![]() So we have an electric city car very much in its element on our capital’s streets, but without the most optimal charging option. Not with the car, but with the UK’s public charging infrastructure, which I’ll have to rely on almost entirely. Why the boxing references? Well, aside from the fact that the 500 has given lots of other small EVs a bloody nose since its launch, it’s also a metaphor for what could, but I hope won’t be, some forthcoming scraps of my own. We’re going to find out how it stacks up in daily life on the Auto Express fleet. This impressive small electric car, which beat its rivals on test and did enough to convince us to bestow New Car Awards honours on it this year, is about to enter its toughest bout yet. In the fetching yellow jumper is me, its custodian for the next six months. the current champion in the Auto Express New Car Awards City Car of the Year category, the new, all-electric Fiat 500. In the grey corner, weighing in at 1,395kg and with an undefeated record in Auto Express group tests. Our current city car champ makes a good first impression in London, but the Fiat 500’s real tests are still to come At that point I gave up, and again climbed behind the wheel to head for the next rapid charger along my route. I phoned up the company’s helpline and, after a few minutes on hold, heard an all-too-familiar message about an unusually high number of calls. However, I made around six attempts to get it going, and each time was greeted with a message that read ‘CCS error’ followed by a plea to contact GeniePoint’s maintenance staff. Off the motorway and further along my route, I arrived at a GeniePoint rapid charger. With no other unit available, I decided to look elsewhere. Upon arrival, though, I found another car already plugged in. I realised a top-up would be needed sooner than I expected, so I set course for an Instavolt rapid charger at a service area. ![]() The indicated 165 miles I’d started with – already lower than the 199-mile WLTP range – had fallen to nearer 140 miles, and was dropping even further. New Fiat Panda SUV set for launch by 2023 with electric optionĪs I pulled on to the motorway, though, and accelerated to 70mph, the rate at which the 500 haemorrhaged miles of range was a little alarming. 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. 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.Īnd that’s no shame, because it excels in tight city streets. Those expectations have shifted a little since temperatures dipped over winter, with the car’s range readout predictably dropping. Instead, it bolstered my expectations of what this car can handle. New Fiat 500e Designio by Project Kahn reviewĮven taking the car on a weekend trip to rural Norfolk didn’t expose any limitations.Toyota Aygo X vs Hyundai i10 vs Fiat 500: 2022 group test review.
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