Abarth 600e Review 2024

Abarth has long made Fiats more fun but how will it handle the compact electric SUV age, where rorty exhausts and blarting engines are no longer an option? Find out with our comprehensive Abarth 600e review.

With combustion engines no longer part of the mix, what does Abarth have in its arsenal to convert the humbler Fiat 600e into something of a curious hot hatch alternative?

A combination of motorsport-derived component upgrades and synthetic engine sounds it seems. Gimmicky? Yes but that doesn’t matter — the Abarth 600e is the brand’s most powerful car ever and it’s great fun behind to drive.

A small SUV that’s also sporty and electric, the 600e has a whole host of alternatives to go toe-to-toe with, including a model it shares its underpinnings and major components with — the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica.

Plus, there’s another newcomer that will be in the Abarth’s sights in the guise of the MINI Aceman, yet interestingly Abarth also cites a couple of hot hatchbacks as competitors — notably the Cupra Born.

Two versions of the Abarth 600e are available — a standard nameless model with 240PS and the limited edition Scorpionissima which gets more interior equipment, including more supportive seats, and a total of 280PS. Once all of the 1949 examples of the 600e Scorpionissima released globally have sold, expect its punchier motor to become available in a model that’s a permanent addition to the range.

Despite the power difference, both versions of the Abarth 600e have the same underwhelming 197-mile claimed driving range from their common 51kWh of usable battery capacity.

Read on to find out whether the Abarth 600e not only justifies its price premium over the Fiat-badged models as well as how it stacks-up against the competition.

Among the Abarth 600e’s upgrades over the Fiat model is a bespoke mechanical limited-slip differential and combined with fast, direct and beautifully weighted steering, it makes threading this compact SUV through quick bends an absolute blast.

Even a short drive quickly confirms that this is a belter of a driver’s car and the Alcon brakes, unhindered by brake regeneration when in Track mode, are powerful and feelsome.

On the road the suspension feels firm — stiff, even — but not unforgiving, massaging away the rough edges from the road surface.

Both versions of the Abarth 600e deliver 345Nm of peak torque to the front wheels but while the regular car has 240PS, the Scorpionissima has 280PS.

We’ve driven the former on the road and the latter on the track and honestly there wasn’t much to tell between them, both being quick to respond, gathering pace rapidly. The standard 600e squirts from 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds while the Scorpionissima’s a smidge brisker at 5.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically governed at 124mph on all Abarth 600es.

If you do miss the noise of a rorty petrol motor then the 600e Scorpionissima’s synthetic engine noise generator could be for you. It plays the sound of a raspy engine being revved through speakers underneath the car.

Yes, you did read that correctly. Some will love it, others will find it an irritating gimmick that’s akin to someone playing car noises through their car stereo, which in essence is exactly what it is. Mercifully it can be muted.

The Abarth 600e hasn’t yet undergone testing by independent safety organisation Euro NCAP and will likely share the same result as the Fiat 600e when that’s crashed and assessed.

It is well endowed with safety kit, including automatic emergency braking and a system that warns you if you’re getting drowsy behind the wheel. Lane-departure warning is also included, as are front, side and rear parking sensors, six airbags and Isofix child-seat mounting points on both the outer rear seats and the front passenger seat.

The Scorpionissima model comes with extra features like adaptive cruise control and a blind-spot warning system.

The Abarth 600e is not a tow car and is not rated with a towing capacity.

As it’s structurally identical to the Fiat-badged version, the Abarth 600e has the same positives and drawbacks. Up front there are no issues with ample space for two adults and several storage spaces, including adjustable cup holders and a big covered storage space between the front seats.

Disappointingly the rear seats are cramped, and grown-ups won’t want to spend more than a few minutes there. Children should be fine, depending on the bulkiness of their car seats.

Practicality is further hindered by a lack of storage space in the rear. There are no door pockets, no tablet/magazine storage options in the seat-backs and no rear cupholders. Not ideal for families, then.

The boot isn’t massive, either, at 360 litres. Larger than the MINI Aceman’s 300-litre capacity, it’s shy of the 385 litres available in the Cupra Born. Those 60:40 split back seats fold down to expand the space to 1231 litres but the 600e still lags behind many alternatives.

The Fiat’s interior mix of hard — but not cheap-feeling — plastics has been enlivened with sporty graphics and faux suede trims for the Abarth 600e. The materials won’t win any premium awards but they feel solid enough and well put together.

Given what we’ve become accustomed to with Abarth’s smaller Fiat 500-based models over the years, subtlety is not one of the brand’s watchwords. Hammering home the 600e’s sporty vibe are luridly coloured details and the somewhat overt ABARTH SCORPION PERFORMANCE textual encouragement.

Infotainment duties in the Abarth 600e are carried out through a 10.25-inch touchscreen that’s paired with a 7.0-inch digital display behind the steering wheel.

The system is generally easy to use, responsive and has clear graphics and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are included as standard. There are also some Abarth-specific features, too, including a G-meter to keep track of how hard you’re cornering.

Downsides? Well, some of the settings are rather buried in the menu system and trying to find them can be distracting while you’re on the move.

There are both USB-A and USB-C sockets in the front and the back to charge your mobile devices, and both models feature a six-speaker sound system.

The standard Abarth 600e costs from £36,975 while the punchier 600e Scorpionissima is £5000 more at £41,975. The exclusivity, extra features and at least 84PS more power accounts for a price difference of around £4000 over the cheapest Fiat 600e — that difference doesn’t feel at all unreasonable.

So, what of its rivals? With 258PS the MINI John Cooper Works Aceman Sport slots neatly between the two Abarth 600es in terms of power and similarly so in price at £40,800. Note that the Aceman’s range is 242 miles, significantly higher than the 197 miles provided by the 600e.

A close cousin of the Abarth, the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica costs £42,300 in Veloce guise with the same 280PS drive system as the 600e Scorpionissima, although its range potential hasn’t been officially confirmed.

Intriguingly, the Cupra Born in entry-level 230PS form can be had for £35,500 and that’s with a claimed range of 265 miles. And the flagship 326PS, 372-mile Cupra Born VZ? £44,600. Okay it’s not an SUV but there’s more space for people and luggage inside it.

As electric cars generally cost less to run than petrol or diesel equivalents, running costs for the Abarth 600e should be very affordable. Of course, it’ll depend on where you get your electricity — charge at home on an overnight tariff and you’ll pay relatively little but if you’re a regular at the public fast chargers then the cost will be considerably higher.

Recharging the 51kWh useable battery capacity takes 5 hours 45 minutes when hooked-up to an 11kW AC supply for a 0-100% replenishment. With a 100kW on-board DC charger, a 0-80% recharge on a rapid public facility can take as little as 27 minutes.

Unsurprisingly given the performance on offer, Abarth quotes a low 3.3mi/kWh figure for the 600e’s electrical efficiency — for comparison, even the greediest Cupra Born has a WLTP Combined claim of 3.6mi/kWh.

Choosing an Abarth 600e is straightforward because there are just two options — the nameless standard model and the limited edition Scorpionissima.

The standard Abarth 600e rides on 20-inch alloy wheels and features LED lights from and rear and a beefy body kit to differentiate it from the Fiat-badged model. There’s a selection of garish paints, Sabelt sports seats up front, climate control, a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, automatic wipers, rear parking sensors plus keyless entry and start.

As well as a 40PS power boost, the Abarth 600e Scorpionissima nets you the synthetic noise generator and even fancier front seats together with an Alcantara-trimmed faux suede steering wheel. Additionally there’s a reversing camera, power folding mirrors, dark-tinted rear privacy glass, an electric tailgate and a heated windscreen.

Options-wise you’re limited to paint choices. On the standard 600e solid Antidote White is the free one, with solid Venom Black, metallic Shock Orange and mica Acid Green all costing an extra £650. For the 600e Scorpionissima there’s only a selection of Acid Green and Hypnotic Purple, both of which are included in the cost of the car.