Abarth 600e review

The Abarth 600e range has been overtly priced to skirt in under the new £40k ‘expensive car supplement’ that adds £410 a year to your annual VED bill for the first five years of ownership. 

It starts at £36,975 for the standard version and it’s £39,875 for the Scorpionissima, until all 1,949 of them have been shifted. That number is a nod to the year Abarth was founded, incidentally. Not a number plucked out of the thin Turin air.

What are the key differences?

Aside from the performance-y bits, the Abarth 600e makes some proper gains in the cabin over the Fiat. You still get the same 10.25in infotainment screen (which you’ll recognise from the fancier versions of the 500e) and 7.0in digital instrument panel, but they’ve been upgraded with bespoke Abarth graphics. 

There’s a new, partially Alcantara clad steering wheel, aluminium pedals and privacy glass, while the darkened interior theme has yellow accents dotted around so it doesn’t feel overly turgid.

And the Scorpionissima?

That gets more power and builds on the 600e with an even sportier interior, including heated bucket seats, new seatbelts and matte black dashboard trim with glossy patterns (as opposed to a plain black theme).

You also get more scorpion badging (the ‘mind the scorpion’ graphics feel a little like something has been lost in translation) and an iPad style folding cover for the storage compartment under the gear selector buttons.

Which one should I go for?

If you really want an Abarth 600e and the Scorpionissima is still available (the brand only sold 1,027 total cars in the UK in 2024, so your odds are good), that version is the only one to go for.

The equipment is better, there’s a decent slug more power (if you want range then just go for the standard Fiat) and it looks the part too. The Abarth 600e range will look distinctly half-hearted once the Scorpionissima does go off sale...