After a week of ownership...

[Dr Obnxs]

Hi all, we've had our 500e for a bit over a week, and here are my impressions.....

First off, for some truth in advertising, while this isn't my first Fiat (76 124 spider was my first....), I'm currently more invested in MINIs. My wife has an 08 Clubman, and I have a 02 S that is heavily modified. I also write technical articles on cars, mostly for MC Squared magazine..... Anyway, I put our name on the waiting list at Fiat of Burnlingame the day the pricing on the 500e was announced, and we picked up our metallic orange car with a white interior on the 17th of July. That said, I've driven pretty much every flavor of the new 500 except the Turbo non-Abarth!

First off, the presence of the car cannot be denied. The bright orange metallic paint, white trim, and the white interior with orange trim, are really, really well executed stylistically. But while the 500e is a new model, the interior is pretty much stock FIAT with the exception of some colors and detailing, so I'm not gonna write much here.

Because my wife has a short commute (less than 20 miles) and we live at over 1500 feet and her work is at near sea level, she basically adds 2% to the battery charge on the way in, and gives it back and then some on the drive home. Anyway, she tends to use about 25% of a charge a day, not much at all. We haven't chosen what Level 2 charger to get and are still charging on 110. It's not a big deal as the car is always full in the morning..... Even using a timed charge that starts at 12:00 midnight.

The driving is sporty+, but not performance, and I'll explain why as I go on. First off, power delivery is just what you'd expect from an electric. It's fairly urgent, even from a stop, and the un-interrupted pull is somewhat addictive, even if it isn't as much acceleration as many other cars. Because power is instant and there are never any gear changes, the response is instant, and this lack of delay makes the drive feel more sporting than the actual acceleration numbers would indicate. Really, because of the length of the car, it's a perfect recipe for squirting through traffic and city/urban driving. There has been more than once that I found my self giggling from the playfulness of the experience, some thing that only happened in my MINIs, my old Mustang convertible, and some really high HP cars that I get to drive from time to time at media events. Anyway, it's really a fun, engaging drive that is much more fun than the 0-60 time would indicate.

But all is not perfect with the driving dynamics, and this comes down to two (or two and a half) issues: The suspension is competent, but not great. Steering alignment is a bit dull on center as well. I really group these two together because suspension and alignment tuning are so tightly coupled. Yes the car uses the springs/torsion bars from the Abarth, but I think the damping is a bit soft. The end result of all of this (along with the stock tires), results in a drive that isn't a sharp as I'd like when pushed. A bit unsettled in turns that aren't smooth, and more so than I'd expect from just the additional weight from the batteries. While these shortcomings don't really show up that much in street driving, I live up by Alice's Restaurant on the SF Peninsula, and my drive up and down the hill (on Highway 84, from 280 to Highway 35, Skyline Blvd) is about 5 miles of the most wonderful mountain driving anyone could want, and when pushed on the hill, the car is still really a hoot to drive, but transitions in braking and suspension set are interesting, to say the least, and while one can go at a surprising clip, a conservative line is needed as sometimes the car does surprising things.

Another feature of the car that is a two edged sword is the regenerative breaking: While this is the key to range, it also means that when one starts to slow, the break biasing is heavy to the front. As one brakes harder and the pads take over more (or all) of the stopping, the bias shifts to a more neutral bias. Normally this is fairly smooth and almost transparent, but as one starts to trail-break through turns it rears it's ugly head and can upset the suspension. There is a use case where it's instant and abrupt: if you are regen breaking and hit a sharp bump, the traction control gets a hiccup and the regen stops instantly. Weight shifts rearward as the breaking goes to all four wheels. Dealing with some of this will be a matter of learning the car dynamics, but without a doubt, there are parts of the chassis dynamics that cannot be overcome with just adjusted driving style.

So the suspension set up and extreme braking behavior are why I say that the car is sporty+. While it's probably possible to deal with the suspension, ours is a lease so I don't know if I'm gonna go gonzo on mods or not..., but the brake dynamics are something that are a consequence of the cars programming and range optimization. Interestingly, my Mom's EV-1 had a button where you could either regen or coast. Coasting turned off regen, and while it hurt range, it did get rid of those events that upset the suspension in turns.

A little more on power delivery. Now, electric motors can generate maximum torque at 0 RPM, but the engine management doesn't allow it too cause you could smoke your tires all day long! So this means that if you floor it, you can feel the tires at the limit of traction, but acceleration actually feels like it picks up a bit as one speeds up a bit. I did a freeway run one night, and the car is peppy up to about 75... I got it up to 87 but at those speeds acceleration was lacking, to put it mildly. But that's not a big deal, as the car's mission is more for commute and sporty street driving. An interesting thought would be to put some super sticky tires on the sucker and put it into an AutoX. I think it would do pretty well!

On the more practical side of the coin, we have two kids: One is a little pixie of 6, the other is a tom boy of 8. They like being in the back of the car, even though it doesn't have the space of our other cars. They do say that there isn't too much room back there, but, like all 500 owners know, there is some space and you can use it for 4 if you need too, but it will be tight.

I haven't done the math yet on cost per mile, but I think we're saving about $2.50-$5 a day, depending on what car my wife would have driven to work. We're leasing, and this is a significant percentage of our monthly payment. So the car isn't free, but it sure is cheap! Yes, I run into luddites who think it's a fad or a joke. Screw 'em! They are the buggy whip advocates of the 21st century. But overall, when my wife or I talk to people about the economics of the car, and it's utility, and it's fun, and it's style, a lot of people who never had, are now considering an electric car. Since pretty much every entry level electric has some offer like the FIAT $1000 down/ $200 a month, the cars are actually affordable transportation without invoking any of the "seed the market" or "early adopter" or "whatever justifies the high price point" explanation of driving electrics, you can BET that you will see tons more electrics out there, and soon.


Anyway, hope you enjoyed the perspective of an owner who has driven the car for a while, and has driven it hard!

Matt

[LOSING]

Terrific write-up. Thanks for sharing your experience. I especially liked "One is a little pixie of 6, the other is a tom boy of 8."

I want the exact car you have. I hope I don't have to wait much longer.

[raindrops]

Nice writeup! My head spins at how you understand so much of the technical side of driving and doing mods to the car and all of that! And willing to try out (drive hard) the car! I'd be afraid I would damage something (even if it is a lease). I am curious though if you think it is better to let the battery run lower (say to 20%) and then re-charge rather than recharging every night to full from 50%/75% level.

The colors of orange/white are very stunning... my kids like the white too but being boys... hmm, I'd have to go for the black interior.

Thanks for sharing! It also sounds like your dealer did not charge any high markups due to demand. That's cool.

[Dr Obnxs]

I'm a PhD physicst by training, and a gear head by hobby. There is basically nothing that I won't take a wrench too, but I must admit that I can't always put things back together! I've been modding cars for decades, and doing performance driving for about 10 years, though not competitively.

As far as car batteries go, the programming is such that they never get to 0 or 100% charge anyway. This is to keep them at high capacity for a high number of cycles. So don't worry at all about your charging, do it based on need and economics.

The wife hates black interiors, so the white was by default! And what's funny is that Cheryl was already yelling at the kids about feed on the white seats after just the drive home from the dealership! And there are NO seat covers in the white/orange combo for our cars yet! (I've looked!).

As far as beating the car, I beat all my cars! I beat em, fix em, and beat them again! I let anyone of my friend drive them if they want and it's all good. I'd love to be able to get into the brains of the car and turn off the traction control. I want to see how much rubber I can leave!

Personally, while I do think the 500E could be a "keeper" car, I'm also pretty sure that 3 years from now, the electric car tech will be much advanced. So this one may be obsolete technically pretty soon.

I write car columns for MINIs, and for those that want to learn to drive (no, not learn to drive like high school drivers training, I mean learn to DRIVE, with understanding of corner entry, apex, suspension set, and braking), get to a high performance driving event, pay the entry fee, and have a driving coach in your passenger seat EVERY SESSION. In one day or weekend, your driving skills, and understanding, will be changed in ways that will make you both faster and SAFER, and if you like what you learn, then you get "How to make your car handle" by Fred Puhn so you can understand vehicle dynamics, and "Drive to Win" by Carrol Smith (something is telling me it's another one of his books) to learn about driving theory.

At the track, there is a saying "If you want to go faster, tighten the nut behind the wheel!" The basic idea is that driver skill pays off universally, whereas some fancy brakes only help the car they are bolted to.

My dealer almost got reamed! I'd called in before they were taking deposites and was first in line, or close to it. When they did start taking deposits, they didn't call me. I called in a couple weeks later and went ballistic when I was told I was out of luck. My sales guy spend the afternoon on the phone and found us two available cars: a silver with black interior and a sunroof, and the orange with white and no sunroof. I don't like sunroofs, and my wife doesn't like the glass ones or the black interior, so exhibitionist orange it is!

[raindrops]

OT now but appreciate the links to the books! My 12 year old is really into cars, driving and the like (but not reading), and I may finally find something he would like to read.. just amazon.com'd it and yup, Carroll Smith has a bunch of books!
Maybe when he is older (much older!) he can go to one of those driving sessions! Is there a club or group that sponsors these (ie MINI?)... so OT, but not sure I can PM you.
Well, good karma can only come to you then as you let your friends 'drive' your car and not mind at all!!
Back to FIAT 500e, sounds like it will be a big hit for FIAT, maybe they will make more and find a way to reduce their so called loss of 10K.

[Dr Obnxs]

Well, FIAT may lose money on paper, but they are basically buying off the California Zero Emission Mandate. So selling the 500E at a subsidy to us drivers means that they can keep selling in CA later.... Basically FIAT/Chrysler is buying off CARB, to all of our benefit. We buy or lease at a subsidy so it's a good deal. More electrics are on the road so the economies of scale start to kick in. CO2 emissions are down, and total energy per mile of transport is about half of an internal combustion engine. All is good except of you're one of the very few who think light vehicle transportation is a real, unrestricted market, in which case you're pissed.

For driving, check with the local car groups. The BMWCCA has great offerings, as does the Porsche Club of America. There is something held at Thunderhill once or twice a year for MINIs, but really, find the closest track or check with your local BMW CCA chapter. They take non-BMW cars at the events, but the cost is a little higher. BMW also holds something called Car Control Clinics, aimed at teaching teens how to deal with emergency handling.

For non-brand specific driving instruction, I think Hooked on Driving is one of the better outfits to run events. They are very, very organized, and it's a perfect venue for those new to driving on track. They serve most tracks, so check out there website for more info....

[msjulie]

+1 on Hooked on Driving..

Thanks Doc for the review, it's exciting time for some of this tech..

[amacento]

Appreciate the time it took to write that review.

It's good to read first thoughts/impressions.

[smark]

Thanks, for your write up. Too bad their only offered on the west coast. Would love to hear about your long time savings, compared to the gasoline 500.

[RHurrey]

Great review! I also love the heck out of driving mine... I never miss a chance to ZOOOOM off the line