Fiat 500 review

The entry level ‘Action’ hatch is £19,995 after the UK government’s £2,500 plug-in car grant is applied. Expect to pay around £265 a month if you decide to lease it. It’s the only version of the new 500 with the tiny 24kWh battery and isn’t available as a convertible. Key spec includes rear parking sensors, air conditioning, keyless go, the digital instrument cluster, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition and autonomous emergency braking.

Spend another £3,500 or £60 per month and you can have a 500 Passion, with the 42kWh battery. This adds automatic aircon, the 7in touchscreen with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, cruise control, 15in alloys and 50/50 folding rear seats.

The Icon model is next. Likely to be the UK’s bestseller, for £1,500 or £25 more per month than Passion it adds keyless entry, the big touchscreen, an ‘eco leather’ steering wheel and 16-inch alloys. Yet another £2,000/£40 per month – we’re up to around £30,000 now – buys you a 500 La Prima with every conceivable bell and whistle. The convertible top commands a £2,650 premium across the range.

Range is up to 199 miles for the big battery and 118 miles for the small battery, but as with any electric car, if you move with outside lane motorway traffic it’ll be significantly less than its WLTP number. Still, in a mix of city centre, suburban, country work plus a stretch of motorway, the 500 proved largely as efficient as claimed, though the 24kWh model struggled to top 90 miles. 

The big battery 500 can charge at a decent 85kW, giving you 100 miles in little over a quarter of an hour. Most rapid chargers in the UK are 50kW, though, so you’re as well saving your money and going for one of those. Incidentally, 50kW is the max charge rate of the small battery car.

Of course there’s a remote app that lets you monitor and control the car by phone. It can control charging to use off-peak electricity, send navigation destinations, find chargers and plot routes to take advantage. Normal EV stuff.

The warranty is for three years and unlimited miles, while the battery is warrantied for eight years and 62,000 miles. You’re looking at insurance group 14 for a base spec car, up to group 21 for a top-of-the-range convertible.