Fiat now has all-new, all-electric Cinquencento

MANILA: Cinquencento is Italian for 500, which, as you may have already deduced, means that the brand has launched an all-new and all-electric Fiat 500. It has a range of 320 kilometers and uses 85kW fast charging as standard.

Its lithium-ion batteries have a capacity of 42kWh and only takes five minutes to give it a charge capable of traveling 48 kilometers. Keep it plugged in for 35 minutes and you’ll be able to charge it up to 80%. It accepts both DC and AC charging.

There are three driving modes to choose from, Normal, Range, and Sherpa.

In Sherpa, resources are optimized to reduce fuel consumption to a minimum. Maximum speed is limited to 80kph, accelerator response is managed, and the climate control system and heated seats are deactivated.

Normal mode is as close as possible to driving a vehicle with a normal combustion engine, while Range mode activates the “one-pedal-drive” function. By selecting this driving mode, the new 500 can be driven with the accelerator pedal alone. Releasing the accelerator causes much greater deceleration than with a normal combustion engine, almost as if the brake pedal was pushed. The brake pedal must be used to bring the car to a complete stop, however with daily use and a little experience, it is possible to drive using just the accelerator pedal.

Electric motor output is 87kW, which can send the Cinquencento from zero to 100kph in nine seconds.

A new feature in the Cinquencento is Level 2 autonomous driving. It uses a front-facing camera monitoring technology to monitor all areas of the car, both longitudinally and laterally, an Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (iACC) system brakes or accelerates in response to cars, cyclists, pedestrians, Lane Centering that keeps the vehicle in the center of the lane when the markings are correctly identified, Intelligent Speed Assist that reads the speed limits and recommends applying them, Urban Blind Spot that uses ultrasonic sensors to monitor the blind spots and warn of any obstacles with a triangular warning light on the wing mirror, Attention Assist to provide warnings on the display, recommending that you stop and take a break when you are tired, and 360-degree sensors for a drone-like view to avoid any obstacles when parking or performing complex maneuvers.

The 10.25-inch touchscreen display has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus the UConnect 5 infotainment system with the My Remote app that allows you to check on the vehicle charge level from a smartphone, use navigation, and contact driver support.

This third-generation unit comes with a dedicated 500 logo, which appears at the center of the front badge for the first time, in the place of the Fiat logo. The current 500 logo at the rear keeps its link with the past, albeit transformed into the dedicated all-electric version: distinguished and embellished by a light blue border, with a play of design and color transforming the final zero into a letter E.

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