Our cars: Fiat 500

James has awarded the Fiat 500 the freedom of the City of London after it earned its stripes around town

Running costs

Official range/tax 199 miles/£0

James Brodie

James _ Brodie@autovia.co.uk @jimmybrods

OUR time with the new, all-electric Fiat 500 has come to an end. But not without a little pomp and circumstance. On its departure, I’ ve decided to hand the Fiat the Key to the City, but it’ s an award that certainly comes with some caveats.

For the past six months, the 500 has lived a varied life. We ’ ve driven it long distances, testing out the UK’ s growing EV charging network in the process, and it had a stint as a rural runaround for deputy consumer editor Tristan Shale-Hester. It’ s in the city that the 500 has impressed us the most, though, and while that’ s not surprising, it does lay bare some home truths.

When I took delivery, the warm weather meant that almost at once, I found the 500 was an EV capable of being more than just a city runaround. In battery-friendly temperatures the claimed range of 199 miles is certainly within reach, with a little bit of effort needed to drive efficiently.

Even taking the car on a weekend trip to rural Norfolk didn ’t expose any limitations. Instead, it bolstered my expectations of what this car can handle. Those expectations have shifted a little since temperatures dipped over winter, with the car ’ s range readout predictably dropping. The result is that this is a small EV you can do bigger journeys with, but come winter, you ’ll be sticking to town with the 500.

And that’ s no shame, because it excels in tight city streets. My final trip in the car took me out of London and back in again during rush hour, and entering the capital on the return leg made me realise what I’ll be missing now that the Fiat 500 has gone.

This is a joyful car to drive around town. Compact dimensions combined with excellent all-round visibility and light controls make it a total doddle to wind it through tight streets and awkward junctions. I found my journey home through London, using some little-known shortcuts, to be one of the most enjoyable trips I’ ve had in the 500. It was a perfect send-off.

I’ ve spent an awful lot of time driving the car in its ‘Sherpa ’ drive mode in the city, when the weather hasn ’t been too chilly; this automatically deactivates the climate control to enhance the car ’ s maximum range. However, I’ ve barely needed to use

Practicality

Boot (seats up/down) 185/550 litres

Fiat 500

FINAL REPORT Fiat’s baby EV is hot in the city and good elsewhere if the weather’s not cold

the 500’ s ‘Normal’ drive mode. The Range mode, instead, is very much the default, offering up enough power for journeys at motorway speeds, while enabling one-pedal driving in town. It’ s a set-and-forget mode, so you don ’t need to fiddle endlessly to find a set-up that’ s both sympathetic to driving range and performance.

Except for a trickle charge on a three-pin plug in Norfolk, I’ ve only charged the EV publicly. Road trips have included stops at Ionity and Instavolt. But my lack of a home charging solution is not ideal, given that I have no access to off-street parking or a top-up point of my own.

Thankfully, I’ ve not had to fight to get the 500 refreshed at my local Source London charging points, and I never once had a moment where a Fiat with a flat battery has sat outside on the street when I needed it the most. It goes to prove that with a bit of effort, running an electric vehicle without a home charger is certainly possible.

Essentials

Fiat 500 Passion 87kW

On fleet since: August 2021

Price new: £26,995 (before Govt. grant) Engine: Single 116bhp electric motor, 42kWh battery CO2/tax: 0g/km/£0 Options: Cloud Grey metallic paint (£1,000), 16-inch alloys (£350), wireless charging (£150), 10.25in touchscreen w/ nav (£500)

Insurance*: Group: 16D Quote: £446 Mileage: 4,743 miles Efficency: 3.7miles/kWh Any problems? Infotainment glitches

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

“Even taking the car on a trip to rural Norfolk didn’t expose any limitations”

Settings Range

and Sherpa driving modes work best in urban environments

WE LIKE Cruise control system is very simple: an array of big buttons on the steering wheel removes the need to faff around with wheel-mounted stalks

Second opinion

“At 199 miles, the Fiat currently wears the crown among small and affordable EVs for outright range. But it will be interesting to see how that figure holds up when newer rivals arrive. ” WE DON’T The 500’s door catch is controlled electronically by this button. We’re not sure it makes much difference over having a normal handle to open the door

Verdict

A PLEASANT six months comes to an end with a pleasant small car. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the 500 is already a common sight on the roads of our capital; it’s like the Fiat EV was made for it. 

Living with a Fiat 500 OUR CARS Fleetwatch

New face

We’ll be putting the revised CX-5 to the test to see if diesel is still the best choice for highmileage motorists

Fixed After a software reboot from a laptop, our Captur was running as normal again

Mazda CX-5 Sport Diesel

WHILE the world has fallen out of love with diesel, even allowing for the recent hike in fuel prices, there’s a strong argument that the black nozzle remains the best choice for high-mileage drivers. That’s something that we’re going to try over the coming months, as our photographer Pete Gibson travels to and from shoots in the updated Mazda CX-5.

The Japanese manufacturer has been taking a slightly different approach to powertrains, and that continues in the latest incarnation of its family SUV. Our car has a 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel motor producing 148bhp and a healthy 380Nm of torque. It returns a claimed average economy figure of just over 46mpg – and Pete is already looking forward to seeing if he can match (or even beat) this figure on longer journeys.

As part of the refresh, the CX-5’s looks have been sharpened up, with a range of new paint options (including the Zircon Sand metallic finish of our car), and lots of kit. Our Sport edition has heated front seats and steering wheel, a 10.25-inch infotainment system and 19-inch alloy wheels.

Renault Captur

CONSUMER editor Chris Rosamond’s Renault Captur blotted its otherwise impressive copybook a couple of weeks ago, when a gremlin found its way into the electronics. The first sign of trouble was a tyre pressure warning on the dash, but all the pressures were spot on.

Chris reset the system, but a few miles later the entire dash blacked out for a few seconds, before returning with a red warning light for the hybrid battery, and a message that read: ‘Battery charging impossible’ . In spite of the alert, the hybrid system appeared to function as normal, but when Chris called his nearest Renault dealer from home, the advice was not to drive the car.

Renault’s breakdown service (aka the RAC) arrived swiftly, and all it required was a software reboot via a laptop to fix a ‘communications error’ . So we’re none the wiser as to what happened, but happily the issue hasn’t recurred.

Your ultimate guide to buying and owning an electric car

Ourfleet INDEX

Audi Q4 e-tron Issues 1,711, 1,717 BMW 3 Series New arrival Citroen e-Berlingo Issue 1,718 Citroen e-Dispatch New arrival DS 7 Crossback New arrival Fiat 500 Issues 1,699, 1,710, 1,718 Ford Ranger Iss. 1,694, 1,701, 1,713, 1,721 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Issues 1,710, 1,715, 1,720 Lexus UX 300e Issues 1,713, 1,719 Mazda CX-5 New arrival Nissan Qashqai Issues 1,707, 1,716 Peugeot 508 SW Issue 1,714 Polestar 2 Issue 1,719 Renault Capture-Tech Issues 1,705, 1,712, 1,720 Vauxhall Mokka-e Issues 1,696, 1,706

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