http://mashable.com/2015/11/15/2016-fiat-500e-review/#DRjuOrK7UqqR Fiat's all-electric 500e is worth adjusting your life around [2015/11/15] Nick Jaynes
[images / FCA http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzE1LzhmL0ZpYXQ1MDBlLjE3MmViLnBuZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/037c5a39/1ef/Fiat-500e.jpg Fiat-500e http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzEyLzk2L0ZUMDE0XzExOEZILmVjMWFiLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/18b7ae41/b08/FT014_118FH.jpg http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzExLzIzL0ZUMDE2XzE4MEZILmNkYTVhLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/b8a268e8/1b2/FT016_180FHhj0h84m74pnr4ea061rih0aceq.jpg http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzExLzExL2MwL0ZUMDE2XzE4MkZILjYwODFjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/ee148c5e/f92/FT016_182FHbvkpjqaf789k5a6f9ugrqhlvcr.jpg ] As the plane began its initial descent into Portland, I felt the initial pangs of range anxiety — an emotion electric-vehicle drivers often feel when they fear their cars might run out of juice far from a charger — come over me. I was flying from Los Angeles to Portland for a long weekend to visit friends and family. And for my four-day excursion to the Pacific Northwest, I requested an all-electric Fiat 500e as my chariot of choice. See also: I tested Tesla's 'Ludicrous' Model S in the Palo Alto mountains To my amazement, even before taking delivery of the twee Italian electric car, I was already concerned about the lithium-ion battery pack prematurely going flat, leaving me stranded and ruining my weekend. To say I was off to a worrying start was an understatement. Orange you glad? Stumbling out of the airport bus and into the short-term parking lot, I found Fiat left for me a 500e that had been sprayed in orange metallic paint, accented by a white leather interior. It looked like an electrified a Creamsicle. It's almost the size of a Creamsicle, too: Its wheelbase is roughly half that of a Ford F-350 pickup. Despite its diminutive stature, all six-foot-four-inches of me fit fine — so, too, did my luggage. The Fiat 500e is an interesting car for $31,800. It's won several awards from car reviewers, yet Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) isn't so fond of it. In fact, the company's CEO doesn't want you to buy one. That's because the carmaker claims it loses roughly $14,000 for every 500e sold. Despite that, FCA continues to send the car to dealers in California and Oregon because California laws dictate every major carmaker must offer an EV. It's interesting for more reasons than that, however. The Fiat 500e has some distinctive features. The drive mode selector is push-button, like that in a 1950s Plymouth. Although the radio is wildly rudimentary, the instrument cluster has been fitted with a big, bright high-res screen that details the car's specs, including — most importantly — battery life. Charging through town The 2016 Fiat 500e is rated by the EPA to have a range of "more than 100 miles" in the city. When I got into it, mine showed 88 miles remaining. That figure dropped shockingly quickly as I hit the freeway. Cruising at 60 mph, I watched the range dip down into the 50-mile range in a matter of minutes. Since I had many errands to run that day, the precipitous power drop required me to figure out where I could top the car off with electrons. Without a recharge, I feared I wouldn't make it through the day without running the battery flat. After a quick Google search, within in moments I was downloading the free "EV Charge Hub" app to my iPhone. On it, I found an interactive map of charging stations either near me or searchable by address. Cleverly, when a station is selected, it displays how many chargers it contains and how many are currently available. Having found a charger near my first destination, I navigated to it. Once there, though, I discovered another problem: Paying for the power. Most public charging stations in Portland are operated by a company called Blink, which requires a membership. Since I didn't have that, I worried I was out of luck. Thankfully, after some poking and prodding through electronic menus on the charger's screen, I discovered I could charge as a guest. While an immediate relief, it proved less helpful. Each new station I visited required me to go through the same mobile-website rigmarole of entering my credit card, receiving an activation code, etc. before I could charge the car — adding a good 10 minutes to every time I parked. That 10 extra minutes doesn't include rerouting your agenda to actually get to the charging stations, either. Toy car After the first day, and an estimated aggregated two hours lost to charging hassles, I had the system down pat. This gave me time to estimate the car for its driving characteristics. Funnily enough, I'd say my entire experience driving the 500e was summed up by an unsolicited comment made by a stranger. Pulling up in a restaurant in northeast Portland, a woman seated out front studied me as I got out of the car. When I walked past her, she blurted out, "That looks like a toy car!" She was right; It did look like a toy car. And it drove like one, too. Although exceptionally quiet on the road, a hallmark of modern EVs, the 500e made me constantly aware that I was not in a normal car but rather in an EV — and not just because it's the size and color of a gumdrop. In gasoline-powered or hybrid cars, there's a "set it and forget it" mentality. You get in it and you go places. You don't have to worry about it. It's not a liability; it's mobility. The same cannot be said of the 500e — or of any non-Tesla electric car on the market. The entire time, every second I was behind the wheel, I was thinking about the car. I was altering my driving style, suffering from icy toes because turning on the heat would zap precious battery life. And I wonder if I ever looked directly out the windshield at all, as my eyes were oft locked on the battery charge-level screen. With rerouting my day to plan for charging, altering my driving style, and agonizing over range, I didn't feel like I was driving a car; I felt like a had a hobby that took me places. I didn't feel like I was driving a car; I felt like a had a hobby that took me places. That said, the 500e is relatively sporty in the mass-market EV field. Certainly, cars like the Volkswagen eGolf are more refined and behave and feel more like a real car, the 500e is more fun than the Nissan Leaf or Mitsubishi's i-MiEV. Reflections Those negatives aside, I actually liked the 500e. I liked the color. I liked how distinctive it looked. It enjoyed how easy it was to park in the city. And the quietness of the cabin while on the open road was really wonderful. I can't stress that enough; driving in the quiet is truly fantastic. And, arguably, a 500e owner would rarely face most of the issues that befell me on my trip. That's because Americans drive fewer than 30 miles on any given day and have a charging station at home. So, when an owner leaves in the morning, the car's battery is full, and there's likely no "find the charger" game later. On days EV owners push past the 50-mile mark, however, that story might change. Flying home Sunday morning, I reflected on my trip and time with the Fiat 500e. I found myself feeling super impressed with one piece of electronic tech I used that weekend — and it wasn't the Fiat. No, instead, I had fallen head over heels for the EV Charge Hub app. That thing saved my weekend. The Good Distinctive 'toy car' styling • Quiet interior • Sporty, for a mass-market EV The Bad Feels top heavy in sharp corners • Mediocre range for an EV The Bottom Line Fiat's unloved EV offering bring some much-needed Italian flare to the EV market. Just be ready to adjust your life to tend to the battery. 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