By: Jag Dhatt
When you think of high fashion and design, your mind instantly drifts to names like Milan, Paris, London or New York. You think of tailored lines, minimalist elegance, and names that carry a global presence. So, when Italian-made Fiat collaborated with the legend himself to create the 2025 Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani Collector’s Edition, we all knew it would be unique.
When the updated Fiat 500e was released a couple of years ago, it received accolades for its cute design. It was small, two-door and seemed something that would fit in any European city, zipping along the cobblestone roads.
The Armani edition I tested had an exclusive, matte Dark Green Metallic, that while modern, just doesn’t have the same “pop” as the whites or reds. Moreover, the bespoke 17” two-tone Armani wheels looked cheap as compared to the regular ones that come standard. All that being said, in a city like Vancouver, where the streets are filled with a sea of monotonous, identical crossovers, this little Italian hatchback is a breath of fresh air.
Now, one of the absolute biggest selling points of the Fiat 500e is its cute looks and the fact that it could be driven by a wide array of people – from students to young adults to seniors. It retains that iconic, retro-modern Cinquecento silhouette but elevates it to a premium art form.
Driving the Fiat 500e around the Lower Mainland highlights exactly where it thrives. It is exceptionally nimble and laughably easy to drive. Whether navigating the chaotic traffic of downtown Vancouver, zipping through Gastown, or squeezing past delivery trucks in the West End, it’s just so easy to drive. The steering is light and precise, and because of its remarkably tight turning radius, U-turns on narrow streets are effortless, which I did on several occasions. Parking is an absolute dream; even spaces built for sub-compact vehicles look big for the Fiat 500e. This car zips through traffic gaps with instant electric torque, making city driving genuinely fun again.
However, that compact footprint is a double-edged sword. When I say this car is small, I mean very small. The rear seats are best suited for groceries, gym bags, or the office bag. Trunk space is also deeply limited. With all that said, I was able to squeeze in two my teenage kids into the back seat for short commutes. I would definitely not recommend having passengers in the back for any long commute whatsoever.
The biggest major compromise for the Fiat 500e is the driving range. Packing a modest 42-kWh battery pack, the 500e serves up a combined estimated range of just 227 kilometers, which I found to be quite accurate; sometimes, I was able to squeeze up to 250 km on a single charge. Thus, if your daily routine consists of commuting around the city, doing some shopping, and heading home, it’s more than sufficient. But if you are planning a weekend road trip up the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler or heading out to Harrison Hot Springs, you will be plagued by range anxiety and forced to plan your day around DC fast-charging stops. It’s safe to say that the Fiat 500e is strictly an urban vehicle and not a long-distance cruiser. But Fiat never once misled the public and stated that it was an urban commuter.
Despite its minuscule dimensions, Fiat didn’t skimp on convenience factors. Step inside, and you’re greeted by a superb cabin featuring chevron-stitched eco-leather seats and a laser-cut wood insert stretching across the dashboard. And like other Stellantis vehicles, the tech is surprisingly robust, highlighted by a crisp 10.25” Uconnect 5 touchscreen display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, paired alongside a clear 7-inch digital driver instrument cluster. The Fiat 500e also comes fully loaded with features like rain-sensing wipers, a wireless high-speed phone charging pad, automatic high-beams, and a premium 7-speaker sound system that sounds better than one would expect. You feel pampered inside, insulated from the city hustle. More importantly, some of the features are usually extra options on similar or higher priced vehicles.
The biggest hurdle for the Fiat 500e Armani Edition, however, is its high sticker price. With our test vehicle pushing close to $45,000 (base price is $39,995) mark before taxes and delivery fees, it enters a price bracket where you can easily cross-shop significantly larger electric vehicles that offer double the passenger room and almost double the driving range. Paying a massive premium for a fashion badge on an ultra-compact city car is a tough pill to swallow for the average consumer.
In fact, I have some very personal insight into the economics of this car. My family is currently leasing a Fiat 500e Red Edition (not Armani), and to be completely blunt, we only brought it home because the monthly lease rate was an absolute steal at $180 per month. When you see these little electric hatchbacks zipping around the Lower Mainland now, that monthly payment is the exact and only reason why so many of these vehicles were leased. At $180 a month, it makes total sense as an affordable, zero-emission secondary commuter. At full retail price, however, it becomes a much harder sell.
And that brings me to my final verdict. If this car were priced more aggressively from the factory across the entire lineup, it would be an absolute home run and a great buy. The style (even without the premium Armani details), the effortless city maneuverability, and the everyday convenience factors make it an incredibly endearing package. It is the ultimate fashionable commuter car for a trend-conscious Vancouverite—provided you can find the right deal to match its downsized dimensions.