Abarth 600e Brings Affordable Fun To Electric Driving

Forbes

22-03-2025

The Abarth 600e feels at home on a go kart track.
I was not expecting to like the Abarth 600e as much as I did. The Abarth 500e is lots of fun, but mostly because of the way it looks and the hilarious noise it makes. The Abarth 600e is different. Like the 500e, it's based on a Fiat of the same numerical value. But unlike the 500e, Abarth has done more to bring the 600e in line with its brand values. The result is one of the most amusing electric hatchbacks currently on the market.
Abarth has made its name since 1949 taking practical small cars and injecting performance. Many car brands have their 'skunkworks' garages that tune and uprate their regular cars into something that could even be race-worthy but certainly adds appeal for discerning everyday drivers. In the case of the Abarth 600e, the basis is the Fiat 600e, a car I quite liked when I tested it last year. But the latter isn't a fun driver's car – it's a practical small family hatchback.
The Abarth 500e had 36hp more than the Fiat 500e it was based on, dropping the 0-62mph sprint to 7 seconds from 9 seconds. However, the Abarth 600e has 345Nm of torque and either 240 or 280hp, depending on which version you go for (the more powerful one is the Scorpionissima, namechecking the arachnid Abarth uses as its logo). Either one is a big leap from the Fiat 600e's 154hp, and the Scorpionissima is in fact the most powerful car Abarth has ever made.
The basic Abarth 600e is available with a wider choice of colors.
There are many differences in setup between the Abarth 600e and the Fiat version, too. The car has been lowered and the track enlarged by 30mm at the front and 25mm at the back. This provides room for the 20in diamond cut alloys. The suspension has also been stiffened to reduce roll. One feature that gives the Abarth 600e very different handling to the Fiat version is the JTEKT Torsen mechanical limited slip differential (LSD), improving traction as you accelerate out of corners. EVs can get you to high speeds fast, so Abarth has fitted 380mm Alcon-derived disc brakes and calipers to ensure you can stop fast too.
Apart from the larger wheels, the Abarth 600e has plenty of changes in its appearance. You can still see the resemblance to the Fiat 600e, but with significant improvements. The body kit is more angular and less round than the Fiat 600e. The default paint color is the same Acid Green as the Abarth 500e, although you can also choose orange and more sober white and black. The Scorpionissima only offers Acid Green and an exclusive Hypnotic Purple, with no extra cost required for either. The latter also has a gloss black body kit. The result is a considerably more aggressive look, although it's hard to obscure the friendliness of the 600e's round headlights.
On paper, the Abarth 600e is not that fast for an EV. The base 240hp takes 6.2 seconds to hit 62mph and the Scorpionissimo only drops that a little to 5.8 seconds. This seems pedestrian when compared to an electric supercar like the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. But this is on par for a hot hatch powered by internal combustion, but straight-line speed is not really what this car is about. The chassis setup means that you can chuck this car into corners with great gusto. It feels entirely at home on windy British A-roads and is very forgiving if you hit a bend a little bit faster than you meant to. Simply turn in, hit the accelerator after the apex, and let that capable LSD pull you round.
To hammer home this point, Abarth took journalists at the launch to a go-karting track for a few laps each. The 600e is very much in its element here. In the hands of a demonstrator familiar with this track's tight corners, the car is capable of nausea-inducing changes of direction thanks to its ability to pull 1G laterally. In my less familiar hands, the Abarth 600e was still able to provide huge amounts of cornering enjoyment and luckily those big brakes worked as advertised, slowing the car very capably. Despite being a small hatchback, the Abarth 600e weighs 1,700kg, whereas the 2025 Mk8 Golf GTI, for example, is just 1,454kg. Handling is not quite so nimble for this reason, but the Abarth 600e remains hugely enjoyable. If you loved the silliness of the Abarth 500e's artificial noise box, never fear – the 600e has that available too.
The Abarth 600e is great for twisty British A-roads.
You can choose how aggressively you harness the Abarth 600e's capabilities via the three power modes – Turismo, Scorpion Street and Scorpion Track. Turismo only gives you 148hp for the basic Abarth 600e and 198hp for the Scorpionissima, with 300Nm of torque. It's aimed more at range and efficiency. Scorpion Street increases these figures to 201hp and 228hp respectively, with the full 345Nm of torque. Scorpion Track then enables all the power. The modes also alter setup, including accelerator pedal setup, ESP and steering. The car was clearly twitchier in Scorpion Street, with ESP not kicking in much and more torque steer.
The grip is much more than you'd expect a small four-seater hatchback to have. Because that is the point with the Abarth 600e – it's still a practical car. The rear seats are a bit cramped but still viable for adults (unlike the 500e) and there's a decent amount of luggage space in the rear. You get 360 liters with the rear seats up and 1,231 liters with them down – enough for the daily shop, a short family trip, or a light DIY collection. However, one drawback with the stiffened suspension is that the ride is hard for some British roads. It's swings and roundabouts – you gain in driver engagement but lose in comfort.
Pricing is not outrageous either. The basic Abarth 600e costs £36,975 ($48,000), while the Scorpionissima is £39,875 ($51,500). Both these figures fall below the UK Expensive Vehicle tax threshold, so you won't be paying the higher amount for this. The price compares well with internal combustion hot hatches, such as the 2025 Mk8 Golf GTI. So you're not paying anything extra by going electric for your hot hatch thrills. The pricing is also similar to the MG4 XPOWER, which is much faster in a straight line but lacks the handling enhancements of the Abarth.
Cornering is tight with the Abarth 600e.
Unfortunately, however, the Abarth 600e does have one drawback – that 54kWh battery combined with so much motor power doesn't make for a lot of range. The WLTP rating is 207 miles, quite a lot lower than the Fiat 600e's 250 miles, and you'll get far less than that if you dial up the more aggressive setup modes and drive accordingly. DC charging maxes out at 100kW, too, so replenishing from 10 to 80% takes 27 minutes. Not terrible, but that will be less than 160 miles. So you can really only go around 2 hours on a motorway between stops with the Abarth 600e, making long distances possible but not ideal.
The Abarth 600e is therefore not perfect. The hot hatch is meant to be the universal transportation tool – potentially fun on a track at the weekend, but otherwise great for everyday activities like commuting, shopping, trips with friends and family, and visiting people in other cities. The 600e lacks a little for the latter but covers every other area well, making it one of the best electric hot hatches yet, if not the ultimate small all-round EV driving machine just yet.