Abarth 500e Review (2023-present)

What is the Abarth 500e?

The Abarth 500e is a small, pure electric, two-door hot hatch. It’s unmistakably the angrier, more aggressive version of the Fiat 500 electric city car (although Abarth is classed as its own brand these days, and not just an ‘arm’ of Fiat). It’s also very hard to miss the styling nods to the Abarth’s predecessors – namely the previous Fiat 500 Abarth, which arrived in 2008, and was then tweaked, updated and renamed over a remarkable production run of some fifteen years, to become the Abarth 595 and Abarth 695.

There are even signs of the iconic, original 20th century Fiat 500 - and the Abarth 695 that it spawned - in the side indicators that stand proud of the bodywork, the cheerful round headlights, and in the short, stubby, bubble-shaped silhouette of the car. That’s not where the ties to the original end, either, since the Abarth 500e (and the Fiat 500e that it’s a derivative of) is produced at Fiat’s Mirafiori factory in Turin, which was also where the first, legendary Fiat 500 was manufactured from 1957.

The 500e is very much an Abarth for a new generation. It’s only available as a pure electric car, complete with a 42kWh (37.8kWh usable capacity) battery that’s good for a WLTP range of 164 miles, and a 152bhp electric motor that powers the front wheels.

Suspension hardware is the same as on the New Fiat 500e, meaning MacPherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear, but there are new spring rates and damper tuning. Perhaps more significantly, the wheelbase is 24mm longer on the Abarth compared to the Fiat 500e, and the tracks (the distance between the wheels on either side of the car) are 60mm wider. There are bespoke compound Bridgestone tyres, too.

It's worth mentioning that the platform beneath the Fiat 500e and Abarth 500e is an FCA Group platform that was signed off before the company merged with the PSA Group to form manufacturing giant Stellantis in 2021. It’s not the same platform, then, as that beneath other Stellantis EVs like the Peugeot e-208, DS 3 E-Tense and Vauxhall Corsa Electric that can all be classed as rivals. Mind you, the most notable rival to the Abarth 500e comes from BMW rather than Stellantis, in the form of the MINI Electric, which has similar costs, cuteness and performance. The now-defunct Honda E is another small electric car that has funky styling, limited practicality and a short range, while if you’re more after the small hot hatch aspect but aren’t necessarily bothered about having an electric car, you might consider a Hyundai i20 N.

From the extrovert styling and colour palette - which includes Acid Green and Poison Blue, amongst others - to the synthesised ‘Abarth Sound Generator’ engine sound that rumbles into the cabin and externally from a rear-mounted speaker, the Abarth 500e is the first ‘proper’ electric hot hatch; an everyday EV that sets out with fun as its top priority.

How Practical is the Abarth 500e?

Not very, to be honest. Whether you go for the hatchback or the Abarth 500e Cabrio, you only get 185 litres of boot space. The Cabrio is also compromised by its smaller boot opening, which is revealed when you pop the top-hinged boot lid and flip it up.

There’s enough space in there for a couple of soft weekend bags, though, and the seats do fold in a 60/40 split if you need them to. Space in the back is limited, too, especially with the Abarth race seats eating up a bit more legroom than in the standard Fiat 500e. You will get a couple of shorter adults back there, but they’re unlikely to want to stay there for very long.

Still, the Abarth is most likely to be bought by drivers who don’t need to ferry more than two people around on a routine basis, so cramped rear seats, that are also quite difficult to get in and out of, are unlikely to be a huge problem.

More importantly, up front the materials feel smart, especially on the Abarth 500e Turismo that gets a liberal smattering of Alcantara everywhere, and a fixed glass roof to make everything much lighter. Details like the contrasting stripe at the top of the steering wheel (a race car cue to help you know when the wheel is pointing precisely dead ahead) and the unmistakable Scorpion logo all look very smart, and the manually adjustable sports seats have fixed headrests and offer plenty of support. The physical climate-control buttons that are set in a row beneath the touchscreen are also a welcome and straightforward addition.

The doors are released electronically with the push of a button, but there’s a very prominent manual release lower in the door, in case there should be any issues with the electronic door buttons.

What’s it like to drive?

We’ll put it out there right now: the Abarth 500e isn’t flawless. That suspension makes things a touch bumpy at higher speeds, and some may want even more performance than the seven-second 0-62mph time signifies. Turismo drive mode – the most modest of the three modes, and which comes with softer accelerator pedal response and a slight power reduction – can feel a little soft and stodgy for such an extrovert hot hatch, too, but it’s a good mode when you just want to relax and get the best range from the car.

Selecting Scorpion Street mode causes everything to perk up, including the accelerator response and the power output that’s boosted to the full 152bhp. You still get fairly heavy brake regeneration in this mode, but that’s easy to get used to and doesn’t detract from what’s a riotous little car to drive. You can always select Scorpion Track mode, which is the rortiest of the modes and also removes the ‘one pedal’ regen function that’s a feature on the less focussed modes.

The steering has a lovely weight to it, regardless of drive mode, and gives a good sense of what’s going on with the tyres and road surface. Even at very normal road speeds, there’s a real sense of connection with the Abarth, so you don’t need to rinse everything it’s got to find the Abarth bravado. But, because it isn’t hugely powerful, the real joy is that you can use everything that the Abarth has without finding yourself fearing for your licence. In truth, on most roads in the UK, this sort of performance is about spot on for having maximum fun at legal speeds.

Especially when you’ve got suspension that keeps the car tied down nicely in corners, a lovely, slim Alcantara steering wheel (standard on the higher-spec Abarth 500e Turismo), and a car that feels lively in a cheerful, unintimidating way. It’s comfortable enough for daily life, too. Even on the 18-inch alloys of the hatchback that we drove (17s are the smallest available) it’s pliant and comfortable enough to make light work of any routine journey. The ride does get a touch sharper at higher speeds, but the Abarth still has a nice balance of usability and playfulness.

That synthetic noise plays a big part, too. When you slide into the Abarth and hit the start button, it comes to life with a menacing rumble that burrs and vibrates from somewhere under the rear bumper and echoes into the cabin. Accelerate, and the rumble increases in pitch. To say it was symphonic would be pushing it, but there is a peculiar, appealing resonance to the noise.

But, it also gets really tiresome on longer drives when a steady throttle suddenly makes the sound drone annoyingly. Thankfully, you can turn the sound off, although you have to be at a standstill, and you have to toggle through multiple menu settings on the driver’s readout. A simple ‘on/off’ button for the sound generator is definitely a job for the facelift.

Regardless, the Abarth is a scrappy, fun little car that feels ideally suited to UK roads.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

There are two trim levels in the new Abarth 500e hatchback and Cabrio. You can go for the standard car, or there’s the higher spec Abarth 500e Turismo. There was a ‘Scorpionissima’ launch edition, but it’s already sold out.

The standard car is well enough equipped, with rear parking sensors, JBL audio system, LED headlights, 17-inch alloys, contrast white inserts in the bumper, tinted rear windows, lane keep assist and autonomous emergency braking. Turismo ups the ante with the Alcantara and leather interior finish, 360-degree parking camera, fixed sunroof (on the hatchback), keyless entry, heated windscreen wipers and mirrors, heated front seats and blind spot detection.

Every Abarth 500e gets a 7.0-inch colour TFT readout behind the steering wheel, plus a 10.25-inch ‘Uconnect’ touchscreen infotainment system with nav, digital radio, Bluetooth, Amazon Alexa, a seven-speaker JBL sound system and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s also a phone app that allows remote control of the climate control, locking and charging.

Abarth 500e running costs

The Abarth 500e is not terribly cheap. Prices start at just over £34,000, and you’ll pay another £4,000 for the Turismo trim, and another £3,000 on top of that to get the Cabrio. You can get far bigger, longer range cars for that sort of cash, including the MG4, Peugeot e-208 and even the Cupra Born, which is itself fairly sporty. But, none have the pizzazz and full-on hot hatch bravado of the Abarth, and it’s not like other hot hatches haven’t commanded a similar premium.

Monthly PCP and finance deals will be crucial, and if you can charge at home on a competitive tariff – especially a cheap overnight tariff – then the Abarth will be vastly cheaper to fuel than a petrol or diesel equivalent, costing as little as 3p per mile. Public charging is much more expensive and prices vary widely, but roughly speaking it’s equivalent in cost to fuelling a petrol car doing 40mpg at between 15-25p per mile depending on your charging cost and efficiency.

Abarth 500e reliability

The Abarth 500e (and the Fiat 500e) are too new to have produced any tangible data on reliability from owners, and it’s even harder to judge since this is a brand new platform and powertrain for the company. Fiat as an overall brand came a disappointing 30th out of 32 brands included in the 2022 What Car? Used Car Reliability Survey, but somehow managed to transform its performance in the 2023 study, improving all the way up to 15th place.

With this being a ground-up new car for the brand, with electric cars known to be statistically more reliable, and with the merger of Fiat Group and PSA to create the parts-sharing mega-manufacturer Stellantis, there’s every reason to be optimistic that the Fiat 500e and Abarth 500e will do a decent job in terms of reliability.

The fact that an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty is included is also a huge bonus for the 500e, and brings real peace of mind.