Abarth 600e is a small however shouty EV with a sting in its tail

When Fiat revived the Abarth nameplate as a efficiency sub-brand again in 2007, it couldn’t have foreseen the shadow of the enormous Stellantis conglomerate, lurking simply over the horizon ready to swallow up Fiat, Abarth and quite a few different producers into its ranks.

Couple this improvement with the start-stop-start shift to full electrification and it appeared as if Abarth’s quirky area of interest was in peril of being misplaced within the transfer. Abarth specialised within the eccentric, whether or not it was the fizzy, spitting 695 Biposto (a extremely tuned variant of the Fiat 500) or the 124 Spider (a boosted model of Fiat’s 124 Spider, which in flip was a rebodied Mazda MX-5), but by no means fairly discovered its means into fanatics’ hearts.

The tide shifted considerably with the arrival of the Abarth 500e, the marque’s first pure EV. Undeniably enjoyable to drive, identical to the Fiat 500e on which it’s based mostly, the Abarth 500e walked a advantageous line between caricature and brilliance. Facets just like the onboard ‘Abarth Sound Generator’, which pumped an artificial exhaust burble into the cabin by way of the JBL audio system and in addition out into the broader world, and the abundance of scorpion motifs scattered across the automobile, had been distinctive but divisive.

As certain as evening follows day, Abarth has now given the identical therapy to the 500e’s greater sibling, the 600e. When it was first unveiled, the Abarth 600e appeared to be leaning in much more to those boy racer-y traits. Per week behind the wheel revealed a softer, extra sensible facet to this compact crossover, particularly when in comparison with the lacklustre vary and tight packaging of the tiny 500e.

It’s greatest to drift with a automobile like this and settle for that not each design quirk, particular characteristic and graphical flourish goes to be to your style. Abarth in 2025 is as a lot about way of life as it’s driving, filtered by means of a multinational’s inevitably dated and wayward definition of ‘cool’. For instance, the Hypnotic Purple and Acid Inexperienced paintwork of the Scorpionissima launch mannequin, rolled out in a restricted version of 1,949 items (a nod to the model’s unique basis 12 months), is shouty however hardly trendy.

Underneath all of the bravado lies a well-proportioned automobile. Sitting someplace between city crossover and compact SUV, the 600e makes use of Stellantis’ e-CMP EV platform, a primary piece of cross-brand componentry that can also be discovered beneath the Alfa Romeo Junior, Jeep Avenger, Peugeot e-208, DS 3 Crossback and extra. All of those automobiles have one thing else in widespread; they’re from heritage manufacturers, dipping into design and styling cues from instances previous with the intention to bolster their identification and desirability.

The best way the Abarth 600e goes about this feels fairly superficial, though there are fairly a number of key tweaks to the dynamics. These embody a wider entrance and rear monitor, a devoted monitor mode, bigger brakes, fatter tyres and boosted energy output (the equal of 278bhp within the Scorpionissima mannequin). Sure, it’s heavy, but it surely’s additionally probably the most highly effective Abarth mannequin ever made.

All that tuning has paid off, as a result of the 600e feels taut and composed, with a agency experience that isn’t too blunted by the battery weight. Steering is properly calibrated and the added energy makes its presence felt in ‘Scorpion Observe’ mode. In contrast to most EVs, there’s no ‘financial system’ setting. As a substitute, you select ‘Turismo’, which limits the highest velocity and blunts the throttle response. Except yow will discover an empty B-Street, that’s prone to be the mode you stick to because it’s the one means you’ll get near the claimed most vary of 199 miles.

As with the 500e, this barely disappointing determine is the Abarth’s most important draw back, not helped by a slow-ish most 100kW cost velocity. In case you can settle for this contradictory mix of tempo and sloth, and don’t thoughts the zingy stabs of color, graphics and logos, then the 600e is admittedly value contemplating as a feisty runabout with leisurely lengthy journey potential.