FIAT News

It's been said before, but the only way to understand why electric cars are a better way to drive is to drive one. The shorthand for that rule is "getting butts in seats." That's the process of putting inexperienced drivers behind the wheel of modern plug-in vehicles to let them experience the...

The 2016 Fiat 500X drives more like a tall car than a shrunken SUV.

Roughly 5,600 Fiat 500e electric cars will be recalled by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to fix a potential software problem with the cars' Limp Home mode. In a notice issued Saturday, the company said that, "incompatible software between Electric Vehicle Control Unit and Battery Pack Control Module may...

Suppose you could get a new electric car for $83 a month--and its running costs per mile were only a fraction of what a gasoline car would in fuel. That'd be almost a free car, right? Indeed, the allure of such a deal added to the viral nature of the Internet led to sales of roughly 100 Fiat 500e...

For those not familiar with the term, a "compliance car" is a zero-emission vehicle built in small numbers and sold largely or exclusively in California. Its sole purpose is to keep an automaker in compliance with the state's requirement that its six highest-selling carmakers sell or lease a...

The 2016 Fiat 500X makes its North American debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The 2014 Fiat 500e has far lower power and torque numbers than the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV; yet at city speeds, of below 40 mph or so, the 500E feels (and is) quicker. Given their nearly identical curb weights, the numbers would suggest the Spark being far quicker. The Chevrolet Spark EV is rated...

A large recall of Fiat 500e electric cars addresses possible coolant leaks.

OK, clearly he shouldn't have said, "I hope you don't buy it." But last week's little media explosion over Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's negative comments on the 2014 Fiat 500e electric car his company sells--in limited numbers, in California only--shouldn't be a surprise. To summarize his...

While the Chrysler portion of the newly constituted Fiat Chrysler Automobile company moves ahead on its revised product plan, there will be a new Fiat coming soon as well. The long-awaited 2016 Fiat 500X crossover utility vehicle, with available all-wheel drive, will be unveiled on July 4th...

Fiat, like MINI before it, thinks it's on to a good thing with its retro-styled small car, the 500. And like MINI, the Italian automaker thinks the best way of expanding on the car's popularity is to apply the badge to a whole range of vehicles--the latest being a four-door version of the currently...

While basing a selection of models on the same platform is nothing new these days, only MINI has managed to spin a whole range of cars off a minicar designed in the 1950s. If Fiat gets its way over the next few years, MINI won't be alone for long. According to Autocar, Fiat's global head of design...

There aren't many cars like the 2014 Fiat 500L on the market today. It's a tall wagon, not a crossover, because all-wheel drive isn't available. And it shares only a name and an engine with the much smaller Fiat 500 minicar that reintroduced the Fiat name to the U.S. market after a long hiatus...

It hasn't been on sale for long, but the 2013 Fiat 500e is already subject to its first recall. Chrysler has announced it's to recall more than 270 examples of the battery-electric 500 to replace bolts securing the car's half-shafts. Detroit News reports the recall was initiated following an...

Although we hate to say it here, for certain cars, sometimes gas mileage really just doesn't matter that much. That's our verdict on the 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, the new convertible version of the hot-hatch 500 Abarth minicar--the one whose television ad people are still talking about. Just in...

We liked the 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, a lot. It may be the best of the low-volume compliance cars, in fact--though the 2014 Chevy Spark EV and 2013 Honda Fit EV are pretty great too. We're less sure how we feel about the ad campaign Fiat is using to pitch the car, under the tagline...

If you've owned the retro-style Fiat 500 and subsequently had a family, or maybe always liked its styling but want a car with more space, then the 2014 Fiat 500L is probably the car for you. It's also on sale next month from a starting price of $19,100, with four trim grades to choose from and a...

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne isn't known for his love of electric vehicles. We really rate the company's first offering, the 2014 Fiat 500e electric car, but Sergio himself doesn't--speaking at the Society of Automotive Engineers 2013 World Congress, he reiterated that the company is losing...

The 2013 Fiat 500e may be a compliance car, but its engineers created an electric car that's so much fun to drive that seemingly they want it to be more. And with remarkably aggressive pricing--the same $199 monthly lease payment as on a top-of-the-line gasoline 500--Fiat's marketers are trying...

"But what if I want to drive across the country?" ask people who never drive across the country, when discussing the subject of an electric car's range. In a way, they do have a point. Unless you have time on your side, or a Tesla Model S and a string of Superchargers between yourself and your...