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Almonte is preparing to wake up from the lethargy of two years without being able to celebrate the pilgrimage of El Rocío, one of the most deeply rooted popular religious manifestations in Spain and whose origins are documented in 1335. We have taken advantage of the route between Seville and the village of El Rocío to test the benefits of the Fiat 500e on a round trip from Seville. A way to make the wayaway from the orthodox way -on foot or on horseback-, but just as respectful of the environment.
There are 88 kilometers between Seville and the hermitage of El Rocío. A route that runs mostly by highway, except for the last 25, from Bollullos del Condado, which are by a regional road, without excessive difficulties.
In total there are about 170 kilometers round trip.
We chose the Fiat 500e for a clean pilgrimage, a small electric model with 118 hp motor and a 42 kWh battery, which offers 320 km of autonomy approved under the WLTP cycle. An autonomy that is actually reduced to 250 kilometers despite driving contained. The route takes the electric vehicle out of its natural environment, urban circulation, in which the car rarely exceeds 50 km/h. However, we do the test on the road, with vehicles that travel at 120 km/h. The first thing we have to do is change the chip when entering the highway with an urban electric car, because the inertia and the average speed of the rest of the vehicles invite you to step on the accelerator.
The Fiat 500e has no difficulty driving at 120 km/h despite its small size and is familiar with the rest of the vehicles around it. However, you have to be aware that if you fall into the trap and go to the allowed limit, you will see how the fuel cell descends vertiginously. When we had traveled about 30 km (25% of the total journey we wanted to make), the battery had fallen below 80%, which set off the alarms if we wanted to complete the pilgrimage.
How to get it? There are two ways, reduce the speed manually or take advantage of the driving modes that the Fiat 500e incorporates -Normal, Range and Sherpa-. What most differentiates the first from the other two is the level of retention of the electric motor, because in the normal one it does not occur (when you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal the car continues to move forward due to its inertia), but in the others it can be drive the car in most situations without having to use the brake pedal. The Sherpa mode is designed to obtain the greatest possible autonomy, and it achieves this by limiting the maximum speed to 80 km/h, changing the throttle response and deactivating the climate control.
On the move, the 500e has superb ride quality, sound insulation and impeccable suspension. Its reactions to sudden maneuvers when traffic requires it, are safe, it behaves almost like a motorcycle on urban routes. The interior, without being particularly spacious, is cozy. The position at the wheel is comfortable because the seat is no longer so high off the ground and the steering wheel is not adjustable in height and depth. The trunk has 185 liters of capacity, enough to transport two trolley cases and a handbag.
When the battery charge level reaches 4%, the autonomy data of the trip computer disappears and a fourth operating mode, Turtle mode, is automatically activated. This mode limits engine power and disables non-essential electrical components (and can’t be re-enabled by the driver). Additionally, a warning light appears on the instrument panel. Luckily we completed the route without problems and returned to Seville with a 12% battery charge.
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