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Tag: Car Reviews

  • What the Electric Fiat 500e Is Like—From a Fiat 500 Owner

    What the Electric Fiat 500e Is Like—From a Fiat 500 Owner

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    It’s also nice to use a car with modern amenities like lane guidance and auto braking when it detects a pedestrian. Heck, even having a reversing camera is nice. However, the Fiat 500e constantly warns me about “emergency vehicles” in front on the display (it plays a scarily loud sound, too), but it’s unfortunately wrong 80 percent of the time. Stop giving me a heart attack!

    The Old Range-and-Charging Problem

    You’re getting a roughy 150-mile range on the Fiat 500e, which is OK for how often I drive. I don’t commute for work, so most of my trips are for leisure. I did drive the 500e more often than I probably would in a normal week, but after four days, I went from 96 to 41 percent after around 53 miles. This poses a problem when I need to make the occasional longer jaunt, like when visiting my in-laws or going on a road trip.

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    An exterior photograph of the Fiat 500e

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    I have a house with a parking spot in New York City, which makes me very privileged and lucky to be able to charge from home—however, the charger Fiat includes was just a smidge too short to reach the charging outlet at the back of my house. Regardless, many folks are not going to have a luxury like that and will have to use charging stations. When I tried looking for charging stations near me, almost all were described as “slow.” Thankfully, there was just one marked as “fast.”

    But before that, earlier in the week I found myself near WIRED’s Manhattan office, and I figured I’d find a spot to park and charge the car while I sat in the office for two hours. The first parking garage I went to was full, so they turned me away. The second I went to said it’d cost $60 to charge and park for two hours because, in New York City, you’re not paying only for electricity but also real estate. Sixty dollars boosted my battery from 41 to 77 percent. It’s worth noting that I regularly pay around $35 every two weeks to refuel my gas Fiat 500 (and it takes a few minutes).

    Finding the right fast-charging station is important. The one near my home that had plenty of spots available (on a Thursday evening), and I watched many EV drivers passing the time in their cars as they charged, watching videos on their phones. I pulled up, plugged the car in, and after roughly 20 minutes I had gained 20 percent, which cost me roughly $4. Now I can get used to that.

    I didn’t get to test drive the Fiat 500e on a longer trip, though I imagine I’d have to be a bit more meticulous about making sure there are fast chargers on my route and time it so that a 30-minute recharge could perhaps fall right during a lunch or bathroom break. It’s more involved, and this is arguably the biggest pause I’d have about buying an EV if I frequently make long trips (but I don’t).

    Let’s Talk Money

    While I was researching a car to buy, I frequently saw the backronym for Fiat: Fix It Again Tony. These cars seem to have earned a poor reputation for reliability and maintenance over the years. I had the 500 I bought inspected, and it was in fair condition, though the previous owner did tell me they had to replace the car’s door handles after they broke off. I have never heard of a car’s door handles just breaking off, but apparently it’s a common problem among Fiats. I can’t say much about the reliability of the Fiat 500e in the US, but I’m hoping it’s improved.

    The elephant in the room is the $32,500 starting price (the model I tested starts at $36,000). You have tons of EV options with more room and better range, like the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona Electric, and the Tesla Model 3.

    However, if you’re after a small car, there really aren’t many options in the US, save the new Mini Cooper SE, which has a $30,900 starting price. I’m consistently envious watching my UK counterparts enjoying a suite of tiny and affordable electric cars—we need them here, too. (I would totally drive the Microlino.)

    The Fiat 500e is too expensive, but we’re starved for choice in the US, especially for small EVs that look great. The Fiat 500e is just that. I’d easily choose to drive it over my gas model; too bad it’s out of my budget. It also doesn’t come in yellow (boo!). If Fiat could solve those two problems, I’d happily open my wallet.

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    Julian Chokkattu

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  • Ferrari 296 GTS Hybrid Review: ‘Arresting, uncanny beauty’ with $366,139 price tag

    Ferrari 296 GTS Hybrid Review: ‘Arresting, uncanny beauty’ with $366,139 price tag

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    Don’t make the mistake of patronizing the Ferrari 296 GTS. I know it’s tempting, because this $366,139 centerfold packs a V-6 hybrid setup rather than the 8- and 12-cylinder power plants that have made Ferrari NV famous. There’s a lot of pride and brand identity built into those internal combustion machines. “Ferrari doesn’t make cars, Ferrari makes engines,” as the saying goes.

    The smaller engine is not without precedent. The company made road-going V-6s in the 1970s, though it doesn’t recognize those “Dino” models as official, brand-name Ferraris, even today. It’s a long story having to do with Enzo Ferrari’s deceased son, nicknamed Dino, and some sort of weird machismo about how many cylinders belong in an engine before it can be considered manly. (The models were designed and built by Ferrari but marketed as a new, entry-level brand called Dino.)

    Anyway. As Ferrari rolls toward its first all-electric car, arriving next year, it makes sense that it would also make a hybrid or two. The 296 GTS is the open-air version of the excellent Ferrari 296 GTB plug-in hybrid, which made its debut in 2021, following the LaFerrari mild hybrid of 2013. 

    I drove the 296 GTS around South Beach and Miami’s Design District, over Rickenbacker Causeway, and out to Hard Rock Stadium during the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. It was a Ferrari-heavy weekend: The brand was celebrating 70 years of sales in the US and had unveiled a glorious new pair of 12-cylinder sports cars. I tried not to get too distracted. Here’s what I thought. 

    The Essentials

    The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-seater combines 819 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque. It has seven miles of all-electric range and 47 MPGe in combined gasoline and electric driving. With a smooth eight-speed transmission and ultra-supple handling, it will get to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 205 mph. 

    The Good

    Arresting, uncanny beauty characterizes this stunning Spider. I drove one in Blu Corsa, a decadent tone that accentuated its most seductive angles and highlighted its rear buttresses, worthy of a feature in Architectural Digest. This is one of the rare convertibles that looks as good with the top up as it does with it down. (The roof folds down in 14 seconds, at speeds of up to 28 mph.) Either way, this Italian treat exists not in the realm of fashion but in the realm of style.

    Possibly even more exciting, the 296 GTS is faster than almost anything else you can buy—but the way the handling, suspension and balance of the car control that speed so elegantly is what makes driving it an unforgettable experience. The hybrid power plant excelled when I drove slowly through pedestrian-heavy Collins Avenue; its all-electric mode kept the car blessedly silent so I wasn’t that person with a screaming engine disturbing the joggers and cyclists as they enjoyed the ocean vibes.

    Cruising over Miami’s many bridges and overpasses felt like a chance to fly. That’s when the full power of Ferrari’s unique engine made the car soar. In those exhilarating moments, submitting to legal speed limits became my only concern. 

    The Bad

    The inane infotainment system. The maddening setup offers a postage stamp of a haptic touchscreen on the steering wheel to control simple things such as the radio station. I had to rely on my passenger and their own little dashboard-mounted control screen to adjust the climate and audio and to sync my phone with the car, which was almost as complicated and annoying for them as it was for me. Anyone who’s tried to reason with the old-world Italian mentality of time and order will get it. (An American who works for an Italian company once told me, “Italians are great at making simple things complex and complex things simple.”) We love them for it. 

    If you’ve got long legs or big feet or both, you’ll find the footbox rather claustrophobic. 

    If You Remember One Thing

    There’s a reason why Ferrari’s order banks are full years in advance, even when the average price of its cars is four times higher than Porsche’s. The company sets the bar for sexy sports cars that are fun to drive and that look incredible even when parked. The 296 GTS is one of them. 

    Still unconvinced? Drive it around for a day and bask in the appreciative looks from your fellow drivers and in the sheer fun of driving it, and just keep your mouth shut about what’s under the hood. Nobody needs to know it’s only a V-6. 

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    Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg

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