As I've grown older though, I noticed that the less I need to drive, the happier I am. So I don't really need more than an appliance, I suppose.
With a 0-60 of 9 seconds, the Fiat 500e may be too low power. A 1993 Honda Civic is quicker than that and if you optioned a Civic coupe up to what comes standard (AC, power doors and windows, cruise) on the 500e, it was $14,700 in 1993[1], which is ~$32k today, which almost the same exact price of a 500e.
And you even get more than one airbag now!
The Bolt is also a great example, although it's pretty quick. In fact, a quick chatgpt search says both the Bolt and Leaf SV are over 200hp, so not a lot less than my 258hp Model 3 that's undoubtedly heavier.
The Kona EV completely slipped my mind; my sister has the hybrid version though. Although, the EV is a >$30k crossover but they _do_ sell a 138hp version so it's hardly a muscle car. There are no small cheap Hyundai EVs in the US.
Something like the Honda E is something I'd love to see in the US, although it's definitely a premium-priced product for a small car.
Small low power EVs are everywhere.
Unless you’re setting the bar so low that you expect a tiny 50-100 mile range car. That’s not going to happen because everyone would pass right over it and get an affordable EV with multiple times the range for only marginally more cost.
A Model 3 might check a lot of boxes, but its styling is definitely not unique, and the rest of car itself is tying to appeal to as many as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mtFYUOvYs8
A couple of thousand acres, big sheds, a couple of silos, a few trucks and combine harvesters and a go hard or go home frequently sideways attitude 'll do that, it seems.
In a similar manner a mechanic that works on aircraft engines for crop dusters capable of short take off and landing with heavy loads and drafting over fields with low clearance can also enjoy tuning the heck out of a V-8 and taking it to the limit.
It's not insecurity driving that behavior, it's confidence veering into over confidence.
You can see that same let's have a go and push it mentality in building MudCrab underwater EV cars
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-30/nt-world-record-darwi...
and MudSkipper not boat not aircraft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ILbQHnHPnY
https://techstory.in/teslas-roadster-2-0-still-coming-still-...
There's a similar issue to muscle cars in that although in theory my thing can do 155 mph down some autobahn, in practice it's way slower than the 15 mph ebike in town.