$14K EV From Fiat Is Coming to the US

Americans in the market for a tiny, inexpensive vehicle have a new option: Stellantis is opening orders for the pint-sized, electric Fiat Topolino at a starting price of $13,995. CNBC reports that the two-seater "functions more like a golf cart" than a car, and it's not an exaggeration: The Topolino, technically a quadricycle, tops out at 19mph and gets about 46 miles per charge. A free "low-speed vehicle" kit can nudge the max speed to 25mph, making it legal on roads posted at 35 mph or below. "It's unbearably cute," declares Jalopnik, which gets a kick out of "what we're assuming are the shortest racing stripes in the world."

Built in Morocco, the "little mouse" will arrive in limited numbers this year as either a hardtop with doors or a soft-top that swaps doors for a rope. The car weighs about 1,000 pounds and is 8 feet long, a length similar to the former Smart cars sold in the US, notes the Wall Street Journal. It's in the same type of classification as upscale golf carts and low-speed vehicles, meaning it doesn't have to meet the same crashworthiness standards of regular cars, the Journal notes. Fiat's US sales have cratered from nearly 44,000 vehicles in 2012 to about 1,300 last year, but brand chief Olivier François is pitching the Topolino as a lifestyle play, saying it aims to make mobility "joyful" and "beautifully simple."