Fiat 500e EV

[cwerdna]

I think the added weight of the battery helps with the stability. Also turns out my wife rather drive the 500e than my roadster

Yeah, it probably does.

As for the latter... I've never ridden in nor driven a Roadster but I'd heard the ride is pretty harsh (e.g. 2nd to last paragraph of 2009 Tesla Roadster - Road Test - Car Reviews - Car and Driver). Maybe that's why along w/the driver sitting so low?

(Re: C&D's comments on the Roadster's ride, if so, wow... for a magazine like them to say that, it must be pretty harsh as I'm sure they've become well accustomed to performance cars w/harsh rides. I had an 04 (not 04.5) Nissan 350Z for over 8 years and felt the ride was pretty harsh and unfortunately, bouncy too.)

For me, between the Spark EV and Fiat 500e, IMHO, the 500e is way more stylish, both inside and out. The Spark EV is faster and has optional SAE Combo (aka Frankenplug) DC FC inlet but has a lame 3.3 kW OBC. Fiat 500e has no DC FC capability but has 6.6 kW OBC.

 

[wws]

I was driving on I-880 yesterday, actually near the Tesla plant in Fremont, and noticed a big billboard for the 500e. They were advertising some sort of $99/mo lease deal. Wow - that even got my attention! (I normally would would have a hard time considering a car that small.) Guessing they need more offsets for the high Hellcat demand...

 

[miimura]

Woah. So, you're saying the total cost of lease of a 3 year/30K mile lease was ~$5475, not including the benefit of the $2500 CVRP? If so, they put down just $2500, right?

Were those $85 monthly payments before or after tax?

If so.... hmm. This sounds potentially rather interesting for me, if I end up turning in my Leaf in a bit over 4 months, when its lease runs out. I'd probably want 12K miles/year (like I have now) instead of only 10K/year.

OT: What's a good forum to discuss the 500e? Fiat 500e Forum View active topics seems to have very little activity. They seem to be under the same parent company that mynissanleaf.com is (My Electric Car Forums | Electric Vehicle Forums and News), but MNL obviously has WAY more traffic and is AFAIK, the best place to discuss Leafs amongst American Leafers, bar none.

I'm pretty sure the total monthly payment was $85 including applicable taxes. I think the $2,500 drive-off included taxes and registration too. One other thing I forgot to mention was the 12 days per year of free car rental too. It's actually not 12 days, it's $504/year of rentals. It's use it or lose it each year. You don't have to use it in your home area either. People have rented cars on vacation in Hawaii and successfully billed it to Fiat. After that benefit, the final net cost is only about $1,500 total for 3 years and 30,000 miles.

I think there is more discussion at the 500e section of the ICE Fiat 500 owner's forum than there is at MyFiat500e. MNL definitely put My Electric Car Forums on the map and it stuck with RAV4 EV owners too.

 

[gene]

It'd be hard to pass up that offer if I came across it. I was just looking at cheap EV leases this morning and saw that Chevy is offering $0 down and $177/mo for 36 months/30,000 miles on the Spark EV. Ultimately though, I think I'd pay the extra ~$900 for the rear doors of the Spark.

I love the way the 500e looks. Especially in the darker grey. I have test driven it, and it was ok, not great. I immediately test drove the Ford FFE and I preferred its ride, but it looks boring. The Spark EV I have not tried but another advantage to the Spark is that the crash tests, especially 1/4 test is better than the Fiat. The looks of the Spark are growing on me, but then I actually think the Leaf looks kinda' nice

If it wasn't for Fiat's poor crash tests, I'd buy/lease one today just for an around town fun car. Yeah, I know, the statistic chances of me or my wife having a deadly accident are very low, but we have been through near deadly AML leukemia. At this point, anything I can do to preserve life, I do.

 

[Bulletproof]

Actually, the 500e is the result of Chrysler's ex-ENVI team, at the time when they wanted to introduce a Roadster equivalent to Tesla's. The specs were interesting, a little more HP, but heavier. Those guys never wanted to stop at that and it now sounds like Marchione is "seeing the light".

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I also preferred the Spark EV's ride, as well as the Honda Fit EV ride over the 500e. It's just that that 500e looks so good!

 

[gene]

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I also preferred the Spark EV's ride, as well as the Honda Fit EV ride over the 500e. It's just that that 500e looks so good!

VW e-Golf, I wish it was bargain priced like the Fiat and Spark. The VW e-Golf is a great looking car, like the 500e, yet it is larger, safer, and rides very nicely.

 

[cwerdna]

Actually, the 500e is the result of Chrysler's ex-ENVI team, at the time when they wanted to introduce a Roadster equivalent to Tesla's. The specs were interesting, a little more HP, but heavier. Those guys never wanted to stop at that and it now sounds like Marchione is "seeing the light".

No, I don't think Marchionne has seen the light. He's only doing it for CA ZEV compliance reasons. Otherwise, in order to continue selling his ICEVs in CA, he'd have to either go fool cell, buy ZEV credits from others or pay fines. He's complained loudly about this numerous times.

Marchionne Claims $10,000 Loss On Each Fiat 500e - The Truth About Cars
Fiat loses $14k on every 500e it builds, Marchionne doesn't want you to buy one

But yeah... the Fiat 500e has got style.

I was driving on I-880 yesterday, actually near the Tesla plant in Fremont, and noticed a big billboard for the 500e. They were advertising some sort of $99/mo lease deal. Wow - that even got my attention! (I normally would would have a hard time considering a car that small.) Guessing they need more offsets for the high Hellcat demand...

IIRC, some Nissan dealers have been advertising $99/mo (not including tax) Leaf S (base trim) for a long time, just not on billboards, AFAIK. The catch is that there's usually a big down payment.

 

[gene]

Details of about 100 leased at $85/month: Group Buy Of Fiat 500e Electric Cars Ignites 'Feeding Frenzy,' 100-Plus Bought

 

[fengshui]

Details of about 100 leased at $85/month: Group Buy Of Fiat 500e Electric Cars Ignites 'Feeding Frenzy,' 100-Plus Bought

Okay, so a good deal, but not as great as proposed. When you add back the $2500 CA rebate they took out of the down payment as a monthly payment, it's $165/mo, plus $1,000 down. That's not that far from other leases I've seen on the Spark EV and the Leaf.

 

[Skiborsy]

Okay, so a good deal, but not as great as proposed. When you add back the $2500 CA rebate they took out of the down payment as a monthly payment, it's $165/mo, plus $1,000 down. That's not that far from other leases I've seen on the Spark EV and the Leaf.

Total cost of the lease (including TTL) is ~$6,500 before the $2,500 rebate. So $180 a month without the rebate and $111 a month taking the rebate into account. Fiat has a 59% residual on the 36 month lease right now and .00013 (0.312%) money factor.

 

[miimura]

Total cost of the lease (including TTL) is ~$6,500 before the $2,500 rebate. So $180 a month without the rebate and $111 a month taking the rebate into account. Fiat has a 59% residual on the 36 month lease right now and .00013 (0.312%) money factor.

The $1,000 "lease conquest rebate" is the other thing that is getting the payment down in the $80's.

 

[eloder]

Woah. So, you're saying the total cost of lease of a 3 year/30K mile lease was ~$5475, not including the benefit of the $2500 CVRP? If so, they put down just $2500, right?

Were those $85 monthly payments before or after tax?

If so.... hmm. This sounds potentially rather interesting for me, if I end up turning in my Leaf in a bit over 4 months, when its lease runs out. I'd probably want 12K miles/year (like I have now) instead of only 10K/year.

OT: What's a good forum to discuss the 500e? Fiat 500e Forum View active topics seems to have very little activity. They seem to be under the same parent company that mynissanleaf.com is (My Electric Car Forums | Electric Vehicle Forums and News), but MNL obviously has WAY more traffic and is AFAIK, the best place to discuss Leafs amongst American Leafers, bar none.

The smart electric drive I have an order is going to end up around that cost, and I'm in a conservative state with zero EV incentives.

The littlest EVs are really amazing. Such a low-cost commuter car, especially when you consider the wear and tear put onto a throw-away lease rather onto a more expensive primary driver for all other purposes.

 

[jerjozwik]

Such a low-cost commuter car,

i dont know about the smart, but the fiat is the best commuter car i have ever had. our old hyundai and honda cars were terribly dull. both in driving dynamics and overall enjoyment. i REALLY like my 500e. and its almost fast enough for me not to long for time seat time in the racecar.


...almost.

 

[Zapped]

My wife loves her 500e so much we're shipping it from California to our place 1800 miles north for the summer.
It is very fun to drive

 

[Paul8810]

My wife loves her 500e so much we're shipping it from California to our place 1800 miles north for the summer.
It is very fun to drive

Would love to see that sometime when you get it up north.

 

[eloder]

i dont know about the smart, but the fiat is the best commuter car i have ever had. our old hyundai and honda cars were terribly dull. both in driving dynamics and overall enjoyment. i REALLY like my 500e. and its almost fast enough for me not to long for time seat time in the racecar.


...almost.

Low cost doesn't mean low value I love Fiats as well, and I have the same opinion about the ED I have on the way (coming soon, but from the test drive and the experiences I have in my gas smart, I know it's a winner). The public underestimates the value of a low-range commuter EV so much.

 

[Zapped]

Would love to see that sometime when you get it up north.

Should be here in early May and I will let you know

 

[miimura]

Fiat turned in a huge number in March 2015 sales with InsideEVs estimating 1,310 units. Fiat does not officially release sales figures, but InsideEVs reports that there were 1,223 applications for the CA State rebate. That sales number is more than double any prior month. The March leasing deal and the social media coverage of it really gave them a huge bump in sales. Fiat must not be losing that much money on it, otherwise they would cap the production. However, inventory has not rebounded at the dealers that were contributing to the good deals. In Northern California, the Berkeley Fiat store was not participating, so they still have more than 30 cars. The Fremont and San Jose stores have none or maybe one 500e.

 

[jerjozwik]

ive said it once and ill say it again. it really is a good car! kinda unstable at high speed but... really, when do i need to go over 70.

now if only they can sort out the troubleshooting and repair services a little better.

 

[RubberToe]

Mrs. Toe picked one of these up Saturday afternoon, now making us a two (Soul) EV family. The Android phone app for this guy is better than the Soul EV app. I only looked at it briefly, but it has the mileage, and climate control setting times like the Soul has, but also shows things like tire pressure for the individual tires! The interior isn't as nicely finished as the Soul, but the cost is 1/3 of the Soul for the lease payment. Can't beat that.

I have been offering Mrs. Toe the Kool-Aid for several years now about EV's. I had her drive my Soul EV to work for several weeks (my idea). Once she got over the range anxiety and realized that 100 miles is sufficient for an "LA County" car, she stopped talking about the "truck" (yikes) she was dreaming about getting. When I e-mail'd her the link to the story about the $89/month lease for the Fiat, she finally started gulping the Kool-Aid in a big way. She is now the non-stop evangelizer. Gives me more time to focus on other things during conversations with friends, like solar panels, and the concept of driving on sunshine :smile:

RT