Living with a… Abarth 500e (Final Report)

Fun, joyous, good-looking, nippy, easy to park and electric … what is not to like about the Abarth 500e? The scorpion badge adorning Fiat’s sporty sibling brand is now pinned to a more aggressive, powerful version of the incredibly popular Fiat 500e . But is it worth the extra cash? We’ll see over the next six months.
Skip to: Month 1 – Any sting in the tail? Month 2 – The potholes strike again Month 3 – Bass in your face, wind in your hair Month 4 – Small, but mighty Month 5 – A truthful battery Month 6 – Ciao!

Erin says: “It’s like a slice of sunshine on the grey February roads; everyone smiles at you, people let you out of junctions. She’s my dinky wedge of la dolce vita, my daily happiness pill. Ciao, bella!”

Trips taken

All local journeys this month, which is unsurprising given the maximum range of the Abarth 500e Turismo is 150 miles, and 136 miles has been the maximum I’ve squeezed out of this baby so far. But that’s to be expected for the size of this pocket rocket and a small battery means low range but also a quick charge. Seeing as the majority of my trips in the week consist of the five-mile school drop off, the two-miler to Sainsburys, and the three-miler to the station to commute into London range simply hasn’t been an issue so far. Like lots of electric car owners, I use a petrol car for longer motorway journeys at the moment, which is cheating. But a reality for a lot of people who don’t have time to build charging stops into their working week. We did take the Abarth 500e to the garden centre on a sunny day, and put the roof down to get two plants on the back seat. I think we’ll find the distance we travel in this car is constrained more by its size than its range.

We’re loving

The bright Poison Blue paintwork with the contrasting Acid Green scorpion badge and white painted front aero lip combine to create the most joyful car I’ve seen on the UK’s roads so far in 2024. It just lifts the spirits every time I walk out of the front door to drive somewhere. Given it’s February as I write this we’ve only had the roof down once, but I can see that having the Convertible version is going to be an absolute hoot as spring beds in. I’m also enjoying having such a small battery to charge. As long as I don’t let the battery fall below 20 per cent, I can get a full charge overnight on my five-hour off-peak tariff. That’s fantastic for peace of mind, to know you can set off every morning with a 100 per cent battery that cost you less than a fiver. I’m very lucky to have off-street parking and a home charger, but for those who will be charging this car on the public infrastructure at least it won’t take as long as bigger cars to get a decent whack of power on board.

We’re not so keen on

Well, there truly isn’t much so far, but it does feel like the 90s are calling and want their icky fake suede steering wheel back. Alcantara feels like it belongs to a previous decade now when there are so many cool textiles, fabrics and weaves available. The Alcantara is also along the dash, and I think it ages quickly. Also, unless the front passenger seat is quite far forwards, I can’t see out of the rear quarter light to pull out of my road each morning. Not a lot to be done as my road is at a funny angle with the main drag, but it’s annoying - I have to ask my son to pull his seat forwards so his knees touch the glove box briefly every morning so I can check for traffic.

Niggles

The starter button is annoying the hell out of me – can’t work out if I’m not pressing it down for long enough when I start the car, or whether I’m meant to press it twice. Either way at least once a day I think I’ve turned the car on, only to find I’ve merely woken it up, and pressing it again either starts it properly or turns it off completely. I’m never sure which it’s going to do. I’m sure we’ll start to understand each other soon, but I’ve spent most of this month in a blinding rush and it’s getting on my nerves.

Surprise and delight

I was going to put “sound generator” under niggles but, actually, I’m putting it here, because it is so ridiculous, it makes me laugh out loud. When activated (via steering wheel buttons and the driver display), the car emits a surprisingly loud ‘engine noise’. It also imitates both an idling and revving engine sound. The result is vaguely recognisable but also weirdly different. It works at a safety level because everyone stops to stare. Inside the car, it’s a bit much for long journeys as it’s quite loud, but boy, does it make you giggle. Back to top

Erin says: “Fair to say, the two major issues we've had with the Abarth 500e this month haven't been the fault of the car”

Trips taken

One - into a pothole! See below…

We like

>Everyone loves this car. I do, the kids do, pedestrians do, other motorists do, my neighbour does. We took a lime-green version to an electric-car event to show it to a group of female journalists and they loved it, too. You cannot fault the bright paint colours and chunky, bold styling.

We're not so keen on

Fair to say, the two major issues we've had with the Abarth 500e this month haven't been the fault of the car. These include our second pothole-induced puncture in as many months, having already suffered one in our previous Renault Austral long-termer. The roads where we live on the Kent-Sussex border are a nightmare, and it's almost impossible to avoid every one of them, especially when they're filled with puddles or you can't swerve due to oncoming traffic. Car manufacturers are going to have to consider bringing back spare tyres if our roads remain in such a poor condition, on the basis all the trauma and hassle we've suffered in both instances has been down to the fact we can't carry out a roadside tyre swap. Then there’s the fact no one stocks the tyres we need because they are considered "specialist" due to being for electric cars. It's a nightmare. Thankfully, this time we hit upon local Fiat dealer Thames Motor Group and the helpful service manager James Bailey, who sorted our tyre, had the car cleaned and returned it to my house. Which was a huge relief.

Niggles

> The second issue is that the car isn't charging overnight at home, but it's telling me it's an external problem with my PodPoint charger, which was recently upgraded. It starts charging at midnight, in accordance with the car's timing schedule, but then it drops out. I have left a message for PodPoint's customer service so we'll see. But this is an issue I hear about a lot with electric cars and being unsure whether the charging fault is on the car, the charger itself, the timer or the connecting lead. It's really stressful, especially if you need to wait up until midnight to see what's going on. I'll report back.

Surprise and delight

>The amount you can fit on the boot! We’ve had one son’s hockey bag, other son’s cricket bag, a pressure washer and even a guitar in there. Everything but the metaphorical kitchen sink. That’s because it’s wider beyond the opening, so you can slot stuff in and watch it disappear. No room for the dog though, obvs. Back to top

Erin says: “Finally, I've pushed the little button up by the rear-view mirror and lowered the black fabric roof all the way”

Trips taken

The story of this car is of local trips, on the basis it's not the transport for long motorway journeys unless you have the patience for at least one half-hour charging stop. So, this month it's once again been the daily school run, the train station for work plus cricket matches for both my sons. Having said that, one of them is at school 20 miles away, and I've mixed up my weekly driving with a couple of 40-mile return trips to drop him off. Even then I haven't been charging the car every night; I probably average every other night.

We like

Roof-down summer motoring! Finally, I've pushed the little button up by the rear-view mirror and lowered the black fabric roof all the way. It's a two-stage operation, the first press of the switch taking it back as far as a long sunroof, the second lowering it right down behind the rear seats. The folded fabric blocks the rear view, but that's what wing mirrors are for, right? It's bliss to feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair, given it’s been years since I've had a convertible during the spring and summer. And it’s an absolute joy. Plus, the bright blue paintwork really pops with the sun's rays bouncing off it. We're also enjoying the sound system this month. My sons are impressed by the bass - they tell me Kanye West sounds much better in the Abarth 500e then any other car we've had for a while. I've had to take their word for it.

We're not so keen on

Returning to a previous theme we’ve had a nightmare with off-peak charging this month. For the past three weeks the car has started charging at midnight (it's on a timer so as to charge on cheaper off-peak energy rates) and then immediately dropped out. The Abarth said it was an issue with the external charging point, so I contacted PodPoint. I couldn’t fault the speediness of the response, the engineer reporting their system showed power surges from my energy network provider, which sent the voltage supply to my house above the safety limit at night so I should contact Power Networks. I did, they came out and took a reading from my supply which showed nothing abnormal. PodPoint then sent me an email the next day saying it looked like the fault might be on my cable, and to try swapping it. I did, and that appears to have solved it. But this is one of the problem with electric cars. A charging fault could be the responsibility of any one of about four different companies, and the poor owner has to find out which one is to blame. Meanwhile, I've swapped my aging PodPoint home charger for a smart new (and discreetly grey) Solo 3 which can run off solar panels, so I've future-proofed myself for a bit longer!

Niggles

The ride is hard. I don't mind too much, but the dog is definitely not keen with all the jolts and jumps. When we fly down the road to school, late as usual, we nearly take off every morning.

Surprise and delight

If the roof is fully down and you squeeze the boot handle to open it, the roof automatically rises halfway up before the boot lid pops open, to protect itself. Neat. Back to top

Erin says: “The Abarth 500e encapsulates everything good about electric cars and is a dazzling demonstration of the technology.”

Trips taken

I've had an epiphany with this car: the Abarth 500e encapsulates everything good about electric cars and is a dazzling demonstration of the technology. It makes perfect sense: they should all be small, with little batteries and a low range of no more than 150 miles. In that application, electric cars are the ideal mode of transport: cheap to run, quick to charge, easy to use, no tailpipe emissions, and easy to park. It's complete hassle-free, guilt-free driving. Sadly, that means essentially electric cars are currently best suited to two-car families, as the second car, or for those living in cities who do 90 per cent of their monthly driving within a 20-mile radius. But there are plenty of people in one of those boats, so they have few reasons not to make the switch. My trips this month have all been local: train station, shops and school, and it's just a joy to know I've got this car to do them in. I parked this morning at my train station and zipped into the spot by the pillar, which is always free because no one else can fit in it. Ha ha. Everyone needs a car this small.     

We like

I get a full charge during my off-peak overnight hours, because the battery is so small. So every night I plug it in, and every morning I have my full 130 miles of range (gone up to nearly 140 in this warm weather). It's costing me peanuts as a result - about £4 a charge.

We're not so keen on

You have to either push the start button twice or hold it down for a long time to actually start the car, otherwise you're just activating the infotainment system. I keep doing that by mistake, then jabbing the "D" button and wondering why I'm not setting off. I also keep forgetting to release the electronic starting brake; it doesn't automatically release.

Niggles

The hard ride is slightly getting on my nerves now on my son's school road - there are lots of speed humps and undulations in the road surface, and when you do the trip twice a day, it starts to jar the neck somewhat...

Surprise and delight

You can lower or raise the roof at seemingly any speed. I haven't actually tested it on the motorway, but it certainly activates at 40mph which is fab! There are two stages - the first opens up the roof like a big sunroof, and if you press the button again, it furls all the way back, like a sardine tin, which is joyous. Back to top

Erin says: “Most cars offer you a range guestimate that varies with degrees of insanity... not our trusty little Abarth.”

Trips taken

We've pushed the car to its range limits this month with a round trip of 120 miles, from Tunbridge Wells to Goodwood and back, and it stayed true to its word, starting off with 136 miles showing on a full charge, and returning with 16 miles on the clock after the trip. Most cars offer you a guestimate that varies with degrees of insanity depending on whether you go on a motorway, or the weather. Not our trusty little Abarth.

We like

The efficiency. The Holy Grail of electric car efficiency now, is 5 miles covered for every kilowatt hour of energy expended. The lighter the car and better the battery technology, the more likely you are to hit that target. The Abarth can't be far off because it is so small and dainty, and we find ourselves returning from the gym with little dent in the range.

We're not so keen on

The silly electric buttons instead of door handles. We thought they looked quite cool when we first got the car, but no one who sits in the front passenger seat can find their way out of the car, and we're bored of explaining that you have to push the little button.

Surprise and delight

The central front cup holder sits almost on the floor, in front of the central squab, and was present when we go the car. We've only just realised that actually it folds back up and away into the squab itself when you don't need it, which is a pretty neat piece of design.

Niggles

The service yellow spanner is showing on the dash. Not the car's fault, but it's annoying because it means we have to take time out of the week to do something about it. Lazy? Us?

Erin says: “It's also just a delight, bringing smiles to everyone, even on grey Monday mornings”

So farewell then, Abarth 500e Turismo. Sob. Gulp. I've never been so sad to see a long-term test car go back, and I've been wondering why. The answer, truthfully, is because it's so small. Yes, the design and paint colour are absolutely fantastic, yes, it's been great to have a convertible with the long-awaited sunshine and, yes, it's lovely to drive an electric car around, with zero nasty pollution coming from any tailpipes. But I know the fundamental reason is the size, because I'm idly thinking about buying a Fiat 500 now. If I was a millionaire I'd have the Abarth version because it looks great and it has a bit more zip, but I can live without those things. I'm not sure, however, I can live without a car this small in my life now I know what an amazing stress reliever it is. You literally never have to worry about where you're going to park, because there is always a spot on every high street and in every multi-story car park in every town, which everyone else in their SUVs has had to abandon after trying and failing to squeeze into them. You know those precious spots in car parks – they're always by a pillar that cuts into the space. I spy them with glee, and joyfully reverse into them in one move. Given how much you can fit into the Abarth 500e's boot I'd say this car, and its Fiat 500 sibling, have been undersold on practicality, too. The Abarth is not merely a station commuter, either. It's the weekly run around for supermarket shops and football-match drop offs. To call it a city car is to undermine its utility – this is more a town car, with the wider remit that infers. Urban debates aside, however, it's also just a delight, bringing smiles to everyone, even on grey Monday mornings. We salute the Italians, once again, and their experience in bringing a taste of la dolce vita to the tedious traffic-jammed roads of the UK. Ciao, bella! Back to top