Fiat Cinquecento: Electrifying Turin Trio | Tyrolean daily newspaper online

Turin – what would Sergio Marchionne say? The manager, who died in 2018 and who helped Fiat to new heights financially, made no secret of what he thought of an electrified Cinquecento during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer: Not much. There has been such a construct before, reserved for the North American market. Since the small-car Stromer was seen as a loss maker in Marchionne’s eyes, the Italians quickly stopped production of the derivative.

Now, however, the electrified city flea is returning – with the prospect of a permanent presence, because the new generation of the Cinquecento is, at least for the time being, fully electric. Nevertheless, there is a choice: between two performance levels / two battery sizes on the one hand, and between three body variants on the other. In addition, the reference to four equipment levels should not be missing.

But first things first: The 3.63-meter-long Cinquecento of the third generation basically has four seats and a wheelbase of 2.32 meters. The trunk holds between 185 and 550 liters, so, as expected, does not leave much room for luggage.

At least 180 kilometers range

The situation is different with the motorization: The basic version is equipped with a 95 hp electric motor that is connected to a lithium-ion battery with a net capacity of 21.3 kilowatt hours. The range according to the WLTP standard is 180 kilometers here.

500 drivers will get much further in the future with the more powerful expansion stage, which is equipped with a 118 hp electric motor and a 37.3 kWh battery (net). According to the data sheet, this means a range of between 298 and 321 kilometers (WLTP). The difference in acceleration is not that great: the base needs 9.5 seconds for the sprint from zero to 100 km / h, the top variant 9.0 seconds. The maximum speed in the first case is 135 km / h, in the second case 150 km / h.

Mothers and fathers will be happy about it

Fiat offers the new Cinquecento as a three-door hatchback, as a two-door convertible and – to the great surprise – as a 3 + 1-door. This version has a small rear-hinged rear door on one side to facilitate access to the second row of seats. Mothers and fathers will be happy that they can buckle their children up more comfortably.

A look at the brand new price list reveals that Fiat is striving to distribute the more powerful version of the electric 500 in particular, because the 95 PS variant is only intended for the hatchback in the basic version Action (from 24,990 euros). Above this are the equipment levels Passion, Icon and La Prima, which are reserved for the 118 hp engine. Here the Hatchback Passion starts at 28,390 euros, the Cabrio Passion at 31,390 euros and the 3 + 1 Passion at 30,390 euros. The Marchionne calculator would be happy with the calculation. (panty)