My mother’s side of the family was raised around bits of cars scattered around the back garden, engines being run-in on a bench in the greenhouse and plenty of noise.  

Her father was a chauffeur. Her brothers were a team; one did bodywork and sorted the mechanical stuff. She rode a motorcycle to work but, because she was tiny, she needed someone at either end to kickstart the engine. She wasn’t heavy or strong enough.

Oh, and here’s an odd fact about her. Despite riding a motorcycle daily for over 20 years, she couldn’t ride a pedal bike. My father used to spend ages pushing her around the garden but she always used to topple off as soon as he let go. Figure that out.  

But there was something she always used to enjoy - the sound of an engine with a throaty exhaust.

Sadly, as more electric cars appear in showrooms, it won’t be long before a generation of drivers have no idea why a car would make a noise for the simple reason that electric vehicles - apart from sometimes beeping when they reverse and generating a mild hum from the motors - glide along in silence with only some wind flutter and tyre rumble to keep you company. That’s unless you are in the new Abarth 500e.

Engine Noise

Flick a switch and, bingo, the car generates the sound of an Abarth 500 powered by a conventional petrol engine. There’s a speaker slung under the boot allowing everyone, including pedestrians, to sample the noise.

Okay, it’s a bit of fun and, to be totally honest with you, once you’ve startled your passengers and a few passers-by in town, it can get a bit tiresome on a longer journey. I eventually turned it off. Carlo Abarth, who founded the Abarth firm in 1949 would approve. His birth sign was Scorpio, hence the logo.

Fun and performance is what this car is all about. It provokes a smirk wherever you go. The Acid Green paintwork of my test car helped. You can also get Poison Blue, Venom Black, Antidote White and Adrenaline Red.

The scorpion badges also show that this is a rather special car. Granted, it’s really a souped-up version of the Fiat 500e, but the car is worthy of note because it is the first all-electric Abarth.

Power Stats

As with the Fiat 500e, power goes to the front wheels. Talking of power, you get 154bhp on tap, which is good for a 0-60mph time of around 7 seconds. You can juggle how that power is delivered by selecting different modes: Turismo, Scorpion Street or Scorpion Track. The big difference is that Turismo reduces the amount of power, so you adopt a more relaxed style. Scorpion Street gives the car one-pedal driving. The suspension has been uprated as have the brakes. The steering feels heavier and the car now sits on bigger tyres.

All in all, it makes the Abarth feel sporty but not at the expense of ride quality. Yes, it’s edging onto the firm side, but once you’re onto quicker roads, everything settles nicely. The stiffer suspension allows you to chuck the car into a corner and then power your way out, so you’ll be trying to travel on as many country lanes on a quiet morning as possible.

Trim Levels

There are two trims available and both use the same power unit. There’s the entry level 500e which kicks off at £34,195 (Nov 24) or for another £4k you can get the Turismo. The extra dough gives you 18-inch alloys instead of 17-inch; you also get a glass sunroof (I had the Turismo rollback canvas roof model which looks a tad punchy at £41,195), heated sports seats, leather trim, 360-degree parking sensors, powered and heated mirrors, rear view camera and wireless phone charging. The 10.25-inch central touchscreen works well, as do the handy row of buttons underneath which allow climate adjustment. There’s a clear 7-inch digital screen in front of the driver.

Interior

The interior is really smart. The seats are seriously comfy and areas of leather give the car a premium feel. You can probably guess that the Abarth 500e isn’t going to be the roomiest car on our roads. Everything is fine up front, but the rear pair of seats are only for children. They’re most likely to be the dumping ground for bags, bearing in mind that the boot is miniscule.

Range

Fiat reckon the Abarth 500e will manage 150 miles on a full charge, although I think 135 miles is a more realistic target. The plus side is that because the Abarth 500e has a small battery, it will charge quickly. A 0-80% charge takes just over half an hour.  

At first glance, the range looks like a problem. You’d be unwise to take the predicted remaining battery range much lower than 30 miles, and if the chargers you’re aiming for aren’t working, you’re sunk. Therefore, on a long journey at motorway speeds, you’ll be stopping every 90 minutes or so.

However, the Abarth 500e isn’t the sort of car you’d use for regular long trips from London to Edinburgh. It‘s more of a fun alternative to a local commuter car, making the school runs and shopping trips interesting, or for a weekend jaunt to the beach. Its dimensions also make it ideal as a city/town car and you’ll be able to find a space to fit into while SUV owners have to drive by.

A Fun Option

The Abarth 500e is a car which gives you the option for some fun. Its limitations are obviously the range and interior space, but you wouldn’t buy one if you want to carry a family or four adults or a load of kit.

If you have a home charger - brilliant. If there’s just the two of you and you have access to another car for those long journeys - double brilliant. If you want to be able to find a parking space - triple brilliant.

View the Abarth 500e with all of that in mind and you’ll be chuffed to bits. It’s not the cheapest, lively, small hatchback on the market, but it’s loaded with goodies and has a certain exclusive appeal.

Mundane driving has just been binned.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Abarth - Stellantis