales of it show no signs of slowing.
But Fiat knows it has to change and that is what has led to the introduction of this new electric model – simply called the ‘New 500’ rather than 500e, for example. Can it rival the growing range of compact EVs, though? We’ve been finding out.
While this new model might still look unmissably like a 500 – though with differences which we’ll explain later – it actually doesn’t share a single component with the petrol model. For clarity, the combustion-powered model is going nowhere, with the firm saying it will be sold for ‘years to come’.