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The hard numbers

Why are we venturing into this challenge?
Simple: according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the average Dutch person drives only 26 kilometers daily.
Yet it seems that many consumers only consider an electric car when it can drive 1,000 kilometers on a full battery.
With a road trip, we want to test whether you can travel across the Netherlands with a compact EV, such as the Fiat 500e, just as easily as with a gasoline, diesel car or a large electric car with a huge battery.
We therefore choose one of the longest routes in the Netherlands: from Groningen to Maastricht.

The route

We start at Martiniplaza in Groningen.
The 500e is fully loaded and shows a range of 290 kilometers, just under the factory specification of 320 kilometers.
We don’t dive straight into the highway, but first set course for the heart of Groningen for completeness: the Grote Markt.
From there we entered our final destination in the navigation system: the Vrijthof in Maastricht.
So from the far north to the deep south.

Why the Fiat 500?

As mentioned, the Fiat 500e is the smallest EV you can currently get.
But although it looks small, it is surprisingly complete.
Of course it’s nice and agile in town, with an extremely short turning radius, but even on the highway the Fiat 500e feels remarkably mature.
You might not expect it from a city car, but it is nice and firm on the road.
Thanks to the battery pack, all the weight is in the floor, giving it very stable roadholding.
Even at 130 km/h, you don’t feel like you’re driving a city car.

Auxiliary systems

Moreover, it comes with driving assistance systems that you used to get only in big luxury cars, such as adaptive cruise control and lane assist.
These make life on the highway a lot more relaxed.
Not only on the quiet stretch from Groningen to Zwolle, but also in the busy traffic around Arnhem and Nijmegen, these systems prove their worth.
The Fiat keeps a neat distance from the car in front and ensures that we stay neatly within the lines of our lane.
The hard work you used to have to do in a city car on the highway is clearly a thing of the past.

Just charging: no problem

After about two and a half hours and 200 kilometers of driving, it’s time for a break: coffee, a croissant and a quick pee break.
We give ourselves a maximum of 10 minutes to recharge, because we won’t be stretching our legs extensively during this “challenge.
So the Fiat 500e also only gets 10 minutes to work up energy on the fast charger.
This turns out to be more than sufficient, because in 5 minutes alone it can recharge for 50 kilometers, which means that after our short coffee break we have more than enough power to reach Maastricht.
About 150 kilometers to go!

All the bells and whistles

The 500e we are driving is the La Prima version, the most luxurious version of the Fiat 500e.
And you notice it: a large panoramic roof, LED lights, 17-inch wheels, and a fat JBL audio system, it’s all there.
The interior exudes a chic atmosphere, but is also full of modern gadgets, such as a 10.25-inch touchscreen for navigation and media, which you easily pair with your phone via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

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Nice details are also plentiful.
For example, in the door strip you can see a subtle reference to the 1957 Fiat 500.
In the spot where you can wirelessly charge your phone, there is the skyline of Turin – Fiat’s home base.
And how about the seats, where the Fiat brand name is stitched in as many as fifty times.
It’s Italian charm to perfection.

3+1

The Fiat 500e comes in three flavors: the hatchback, a convertible for the wind in your hair and the version we are driving: the 3+1 variant with a quirky extra door.
That door opens in the opposite direction, so that you can easily put your child, your groceries or whatever you want in the back without any hassle.
Handy and a real eye-catcher.
Count on curious glances at the supermarket when you open both doors!

The finish line: Maastricht

After a long but relaxing drive via Venlo and Roermond, we finally reach Maastricht.
We cruise along the Vrijthof and end our road trip at the Royal Sphinx factory, just outside the city center.
The conclusion is simple: with a compact EV like the Fiat 500e, you can traverse the whole of the Netherlands without difficulty.
Its comfortable and mature driving characteristics make it suitable not only for short city trips, but also for longer distances within the Netherlands.
In the video below you can watch the adventure with the 500e: