Compare the2024 Nissan AriyaVS 2024 Fiat 500e

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Ariya are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Fiat 500e doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Ariya are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The 500e doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Ariya has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The 500e doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Ariya Platinum+ has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The 500e doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Ariya has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The 500e doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Ariya offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The 500e doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Ariya Evolve+/Premiere/Platinum+ has a standard Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The 500e only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Ariya and the 500e have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

The Nissan Ariya weighs 1371 to 2105 pounds more than the Fiat 500e. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

The Nissan Ariya achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The 500e has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Warranty

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Ariya 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Fiat covers the 500e. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the 500e ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ariya for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Nissan will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Fiat doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the 500e.

There are over 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Fiat dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Ariya’s warranty.

Engine

The Ariya’s standard electric motor produces 96 more horsepower (214 vs. 118) and 59 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 162) than the 500e’s electric motor. The Ariya +’s standard electric motor produces 120 more horsepower (238 vs. 118) and 59 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 162) than the 500e’s electric motor. The Ariya’s optional electric motors produces 217 more horsepower (335 vs. 118) and 251 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 162) than the 500e’s electric motor. The Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+’s standard electric motors produces 271 more horsepower (389 vs. 118) and 280 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 162) than the 500e’s electric motor.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Ariya can travel longer on a full charge than the 500e on a full charge:

			Miles
Ariya
	FWD	Venture+ Electric Motor	304 miles
		Evolve+/Empower+ Electric Motor	289 miles
		Engage Electric Motor	216 miles
	AWD	Engage+/Evolve+ Electric Motors	272 miles
		Platinum+ Electric Motors	267 miles
		Platinum+ 20" Wheels Electric Motors	257 miles
		Engage Electric Motors	205 miles
500e
	FWD	Electric Motor	149 miles

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Ariya’s brake rotors are larger than those on the 500e:

	Ariya	Ariya + e-4ORCE	500e
Front Rotors	11.7 inches	14.3 inches	11.06 inches
Rear Rotors	11.33 inches	13 inches	7.99” drums

The Nissan Ariya has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Only rear drums come on the 500e. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Ariya has larger standard tires than the 500e (235/55R19 vs. 205/45R17). The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 500e (245/45R20 vs. 205/45R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ariya has standard 19-inch wheels. Only 17-inch wheels are available on the 500e. The Ariya Platinum+ offers optional 20-inch wheels.

The Ariya has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The 500e doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Nissan Ariya has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Fiat 500e has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Ariya has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The 500e doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ariya’s wheelbase is 17.9 inches longer than on the 500e (109.3 inches vs. 91.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Ariya is 6.4 inches wider in the front and 6.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the 500e.

The Ariya’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the 500e’s (58.9% to 41.1%). This gives the Ariya more stable handling and braking.

Chassis

The Ariya Platinum+ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The 500e doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Ariya has standard seating for 5 passengers; the 500e can only carry 4.

The Ariya has 7.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the 500e (101.2 vs. 93.7).

The Ariya has .3 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom, 6.2 inches more front hip room, 6 inches more front shoulder room, 2.9 inches more rear headroom, 7.5 inches more rear legroom, 7.3 inches more rear hip room and 8.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the 500e.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ariya’s rear seats recline. The 500e’s rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Ariya Platinum+’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The 500e doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Fiat 500e is limited to 0 pounds. The Ariya e-4ORCE AWD offers up to a 1500 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+, the memory system makes it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver and front passenger’s seat positions, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster) and outside mirror angle. The 500e doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The 500e doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Ariya’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. Fiat does not offer a locking feature on the 500e’s standard power windows.

The Ariya’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The 500e’s power windows’ switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has standard heated front and rear seats, which keep the driver and passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated seats aren’t available in the 500e.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Ariya Platinum+ keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The 500e doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The 500e doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Ariya has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The 500e doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Ariya has standard rear a/c vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The 500e doesn’t offer rear vents.

The Ariya Empower+/Platinum+’s ProPILOT Park can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The 500e doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance.