Many drivers will have had enough of unnecessarily rapid electric cars gunning about the place, so the 600e’s unashamed focus on comfort, efficiency and style is fine by us. The interior dash fascia is ultimately the same as that in the Jeep Avenger, but that’s no bad thing.
Fiat’s own touches, like its familiar oval dashboard, rounded dial cluster and Fiat-branded seats make for a charming cabin. In fact, the Fiat 600e has one of the most welcoming and comfortable interiors of the Stellantis EV line-up.
The painted insert – a smart, matt, ivory colour in top-spec La Prima that matches the cream and electric blue leatherette upholstery very nicely – draws your eye but doesn’t look tacky, and all the major touch points feel pleasantly tactile.
Sure, some of the plastics lower down feel cheap, and the magnetic, flip and fold cubby cover that’s reminiscent of an iPad case may not be to everyone’s tastes but we don’t mind it.
It all looks modern and not boring, and – praise be to the gods of ergonomics (pretty sure they’re German and not Italian) – there are physical air-con controls. The new 10.25in Uconnect touchscreen infotainment isn’t bad, either.
The graphics are clear and it’s easy to hop between functions, but even our most tech-savvy driver found it wasn’t the most intuitive unit on the market, with some confusing gestures and menus. This is circumvented fairly easily, though, given you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, even on the lower-rung 600e (RED) model.
We’ve established that Fiat loves a PR statement, and it continues when it describes the 600e’s interior. The brand says it fulfils a “500 plus 100 reasons” ethos, which implies more space while retaining all the features that makes the smaller 500 so characterful and driveable.
It’s certainly spacious enough, with plenty of headroom in the front and rear, but while there’s room for three in the back it might get a bit tight for some.
It’s not as spacious as the Cupra Born or VW ID 3, or even the MG 4 and Nissan Leaf, but not far off those last two at all, and it’s a bit more compact and – at 1520kg – not too hefty by the standards of family EVs.
You’ll still get an average-sized adult sat comfortably behind a tall driver, or two chunky car seats will slot in just fine.
The boot is a practical shape, measuring 360 litres – great for light family motoring and/or medium-sized dog duties, although it’s annoying that the variable boot floor isn’t standard on the base 600e.
This feature lifts the boot floor to be flush with the load lip and the 60/40 split rear seat backs when they’re folded, and it creates some useful underfloor cable storage.
The 600e’s boot is similar to the 363 litres in the MG 4 but down on the Cupra Born’s 385 litres. The smaller Vauxhall Corsa, meanwhile, comes in at 267 litres, and the GWM Ora 03 has an even smaller 228-litres.
