Can an EV be a Real Hot Hatch? Fiat 500e Abarth full review

Abarth Fiat 500e Review - is this EV a Real Hot Hatch? In this episode Jonny Smith takes the new electric 152bhp, 7-sec to 62mph, £34,000 Abarth 500e on some British b-roads to see if it feels like a true hot hatch. It makes a lot of noise, but not necessarily in a good way.

Thanks for stopping by The Late Brake Show.

Enter your registration number to the website and you choose between a wide selection of different types of grades of tyres suitable for your car.

***********
******
******
******
SUBSCRIBE for a broad-church of automotive appreciation spanning EV, classic, modified and future tech.
********

****************
Jonny Smith
Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:10 What is it?
1:20 Spitfire plane trolling
1:41 Specs and dimensions
2:12 Styling
3:05 Tyre and Wheel combo
4:00 START UP NOISES
4:39 Driving impressions
6:30 Annoying exhaust sound
7:23 Charging stats
8:19 Driving Impressions contd
9:13 RIVALS
10:50 HANDLING
11:34 Top Speed
11:48 Driving position
12:45 Loud noise
14:05 Real world charge
15:00 Rear design
15:47 PRICES
17:08 HOW TO MUTE THE SILLY SOUND
17:58 Weight distribution and weight
18:49 0-62 sprint
19:50 What's under the bonnet?
21:30 TURISMO spec
24:02 Rear seats
25:25 VERDICT

#abarth500ereview #besthothatch #4k #thelatebrakeshow

[jabezhane]

A great way to burn £35000! I hope that 15 years from now we'll sit in a pub and go "Remember that whole EV car BS?" and have a good laugh.

[catmandoodoo]

The artificial sound is the automotive equivalent of sticking a card in your bicycle spokes.

[PitWChannel]

It is so interesting. Not a single petrolhead cared about cobalt mines when it was only used to refine diesel or built into catalysators.

[theidiot]

It’s great that there are three genuine fun, hot hatch EVs. Just wish they had 50% more range and were 10k cheaper.

[egold]

Just went on their website, looked at the price of £34, 195 for the lowest spec, laughed and came back to watch this video!

[happychappers]

I cant think of anything sadder than a fake engine sound. I can certainty find something better to spend £38k on.

[JustAnothrHuman]

Very cool looking car. Absolutely insane prices, starting at 34k! I’ll be commuting via horse & cart if this is the trend.

[RaHorakthi]

Fun fact: on the wireless charging pad for the phones you can see the stylized drawing of the city of Turin (the pointy architeture is the Mole Antonelliana)

[RichardMajor]

You say electric cars work, BUT UMMM AKCHULLY I DRIVE 500 MILES EVERY DAY AND HAVE 7 KIDS AND HAVE TO CARRY 3.5 TONNES OF GRAVEL EVERYWHERE - EVs JUST DONT WORK FOR ANYONE!!! Etc

[petesplaneta]

It’s a fun category. To be honest I quite love chucking my Corsa E about. I’m sure it’s not as planted but it’s cheaper had more range and can rapid charge quicker.

I have driven a Honda e and it was nice, but the problem is if I’m going to drive along some twisty roads I’ll probably be travelling 50 miles somewhere and 50 back. With Honda E, Fiat 500e Arbarth or Mini e ranges and a right foot that’s having fun, I won’t be able to do the return trip without getting pretty close to empty.

[Steve_Hallett]

I'm almost certainly on my own, but this summed up one of my problems with modern cars. At my age I find modern infotainment systems far too distracting and quite frankly a bit of a risk. There is info all over the place. I'm happy with the basics.

[keithdargie]

I’m on my second Abarth Competizione, I love them. The usability of them in town is awesome. Love the look of the electric one, not keen on the engine noise generator - I would have preferred a more modern turbine like noise but I think they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t as the exhaust is so intrinsic to the Abarth experience. I’m tempted, it’s expensive but I like it. Couldn’t have a Honda e as I fell in love with concept car then they ruined it for me with the production shape. Great review 👍

[Andrew-qboq]

Everyone seems to be whining about the price, but most new cars are expensive. Especially electrics. I have an original 2015 500e with sticker price of $36, 500. They didn't sell well, but were quite common lease cars in California. Less than 4 years later the cars we're worth around $6k. Which is around the time i bought one. I still have it as a back up EV and battery is still giving me the same range as it did when i picked it up. I suspect the new 500e and abarth will benefit from heavy depreciation. Especially as battery technology progresses. This will be an excellent offlease purchase in 2 to 4 years. Can't wait.

[rtheo]

Hang on so it’s nearly 40k and they want another 600 quid for a fancy paint colour unbelievable. 😂

[barneyrubble]

Best thing about the vid was the spitfire.

[terryhayward]

On looks alone, the 500E is the one for me. The fake engine sound needs a switch on the console to turn it ON when you are driving in a pedestrian area, like a supermarket car park.
I have walked out in front of a silent Tesla a few times in my local Sainsbury store car park.

[markhamilton]

Had a 1hr drive in one and it was a really fun little car. Switched the speaker off after 5 mins at the first opportunity though. The abarth was really well damped for a small hot hatch …better than my 330e over broken tarmac tbh. It’s fun and interesting which frankly we need more of.

[deanw]

As an ICE Abarth owner, I love the look of this A500e. I think the front grilles need to be black, and the diffusers could be something other than white, but looks wise, I really like it,
A lot of complaints from the Abarth community are regarding the price as well as the sound maker. But if you compare the price to similar sport version cars on the market, it's not too far out, but it's still quite blooming pricey for what it is. But look at the new Civic Type R and compare the price of that to a Civic from 10-15 years ago.

Maybe they'll be more popular after a couple of years when they have lost the main bulk of the depreciation, but time will tell.
Nice balanced review squire!

[markahomer]

As a long standing purchaser of brand new Abarths they can shove this where the exhaust is supposed to be.

[fanBladeOne]

Interested in the EV-transition. Great Fiat 500 fan. Also an AvGeek first class. This video was quite something to behold 👍