First Drive: Abarth’s 600e brings the spirit of the old-school hot-hatch to the world of EVs

What is it?

Abarth’s cars have always been about character. The ‘new’ Abarth 500, which launched in 2008, showcased a cheeky nature through its compact nature and unmissable exhaust note. Over the years, it was this exhaust note that would become Abarth’s calling card and now, the brand is wrangling with the idea of moving this character and sound into its new electric versions.

While the electric Abarth 500e has already been on sale in the UK for a period now, this car – the 600e – is where things get more serious for the Italian brand. We’ve been driving it to see what it’s like.

What’s new?

The 600e is accompanied by an impressive title – it’s now Abarth’s most powerful vehicle to date. You’ve got the choice of two models, too, with the standard 600e bringing a lower power output to the range-topping Scorpionissima that we’re driving here. As you might have noticed, it’s similar in design to the regular Fiat 600e, but while it does use that car as a base, there have been plenty of changes implemented to make it even more exciting to drive.

As with the Abarth 500e, the 600e also includes a sound generator mounted at the rear of the vehicle, creating a noise inspired by the original Abarth 500’s exhaust. It’s a little bit of extra character that many EVs miss out on but, if you’re not a fan, it’s easy to switch off too.

What’s under the bonnet?

You’ve just got a single electric motor driving the 600e – Abarth hasn’t gone down the route of a dual-motor setup – but it’s more than potent enough on its own. In fact, it develops 278bhp and 345Nm of torque, equating to a 0-60mph sprint time of around 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 124mph. Outright range isn’t the target of the Abarth, but it should still manage 207 miles from a full top up of its compact 54kWh battery. Its 100kW maximum charge speed is quite slow by the latest standards, but it’s enough to get the Abarth’s batteries from 20 to 80 per cent in under half an hour.

A mentioned earlier, the standard 600e gets a lower output than this range-topping model with its single electric motor producing 146bhp instead.

What’s it like to drive?

For starters, the seating position in the 600e is night-and-day improved over that in the older petrol-powered 500; you can actually get low to the ground rather than being behind the wheel in a rather lofty position. From there, there’s lots to like. While the ride is firm at slower speeds, it means that the 600e tracks through corners with an impressive lack of fuss, while the torque and power available are more than enough to get you pushing out of the bends quickly.

Best of all is the level of interaction that you get from the car. The amount of power going through the front wheels means that the steering always feels alive and though this ‘torque steer’ can be a criticism, it makes the 600e feel very exciting and far more alert than your typical EV. We did notice that after a short period of heavy cornering the brake pedal did go quite soft, mind you.

How does it look?

The 600e isn’t going to be a car for those who are shy and retiring. With its large rear wing and big front splitter, it’s a car which commands attention – and that’s even before you’ve activated the sound emitter. It’s lower and wider than the standard 600e, while prominent Abarth graphics and scorpion logos ensure that nobody will mistake this car for anything else.

Scorpionissima versions are differentiated from the standard Abarth 600e through a series of gloss black plastic elements, as well as painted brake calipers.

What’s it like inside?

The sporty theme continues inside, where you’ll find large bucket seats from experts Sabelt in place. The good news is that, as well as looking great, these performance seats provide a good level of support without being overly firm. It is, however, quite a dark cabin area and the chunky rear pillars mean that there’s not a lot of light coming into the interior too.

Space-wise, the rear seats offer an average amount of legroom but taller passengers will likely feel a bit squashed. There’s no ‘frunk’ in which to store the cables, either, so you need to put them straight in the 360-litre boot alongside the rest of your luggage.

What’s the spec like?

This high-performance Scorpionissima model comes in at £39,875, which intentionally ducks the £40,000 expensive car supplement to help make the first few years of running costs a little cheaper than they might be otherwise. All cars get a large central screen as standard running key media functions and while it might not be the most feature-heavy of infotainments, everything can be accessed easily. The driving modes could be celebrated more; there’s just a small button between driver and front-seat passenger – we’d rather a more obvious place to toggle through the modes.

As mentioned, you’ll need to opt for the Scorpionissima to get that higher power output, but if you’d rather the standard 600e, it’s priced at £36,975 – so not leagues away from this high-powered model in terms of price.

Verdict

The Abarth 600e feels like a classic hot hatch which just happens to be powered by electric. It’s an absolute hoot to drive with grin-inducing dynamics, which will be a surprise to any sceptics out there worried that EVs can’t be fun.

It is expensive, mind you, and its headline range means that the 600e isn’t going to be a long-distance option. However, if you’re after a car to light up even the smallest of journeys, the 600e could be the one to do it.