[AhugeEvNewbie]

Hey everyone! I’m sure you guys are tired of this question but I’m looking to get my first ev and wondering if the fiat 500e will work for me!

a little background, I like to take my a trips in my rv and was going to get a fiat 500c (lightweight, easy pull, small to park in a state park) when I came across the 500e. Eventually I would like it to be my only car but I’m concerned about the “highway” range of the car. I know fiat advertises them as 84 mile range combined but from the research I’ve done I’ve seen highways are a huge killer to the range. Used 500es go for around (2013-2016) 10,000 and (2016-2019) 20,000 in my area so the cost isn’t terrible

my work commute is pretty far but I will try and get as much details as possible.

5am I leave for work:
4 miles of city driving (down hill for about 2 miles then 2 miles of flat, speed 30mph-40mph)
12 miles of highway driving (mostly flat the entire time, speed 60mph-65mph)
6 miles of city driving (mostly flat, speed 35mph-40mph)
Total miles 22

then I work for 8 hours, no charging available

2pm I head home I take a slightly different route to avoid going up the big hill on the way home.
6 miles of city driving (mostly flat, speed 35mph-40mph)
10 miles of highway driving (mostly flat, traffic starts so speed is reduced to 45mph-55mph)
8 miles city driving (2 miles slight incline, 6 miles mostly flat, speed 30mph-45mph)
total miles 24

round trip total miles 46
weather in my area (Oregon)
Winters around 35-45 degrees usually
Summers around 85-95 degrees usually.

on paper I would have around 30 miles left but I’m still a little concerned because nothing is “perfect” when it comes to EV range. That’s why I’m reaching out to you guys! I currently drive a 2017 Toyota Prius V and always try to pick the “eco” route to maximize efficiency to save gas. From my research I’ve got mixed reviews about if the car would work for me. I’m not in a hurry to buy anything and won’t be heart broken if you guys don’t recommend the car, but it would be super cool to not have to pay for gas!
Thanks in advance!

 

[JW4]

If you are planning to get a used one, check the price of the new battery. That what deterred me from buying an EV

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

As shown in the forum's name, 2019 was the final year, so buying used is the only option. However the battery is proving to be very robust:

Nearly everyone reports little to no detectable range loss. The 5 reports I've seen of actual measuements that were fairly well-calibrated average 3.6% loss per 10,000 miles. Mine only has just over 30k miles but it's over 9 years old. I recently tested it & got 96 miles on my normal route plus a bit of extra freeway thrown in.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

I haven't tried doing the actual math yet, but before I do...:

in my rv ... easy pull

I believe the 500e can only be towed with the front wheels off the ground.

city driving (down hill for about 2 miles then... 60mph-65mph)... Total miles 22

The first 2 miles may not factor in, if you hit the bottom of the hill with 100% due to a bit of regen on the way down. I get only slightly less range at a steady 60mph than at 30-40 stop-&-go. At steady 55mph I actually get better range than in the city.

I blame the fact that there's no regen below 7mph, but even if there was it would still lose some energy converting the motion to electricity. 65mph or above takes a lot more power though. Apparently the power needed to overcome air resistance is proportional to the CUBE of the speed. I had to look it up a few years ago when someone corrected me, because the air resistance itself "only" goes up by the square of speed, but for some reason with power it's the cube.

work for 8 hours, no charging available

If you even had access to just an extension cord in a standard outlet it adds about 40% during 8 hours of work. I used to do that & so did my coworker & boss, who also had EVs.

2pm I head home I take a slightly different route to avoid going up the big hill on the way home.

With a 500e it's just the elevation that seems to make the difference. In other words, if you take a longer route that's not as steep, but goes to the same elevation, you may find it takes more energy.

Winters around 35-45 degrees usually... it would be super cool to not have to pay for gas!

It IS super cool to not have to pay for gas!! (or oil or filters or brakes)

I have no idea about 35 degrees, but part of my recent 96-mile test was in the mid 40s & I needed to blast the heater for a while to keep the windshield clear. Each seat heater takes less than one headlight.

Even using no heat at all, cold range goes way down, especially at 60-65mph.

• Air drag is already a huge factor, & cold air is more dense.
• Also the battery actually loses energy when cold.

I didn't really realize how bad that last one is until I got a free phone app called AccuBattery that measures phone voltage. I put my phone in the freezer to simulate dropping it in the snow & the voltage plummeted. It bounced right back though when I warmed it in my pocket.

However, leaving in the morning is the coldest time to drive, & if you can charge at home it makes a HUGE difference to pre-heat the car & battery while plugged in, especially if you have a 240V outlet to plug the OEM cord into (yes, that works).

 

[AhugeEvNewbie]

I have a tow dolly for the front wheels, that’s how I tow the Prius with the motor home too! I could do 55mph on the freeway (that’s actually the posted speed limit but no one goes that slow) honestly it’s only in the around 35 at night during the winter for maybe January and February, when the car would be charging then usually warms up to around 40 in the day. I don’t have a level 2 charger but I do have a plug out side that’s a 50amp rv plug that I planned on using to charge so I could pre condition the cabin before I leave. Unfortunately there is no way to charge at my job, really sucks. Idk I like the fiat but if it doesn’t quite have the range I don’t thing it would be quite right for me.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

I could do 55mph on the freeway (that’s actually the posted speed limit but no one goes that slow)

Neither do I! That's why it took me 7 years to bust the myth that freeway kills range: I was uncharacteristically early on my way to pick someone up at the airport, & I didn't want to get there too soon & have security kick me out & have to drive a few miles to the cell waiting lot. So I set cruise to 55 & zeroed out a trip gauge just to see what happened.

I do have a plug out side that’s a 50amp rv plug

That's perfect! Just get an adapter for the OEM cord & it will charge at 12A x 220V = 2.6kW which is plenty to warm up the cabin & battery before you leave.

if it doesn’t quite have the range I don’t thing it would be quite right for me

My gut feeling is you'd have no problem at all, but I'm composing the details of my own regular drive, which is fairly similar to yours.

 

[Iceman]

I live in portland and have been enjoying the 500e for over a year now. It’s a great solution for driving up to about 70mi in winter, 100 in summer. You should be fine with your quoted 48mi commute any time of year. You will need a dolly to tow it. I love the car, I ditched the rear seats and use mine as a Ute daily, and often have a trailer on it towing and sometimes quite heavy! It’s very zippy and the easiest to park

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

My normal drive is only a bit shorter:

9.5 mi city (STEEP downhill about 2 blocks & 187' elevation drop, then flat-ish, 30-45mph with lots of stops & no regen at all below 7mph)
7 miles of highway driving (1.7 mi uphill 390' elevation, then 1.7 back down, 55-60mph, no stops)

Then I park, no charging available.

I take the same route home, but of course going UP the steep hill at the end.

Round trip total miles 32 & it uses about 33% of my battery.

That's when I start with under 90%. From a full charge the regen can't charge the battery on the first downhill, & very little for the next 10 miles or so until it drops below 90%, so it takes a few more % if I start with 100.

Weather in my area (coastal southern Ca.)
Winters around 45-80 degrees usually
Summers around 70-90 degrees usually.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Also:

• I leave my headlights on at all times, which takes more power than running both seat heaters.
• I have very non-aerodynamic wheels with 2-sizes wider non-LRR tires, but they're a few pounds lighter than the OEMs.

 

[AhugeEvNewbie]

I live in portland and have been enjoying the 500e for over a year now. It’s a great solution for driving up to about 70mi in winter, 100 in summer. You should be fine with your quoted 48mi commute any time of year. You will need a dolly to tow it. I love the car, I ditched the rear seats and use mine as a Ute daily, and often have a trailer on it towing and sometimes quite heavy! It’s very zippy and the easiest to park

Good to know someone in the same area has a good experience with it, the idea of a small electric car would be nice since I rarely travel too far even when camping! I’ll have to start looking at the available models for sale!
Thanks for your response!

 

[AhugeEvNewbie]

Thanks for all the inputs! It’s helpful since I’m very new to the ev world! I feel like I’m a little to worried about the range?

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Ya, a little.

Nearly all of us here were brand new to EVs until we got a 500e.

I bet you'll end up going 65 on the highway, take the short steep route home, & still arrive with plenty to spare.

Even if you do like my friend did, learning how fast you can drive & get home nearly empty, it will fully recharge overnight with the OEM cord in your 240V outlet.

 

[JW4]

It IS super cool to not have to pay for gas!! (or oil or filters or brakes)

I don't know for a fact, but am pretty sure that the same braking mechanism is used on EVs. The pads and rotors are simply expected to last longer, since you are braking with the engine for a considerable amount of time.

Idk I like the fiat but if it doesn’t quite have the range I don’t thing it would be quite right for me.

It depends; you need to evaluate your individual pros and cons. For example, I was looking for a cheap commute car, for seasonal use. Saw an EV Smart and became really interested. No gas, no emissions, sounds really appealing. Checked the kWh prices, it seemed cheaper than gas. Charging might not be readily available, though, and you cannot easily take it on a long trip without carefully planning your recharges. Another point was - the car would be standing without use for months, and there is no one to charge it for me. Then I checked the battery. The car was 10 years old; that's about the expected lifetime. It was selling for $5k. The new battery would be about $10k. So I decided not to risk it, and get something more traditional - 500c (because I could not find a manual Smart). This might not be the same for you, though.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

500e is not a Smart ED.

500e has 45% more range, so the exact same daily drive will discharge it much less, which greatly extends battery life. 500e also limits the max charge to only 4.1V/cell, which also greatly extends battery life (Tesla claims that software-limiting their cars to 95% of true capacity gives double the battery life)

Whatever the reasons, the fact is that nearly every 500e has very little battery degradation, unless it's been left parked uncharged for a year.

The pads and rotors are simply expected to last longer, since you are braking with the engine

Correct. Expected to last about 200,000 miles, because aside from panic stops it's ALL motor braking above 6mph. Hence no cost for brakes.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

I wonder if that "no" vote by @desmo was an accident.

 

[Tyer]

I live just south of Portland in Oregon. I don't commute (retired, more or less), but I love the 500e! I very rarely have any range anxiety at all, and it's nearly always my first choice when I need to go somewhere. I also have a pretty nice truck, the Mercedes shown in my avatar, and my wife's Range Rover to choose from, but the Fiat is just so much fun to drive, carries plenty with the rear seats folded down (all the time), and only costs two buck to fill up. The driving experience can't be oversold - it's incredibly maneuverable, and very zippy below 50 MPH. I do wish I had upgraded (wider) wheels and tires like @Electric Tire Shredder, but it's still plenty fun.

The cold weather does bite into the range a bit. At the moment, the Skuter lives outdoors (although I'll get that bay of the garage cleaned out soon, I promise), so a cold night will cut my range on the GOM (Guess-O-Meter) down to as low as 65 at the start, but it's never really affected the way I use the car any. Both the seat heaters and the climate control are quite effective, with the bonus that you don't need to wait for the engine to warm up before the cabin heat starts working.

Especially considering my somewhat sporty driving style, the brake life is great. Except for the first bit at the start (I live at the top of a hill, so the battery is already charged), almost all of the energy goes back into the battery, so the brakes aren't even engaging a lot of the time. Front tire wear is another matter - they tend to chirp pretty frequently when I'm starting out, and the staggered rims mean that I can't rotate them without un- and re-mounting the tires; since the tire store wants about $100 to do that (with the balancing et al), I figured I'd just replace those tires a lot more frequently.

To the OP @AhugeEvNewbie, I think you'd probably be OK with the range under the conditions you described. In the winter, you might want to be a bit conservative, but it should still be OK; in the summer you'd be more than fine. Certainly if you could find a 110V outlet at work (with a long extension cord, perhaps), that would completely allay any issues. The battery lifespan shouldn't be a concern; except for total failure cases, the Bosch battery management system seems to to an excellent job of preserving the battery. I just keep mine topped up all the time (the worst thing for battery life) with no perceptible drop in range at all.

As much as I'd like to say otherwise, it might not be the best vehicle as a tow-behind for a motorhome. Firstly, you would certainly need a dolly - it cannot be towed with the front wheels on the ground. However, it's also quite a bit heaver than a gas 500 - 3000 pounds versus 2300. I guess that's still a lot lighter than the Jeeps I frequently see used that way, though.

Knowing what I do now, and having had this car for more than two years (I bought it at the perigee of the market with 21k miles, for $8k!), I would say go for it - I'm enjoying mine a lot more than I would ever have expected..
~~
Mark Moulding