New Fiat 500 Electrical in Malaysia – hatch and Cabrio, 320 km EV vary, 42 kWh battery, from RM250k

A lot of the electrical automobile (EV) speak now’s about charging and vary, and sure, it’s good to have quick charging charges and an extended vary. However the actuality is that despite the fact that they’re presently tax-free in Malaysia, EVs aren’t low cost and lots of are being purchased as toys – I doubt that there are a lot of EV customers who don’t have a couple of ICE automotive at dwelling.

Talking of dwelling, absolutely most EV customers have landed properties with dwelling charging, which permits the EV to slowly replenish in a single day, making a shorter vary extra acceptable. Longer journeys will be executed with the ICE fleet, leaving the EV for working round city. Which makes me curious – why aren’t extra EVs purchased purely for “enjoyable”, versus their technical capabilities? This is applicable to different courses of toys. What do you assume?

Small and classy, the Fiat 500 must be the proper metropolis automotive, which makes it – for my part – the proper base for an city EV. That’s what Fiat did, though the “New 500” (that’s the official title) isn’t fairly the acquainted 500 with its ICE swapped for a motor and batteries.

The New 500 a.k.a. 500 Electric was designed from the bottom as much as be an EV, and is constructed individually from the common 500 – in Turin, Italy vs Poland for the ICE, which this EV doesn’t exchange. Revealed in 2020, the New 500 is 60 mm longer and wider than the ICE 500, and its wheelbase is 20 mm longer.

Between the wheels is a 42 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that’s good for 320 km of vary on the WLTP cycle. That’s not unhealthy for a tiny automotive, and it beats fellow type icon-turned-EV MINI Cooper SE comfortably. The electrical MINI comes with a 28.9 kWh battery and 232 km of WLTP vary. It additionally trumps the Honda e‘s 220 km claimed vary. Fiat says that the New 500 does as much as 460 km in a pure city cycle (WLTP is mixed).

As for charging, the 42 kWh battery helps DC quick charging as much as 85 kW – Fiat says that topping as much as 80% SOC takes 35 minutes, and simply 5 minutes of quick charging will web you a day’s value of driving (50 km). For normal AC charging (CCS2 socket), a 3 kW cable is offered, whereas a three-phase 11 kW cable is optionally available, as is a wallbox.

As for efficiency, the New 500’s 118 hp (87 kW) single electrical motor pushes the little Fiat from 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds, whereas prime velocity is 150 km/h. Extra vital for a metropolis automotive, 0-50 km/h takes simply 3.1 seconds, due to immediate torque. There’s additionally a single-pedal driving mode.

The purple and black regular hatchbacks (not the 3+1) you see listed below are (RED) version vehicles. Like (RED) iPhones, this partnership helps fights well being emergencies like AIDS and extra just lately, Covid-19. Every buy of a (RED) automotive triggers a donation to the worldwide fund.

Particular exterior particulars embrace a 500 (RED) brand on the windowline and red-painted particulars (entrance and rear logos, mirror caps, will be seen clearly on the black automotive). Each these items additionally include the optionally available 16-inch wheels with purple logos on the hubcaps.

Contained in the (RED) vehicles, you’ll discover the five hundred (RED) brand printed on the black cloth seats, which even have a Fiat monogram. The logos and piping are in contrasting purple, which matches the purple dashboard. Different purple bits will be discovered on the steering wheel 500 brand, key fob and flooring mats. The seats are partly product of Seaqual Marine Plastic, a uncooked materials constituted of marine litter.

There’s extra. The air cabin filter, seat cloth, steering wheel leather-based and trunk carpet have been handled with a biocide substance with extremely efficient motion in opposition to micro organism, viruses and fungi. There’s additionally a “sanitising glove field” with a UV-C lamp. Activate it by inserting in your small objects (telephone, keys, and many others) and urgent a centre console button. The “hygienisation cycle” will take three minutes and a blue indicator and chime will inform you when it’s executed.

Fiat’s disclaimer says that the sanitising glove field is just not an digital gear for sterilisation however merely helps improve the hygiene of the floor of the products. Clearly a automotive born within the days of Covid.

If you wish to be distinctive, would possibly as nicely go all the way in which? The white automotive that completes the trio is a Cabriolet with a sliding blue cloth prime and shortened boot lid. This isn’t a (RED) automotive just like the hardtop hatchbacks, however a high-spec Icon mannequin, which comes with goodies similar to 16-inch multi-spoke alloys, electrical door deal with with e-latch, body-colour dashboard, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment and melange pinstripe cloth seats. Stylish. By the way in which, discover the pic of the within door deal with within the gallery under, and have a look at what’s inside.

Fascinated by this little slice of la dolce vita? These three items of the electrical Fiat 500 have been introduced in by Hamza Motors, positioned in Kampung Sungai Penchala, simply subsequent to TTDI. The 2 (RED) hatchbacks are going for RM250k whereas the Cabrio is yours for an additional RM5,000.

Not low cost, in fact, however Italian trend items aren’t identified for optimum bang for buck. There’s a value to pay for exclusivity, and this piece of design is iconic – Fiat effortlessly reworked the five hundred from ICE to electrical with out compromising its type. The EV specs are literally very first rate too when in comparison with design-first friends such because the MINI Cooper SE and Honda e. Parallel importers are hawking the latter for above RM200k as nicely.

Which cute electrical hatchback would you fairly have? The one from Italy, England or Japan? Click on on the hyperlinks above to test them out and resolve.

GALLERY: Fiat New 500 (RED) Version

GALLERY: Fiat New 500 Cabrio