Abarth 500e (2023 -) Electric review

Just like the Fiat 500 Electric on which it is based the Abarth is designed for city streets, though with its motorsport breeding it has aspirations for fun trips out to twistier roads and track days as well. Only available with the bigger of the two batteries offered on its Fiat brother, the Abarth is also more expensive, though the gap narrows compared with glitzier versions of the 500 Electric. Meanwhile the city dwellers it’s aimed at may not have access to the money saving benefits off-street parking and home charging can bring but the relatively small battery should be relatively quick and cheap to top up on the public network while congestion charge exemption and other incentives will also help save some money, at least for as long as they are offered.

Car bores will delight in scaring you with lazy stereotypes about poor Italian build quality but Fiat is now part of the wider Stellantis group along with Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall and others, the shared resources and expertise seemingly helping all of them build more dependable cars. At the time of writing it’s still too early to say if the Abarth 500e will reap the same rewards but, generally, the relative simplicity of electric cars should mean less to go wrong.

As the Abarth 500e is intended as an urban runabout we’re docking a point here for the lack of the automatic emergency braking and ‘Vulnerable Road User’ detection on the base trim level, given the ability of these systems to slam on the brakes if a pedestrian steps out or cyclist weaves in front of you is genuinely useful in city driving. Doubly so in the 500e, given the chunky bodywork creates huge blind spots that could block your view of bikes or people at junctions, crossings and roundabouts. You do get the (typically annoying) lane keeping tweaks and reversing beepers as standard but, again, for stuff like 360-degree parking cameras, blind spot warnings and more you need to dig deeper into your wallet.

If you’re buying your retro-styled electric supermini for family duties like the school run you’re better off with five-door Honda E or ORA Funky Cat, on the basis the Abarth 500e lacks rear doors and access to the cramped rear seats is something of a faff, as it is on the Mini. Driver and front-seat passenger get a much better deal, though, and the upright driving position will be confidence inspiring, the sporty looking seats suitably figure hugging and supportive. Forget the jiggly ride quality of the previous, petrol-powered Abarths as well, this electric 500e turning the extra weight of the battery pack to its advantage by feeling much smoother and more planted on the road. This more mature and refined nature doesn’t come at the expense of the fun or agility that’s always been the Abarth trademark, though.

On the face of it the regular Abarth 500e has all you’d need, including a digital instrument cluster and neat 10.25-inch central touch-screen packed with features like navigation and supported by connected services on your phone. Or you can connect an Apple or Android handset wirelessly and use your apps that way, if you prefer. A JBL speaker system and standard fit ‘noise generator’ simulating the signature sound of the old combustion-engined Abarths are also welcome features, though we’d like to be able to toggle the latter on and off with a single button rather than have to delve into the menus. It’s also a pain you can’t do it on the move. Word to the wise - make sure you disable it before committing to a long motorway drive if you don’t fancy being driven mad by the persistent drone. Dig a little deeper into the pricelist, though, and you’ll see the feelgood stuff like faux suede on the dash, seats and steering wheel, and the aforementioned driver aids (see ‘Safety’), are all reserved for the next trim level up. This is quite a stretch in financial terms as well, meaning the full Abarth experience could turn out more expensive than you’d first thought.

Abarth is making a big fuss about the noise generator system, and its attempt to bring some of the emotional spirit of its previous petrol-powered cars to the otherwise silent electric world. Hearing the 500e burble away at a standstill will be a bit of a novelty, especially for bystanders, and the noise builds convincingly as you drive away before settling to a persistent and somewhat irritating drone on a cruise. If that doesn’t appeal you can switch it off and enjoy the silent and instant response of the electric drive, which kicks in with an exciting shove off the line and is perfect for nipping into gaps in busy traffic. On paper the Abarth doesn’t look that much faster than the regular 500 Electric but the devil is in the detail and the engineers have made some small but significant changes to the motor, battery and gearing that translate to a much punchier driving experience. You can dial this back for extra range via the Turismo mode, this including a genuine ‘one-pedal’ setting to bring you to a halt by lifting off the accelerator. This makes stop-start traffic a breeze and puts some energy back into the battery, the trade-off for the extra performance being less range than the regular Fiat 500 Electric. Abarth claims just shy of 160 miles against nearly 200 for the Fiat version, the reality at the pace we drove being more like 120 miles. Plenty for urban errands and comparable with Mini Electric and Honda E but worth bearing in mind if you regularly travel beyond city limits.