Fiat 500e review: Abarth helps Fiat’s sporting supermini find its roar
For the most part, adding more power for the Abarth hasn’t altered that equation, although the three driving modes bring a different level of one-pedal operation, which in the middle setting is aggressive and actually deploys the brakes (in addition to the electric motor) to bring the car to a halt, quite abruptly in fact. I’m not convinced that one-pedal is a safe and proper way of driving, but in the most extreme chassis setting it’s minimised, so that’s where I left it.
With uprated spring rates, modified damper valving and electronic steering settings, the ride quality is harder than the Fiat version, but not unsettlingly so. The wheels will crash through sharp-edged pot holes and hop a bit over bumps and sleeping policemen, but it copes with rutted surfaces well and on a motorway tracks beautifully, with a settled poise.
Compared with the busy 695 it feels like a limousine, while away from straight roads it turns into corners with balance and progression and is easy to drive briskly. The steering doesn’t provide a lot of feel, although the Cabrio had more communicative steering than the hatchback.
Above all, the Abarth is fun; perhaps not as much of a giggle as the 695 or other petrol-engined rivals, but this is as good as it gets in battery hot hatchbacks, and it’s simply miles better than the competition.
With rear seats that are really only suitable for very small children and a tiny boot (185 litres with rear seats up, 550 litres with them folded), this isn’t the most practical of hatchbacks, but that’s not its purpose.
It goes quite fast, but that’s not the point either. This battery Abarth provided as much driving pleasure as I’ve had in any battery electric car so far, and it fits with the company founder’s democratic aim of providing a bit more performance and a lot more fun to quite ordinary small cars.
Soon we’ll see Renault (with the reborn electric R5) and Cupra (with its Raval urban EV) attempting to steal the Abarth 500e’s crown, but for the moment it reigns supreme.
The facts
On test: Abarth 500e
Body style: Battery supermini (hatchback or cabriolet)
On sale: Now
How much? £34,195 to £41,195 (£37,195 as tested)
How fast? 96mph, 0-62mph in 7sec
How economical? 3.9mpkWh (WLTP Combined)
Electric powertrain: AC synchronous motor, 42kWh (gross) 37.3kWh (net) lithium-ion battery, front-wheel drive
Electric range: Up to 164.1 miles
Charge times: 30min 0-80 per cent on 50kW DC fast charger, 5hr 40min on 7.4kW home wallbox
Maximum power/torque: 153bhp/173lb ft
CO2 emissions: 0g/km (in use), 30.8g/km (well-to-wheel)
VED: £0
Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles (battery: minimum 70 per cent charge for eight years/ 100,000 miles)