Fiat Introduces 600e Across the Pond
The very Italian marque Fiat continues to roll out new products – in markets not named North America, of course. This time, we learn it is launching the all-electric 600e, sized larger than the 500e since it is intended to play in the B-segment.
And by “very Italian”, we, of course, mean its newest vehicle shares structure with a Jeep.
We confess to being slightly puzzled by Fiat’s choice in design direction for those headlamps, adding a skiff of body color to the upper reaches of the area’s circle. It does align with the car’s hood but makes the thing looks like it is tired. Or indulging in Colorado’s finest. Whatever the judgment, it seems most upcoming Fiats will share this styling cue.
Nevertheless, it looks every inch a Fiat despite sharing bones with the Jeep Avenger, another will-they-or-won’t-they model (in terms of bringing it to North America). The brand says its 600e packs a 54-kWh battery good for about 400 kilometers – about 250 miles – of range, though that’s on the endlessly optimistic WLTP cycle. It can hoover electrons from fast chargers belting out juice up at rates up to 100kW, meaning it should be possible to replenish the battery in about half an hour. A hybrid variant is in the works, apparently. The model has 155 horsepower and can run to highway speeds from rest in about 9.0 seconds. Not speedy, but probably more than adequate for zipping through Italian traffic and living the Dolce Vita.
In case you’re wondering, Fiat has sold a grand total of 282 cars through the first six months of this year, down 52 percent from the same time frame 12 months ago. That’s less than four times the number of Ram pickup trucks sold per day during the equivalent two quarters. Just the 500X holds a candle for the brand these days, though official sales stats show dealers managed to dig up three 500L and a lone 500 model to sell so far this year. The former vanished from our shores in the 2020 model year.
The Fiat 600e is expected to appear in Europe later this autumn.
[Images: Fiat]
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Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.
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Fiat's design language doesn't resonate with Americans. They should keep Fiat in Europe where it belongs. Stellantis already has brands here that sell well here. They just need to stock the brands with product and need to update more often. The Pacifica came out in 2017 and has only minor update in 6 years. Should of been a new model within 5 year cycle. Hyundai/Kia seems to constantly updating the products.
Fiats just aren't impressive. Hard to like a vehicle that feels like it was built in the 1960's but is sold as a new product. Road in a friend's recently and it was the worst experience since my sister's 1962 Falcon after we got it running.