Electric Service From $199 a Month

Electric cars are getting cheaper. Although purchase prices vary, the Chevrolet Spark E.V. and Smart Electric Drive Cabriolet can be leased for three years at $199 a month, and the Fiat 500e at $239. That means consumers are likely to weigh factors other than the bottom line when deciding which — if any — of these small, stylish battery vehicles to put in their driveway.

The good news is that none of them are terrible. But would a pure electric vehicle meet your needs?

If your family has only one car and takes long trips, a plug-in hybrid like the Chevrolet Volt would probably be a better choice. But if you simply want a fun car for frugal, eco-friendly commutes, one of these may be worth considering. Federal and state incentives can sweeten the deal.

But public charging stations are not yet widely available, and the cars are offered in only a few states. All three are sold in California; two are also offered in at least one other state that follows California’s zero-emission vehicle rules.

Here are my impressions after recent test drives in all three cars:

Fiat 500e: California Dreaming

This electric Fiat is, alas, a California-only model, though the car’s chief engineer, Brett Giem, said distribution might expand to other states. Based on reactions to the test car, both to its buglike body and electric orange paint — officially called Arancio Elettrico — and to its sleekly retro two-tone interior, there would be takers elsewhere. This car is seriously cute; a readout bids you “ciao” when you shut it down.

The 500e is fun to drive, too. Like most battery electrics, it has great low-end torque — what you feel when you floor the accelerator — and takes off with the alacrity of a Venetian gondolier catching up to paying clients. Its 111 horsepower is 10 more than the gas version of the 500, and the weight is distributed more evenly, front to rear. Other cars passed me left and right on the highway, but high-speed Interstate travel isn’t the 500e’s forte.

The Fiat is comfortable for front-seat passengers, even tall ones, but it’s hard going for anyone (including children) stuck in the rear. The steering is sharp and the suspension is relatively stiff, though not unpleasantly so. The push-button shifter reminded me of my 1963 Dodge Dart. The view ahead is fine, but the center roof pillar partly blocks rear vision.

Over nearly 100 miles of combined city-highway driving, I got the electric-car equivalent of 121.3 m.p.g. (quite close to the E.P.A. rating of 116 m.p.g.e). That translates into 3.6 miles per kilowatt-hour or a respectable 79.9 miles per charge based on the available energy from the battery pack. The 500e has well-designed graphic displays to keep track of consumption and the state of charge, and also, like the other cars, a smartphone app.

I don’t have a 240-volt Level II home charger, and my garage outlet refuses to charge E.V.’s, so for all three vehicles I used the included 110-volt cable and snaked an extension cord into my kitchen. That got me enough charge for my needs.

In California, the $7,500 federal tax credit, $2,500 state rebate and $2,000 manufacturer’s incentive combine to make a serious dent in the $32,600 purchase price. You might be able to drive it away for $20,600.

Chevrolet Spark: Young at Heart

For my 17-year-old daughter Delia, this car was love at first sight. She liked everything about it: the size, the light blue color, the quiet electric operation. That bodes well for sales to a generation that, in many cases, would rather text than drive.

Like most people, Delia is accustomed to Chevys being larger than this one; the Spark is bigger than the Fiat, but not by much. And like that car, the Spark coddles its front-seat passengers but is less kind to those in the rear. The cargo area is tiny, and there’s no spare tire, only an inflation kit.

The 140-horsepower Spark, on sale since June, was also impressive off the line, with light steering and a well-damped ride that improved on the Fiat and Smart. With 400 pound-feet of torque, the Spark can zip from a standstill to 60 m.p.h. in less than eight seconds, and it held the road nicely. I simply loved to drive it around town.

There’s lots of body-color-painted metal inside, but the interior doesn’t look cheap, and everything fits together well. With an eye on those techno-savvy young buyers, the Spark also came with a sophisticated MyLink infotainment system that quickly got jazz playing from my iPod. As in the 500e, colorful displays keep the driver apprised of the state of charge and the remaining range. The display also guided me to a charger four miles away.

The E.P.A. rates the Spark E.V. at a combined 119 m.p.g.e. I averaged 3.8 miles per kilowatt-hour, and based on the available energy in the lithium-ion battery pack, that translated to about 72 miles of range (compared with the E.P.A. combined rating of 82). I’m a bit of a leadfoot, so you’d probably do better if you drove more judiciously, less if you make generous use of the tempting Sport mode.

For $750 more, the Spark offers the recently approved SAE “combo” plug, which means you can connect to either a 240-volt Level II charger or to a 480-volt Level III for fast charging (which can get you to roughly 80 percent of battery capacity in 20 minutes, compared with a seven-hour charge time with Level II).

It’s too bad the Spark is available only in California and Oregon. It costs $27,495, but the federal incentive gets that to below $20,000. The $199 lease price requires (like the Fiat) a $999 down payment.

Smart Cabriolet: Sunny Disposition

Unless I’m missing something, Smart offers the only battery-powered convertible in the country, which may explain its growing popularity in Southern California. Of course, Fiat offers a 500c Cabriolet with a folding top similar to the Smart’s, but the car isn’t available as a plug-in model.

The styling of the two-seat Smart Fortwo is getting dated, but the E.D. version features a nice interior with well-executed net pockets and tachlike pods showing the overall state of charge and battery pack performance. The placement of the ignition switch on the floor is reminiscent of Saabs and requires a period of adjustment. The car is tiny, but so tall I could have driven it wearing a top hat. Dropping the snugly fitted power top (with glass rear window) is simple — buttons control its two-position ascent and descent.

The 110-volt charger, with a bright yellow accordion cable, stores neatly in a case built into the fold-down tailgate. If you’re in a hurry, a button ramps the charging up to 12 amps, from eight.

With only 47 horsepower in ordinary use — though capable of 74 horses for short bursts of power — the Smart gets left in the others’ dust. And it responds lazily to the accelerator. But like the Fiat, the Smart drives better than its gasoline-powered twin, and it’s quicker, reaching 60 m.p.h. from a stop in 11.5 seconds (instead of 12.8). The floor-hinged brake pedal has a lot of travel, and the ride is rock-hard. Uneven pavement really jostles this car, which is a shame because it handles well and its steering is taut.

The Smart offers menus with statistics on electric performance, but they’re crammed into a small screen under the speedometer, with monochrome amber displays that recall computer monitors from the mid-1980s. The information might be easier to decipher if incorporated into the more modern infotainment screen.

For the uninitiated, the Lilliputian size of the Smart — any Smart — takes some adjustment, but nosing it into half a parking spot (and turning it around in my driveway) was a pleasure. Outside of my local library it attracted a few onlookers, but one of the librarians, Linda Quinn, had a concern: “It’s adorable, but I’d be afraid a Suburban would crush it.”

The E.P.A. rates the Smart E.D. at 107 m.p.g.e. in combined city-highway driving and its range at 68 miles. I didn’t do that well in mostly around-town driving; 2.6 miles per kilowatt-hour over 102 miles translates to just 46 miles of travel on a charge. My car’s performance may have suffered from a lot of top-down driving, along with use of the heater and radio, not to mention my heavy accelerator foot. Compared with the two other cars tested, the Smart E.D. is widely available: You can buy one in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. The $199 lease price (with $2,493 due at signing) is for the Cabrio; the fixed-roof Coupe E.D. can be had for $139 a month.

The Cabriolet purchase price is $28,750, but incentives are available. An $80-a-month Battery Assurance Plus rental program, covering maintenance and guaranteeing performance for up to 10 years — with full replacement if defective — is included in the lease deal.

Other E.V. Alternatives

Someone seeking a small E.V. has other choices. The Nissan Leaf is widely available, starting around $30,000. before incentives. BMW’s i3, an up-market city car with an optional range-extending gas engine, will be available in the spring for $42,275, as will a new generation of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The Honda Fit E.V. is available in some East and West Coast markets, with a compelling $259 a month lease deal that includes a home charger.

Ford makes an electric Focus, and the Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive goes on sale next summer.

Of the three tiny cars I tested, all had virtues. But in a head-to-head comparison it was the very lively Chevy Spark over the eye-catching Fiat 500e by an electron, with the Smart a good choice for intimate fun in the sun on an unhurried timetable.