Abarth 600e review

Let’s start on the track with the Scorpionissima, where the new LSD, Formula E-bred tyres, racing brakes and tuned chassis combine to make the 600e a hoot in around Abarth's Bolocco test circuit. There’s a wide grip band to explore, and when you feel the understeer shoving its way in, the diff works hard to wrestle the nose back.

Even in a tight corner sequence, the 1.6-tonne weight shifts from side to side with comedic ease. There's body roll, but it’s surprisingly agile for its size. There’s very little dead space in the steering too, so full opposite lock means full opposite lock. Abarth claims you can pull 1G in the corners... we believe them.

There's a slight lag with throttle response, though: the 600e can feel languid getting on the power out of a corner, which then levels out far too quickly. An extra 50/60bhp would do the motorsport componentry more justice, and given the excellent 380mm Alcon brakes more of a workout too.

How about on the road? We swapsied into the standard 600e, and on country lanes and carriageways the ride is comfortable, refined and supple; all the traits you’d hope for from a crossover.

The only real flaw is a bit of wind and tyre noise on the motorway. In the Scorpionissima, you could drown that out with the sound generator. Otherwise, you'll need Kiss FM.

Is the sound generator tragic?

Compared to the 500e? Absolutely not. Where the smaller sibling sounds comically bad to our ear, the 600e has a much more refined sound. At idle, it's a bassy burble that could be mistaken for a quirky combustion engine. That noise then builds up on your way to 50mph before settling down.

Of course, there's an argument that these soundscapes (or whatever you want to call them) are needlessly artificial. But credit to Abarth for building on the 500e’s efforts here.

Are there any driving modes to use?

Yep, there are three modes available: Turismo, Scorpion Street and Scorpion Track. Each mode gradually sharpens the throttle response, stiffens the suspension and balances the torque delivery more keenly.

Scorpion Track dials down most of the car’s intervention aids and regenerative braking to make the 600e feel more natural.

What's the battery range really like?

In our test across mixed roads and varying speeds, we saw 3.1mi/kWh. With a 54kWh battery, that means 167 miles between charging stops, considerably short of the claimed 207. And we'd expect that to drop further when it gets cold too. That’s... not great.