Fiat 500e 3+1 debuts

Fiat has revealed a unique three-door derivative of its new Fiat 500e EV, in the form of the Fiat 500 Electric 3+1, but local Fiat Chrysler Automobiles officials remain undecided about whether to import any versions of the Italian brand's born-again city-car to Australia.

A follow-up model from the new Fiat 500e shown in March, the Fiat 500 Electric 3+1 is described as “all-new, all-electric, and with an extra door”.

Replacing the current Fiat 500 first launched back in 2007, the new Fiat 500e is based on an all-new platform and will be purely electric.

That poses something of a question mark in Australia, where the current 500 remains available in both Fiat and Abarth forms, particularly around whether the projected sales volume would warrant the local introduction of the 500e.

“We haven’t decided on the next-generation Fiat 500 and we are continuing to assess the business case for the Australian market,” a Fiat Australia spokeswoman told carsales.

Similar to a Hyundai Veloster in concept, the Fiat 500 3+1 has identical exterior dimensions to the regular two-door 500e, but adds a third smaller, rear-hinged 'suicide' door behind the front passenger's door.

There's no extra door behind the driver's door on the new three-door model, and it's not yet known whether the arrangement will be flipped for right-hand drive markets like the UK or Australia, although Fiat has said the 3+1 "will firstly be made available for left-hand-drive markets".

Fiat says the additional structure adds about 30kg to the kerb weight of the Fiat 500e, but won’t affect handling or energy consumption.

Like the standard Fiat 500e, the 3+1 rides on Fiat's first dedicated-EV platform and is powered by a small 42kWh lithium-ion battery and driven by an 87kW electric motor that can cover up to 320km between charges on the strict WLTP test cycle.

Away from the lights, the tiny plug-in Fiat can reach 100km/h in nine seconds – but the Italian car-maker says more relevant is its 0-50km/h time of 3.1 seconds. Top speed, meanwhile, is 150km/h.

Maximising its range, the small Fiat has three driving modes, with the most efficient setting, the ‘Sherpa’ mode, said to reduce power, throttle response and climate control.

Reducing charging times, the Fiat 500e gets an 85kW fast-charging system that can top up the battery from empty to 80 per cent in 35 minutes.

Not much bigger than the original Fiat 500 of 1957, the new city-car measures 3630mm long, 1690mm wide and 1530mm tall, making it 60mm wider, 60mm longer and 40mm taller than the second-generation model launched in 2007, while the wheelbase increases by 20mm.

Also available with a soft-top roof opening, the new Fiat 500e will come with a 10.25-inch touch-screen that runs FCA’s latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system including sat-nav, wi-fi, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus an instrument cluster with 7.0-inch TFT digital display.

In the UK, where it goes on sale in December ahead of first deliveries in March 2021, the new Fiat 500e will be priced from £19,995 ($A35,135) after government incentives and the current Fiat 500 will remain on sale for at least another two years.