Just Leased A Fiat 500E Electric Car

[stopbush]

Got it yesterday, mainly so my son has a car to get him to work and the local college.

I was surprised at the pick up this little car has. It can go 85-100 miles before needing a recharge. Comes with a cable you can plug into any 110 outlet. You can also buy a 220 version that will charge the battery in half the time. Total time to charge for an empty battery is 23 hours. We charged it overnight in the garage and got it from 90% to 100% in just over an hour. Fiat also has charging stations at the dealership which are free to use - convenient, as they're just down the street from my son's college.

I believe this car is being sold only in CA right now. There are some real incentives involved. CA is giving a $2500 rebate to anyone leasing/buying the vehicle. That rebate comes right back to me - it basically pays the first 10 months of the monthly lease payment. Plus, the Feds are giving a $7500 rebate for going electric. That money goes straight to the dealer and figures as part of the down payment.

In our case, we put down $2000 which got us a monthly payment of $251 for 36 months. That $2000 includes the first month's payment, and the $251 rate includes that insurance you pay to cover any damage incurred once you turn the car in at the end of the lease.

Pretty decent deal. I'll be happy to not be paying for gas, which is not cheap here in SoCal. You can't make any long trips in the thing, but for the daily routine it's pretty sweet.

[snooper2]

1. I'm planning on getting a 500, not that version though

The badass ABARTH!


Listen to this baby!

[JNelson6563]

2. Nice! I have a 500c and love it!

May upgrade to an Abarth next time 'round. Enjoy!

Julie

[JNelson6563]

3. Good for you!

Sounds like a smart choice!

Julie

[whatthehey]

4. nice deal

electric cars have a flat instantaneous torque "curve", so while they are no great shakes at highway passing they accelerate off the line, wher far more accelerating is done in normal driving, better than gas cars. The equivalent BMW for example is their fastest car to 30mph.

The vast majority of drivers have rare needs to exceed normal EV range, and gas savings even for a single car family would easily pay for rentals for those rare times in most cases. For families with multiple cars, there is a need for multiple ICES only if all drivers are travelling salespeople or have frankly insane 40+mile each way commutes. I'm sure somebody will stridently claim they couldn't possibly make one work, but such people are rare exceptions. There is a reason standard leases and insurance rates are based on 12-15000 miles a year. Even if you absurdly assume not a single non-commuting mile that implies a max 31 mile commute each way, well within the range of most EVs for many years of battery life. And that's an extreme itself. as the NHTS shows the average commute at just over 12 miles.

[scarystuffyo]

5. pretty cool

[NightWatcher]

6. be sure to get a good bike lock for it so no one walks away with it

?363b75

[Hoyt]

7. I think these new Fiats are really cool cars. I'm seriously considering one when the time comes.

My brother had a Fiat in the early 1970s that was one of the most fun and practical cars I have ever driven. I've wanted on every since I drove his.

While Italian cars are always saddled with "reliability" concerns, they are just well designed, beautiful and practical. I think a three year lease is just about perfect.