Living with a… Abarth 500e (Month 2)

Fun, joyous, good-looking, nippy, easy to park and electric … what is not to like about the Abarth 500e? The scorpion badge adorning Fiat’s sporty sibling brand is now pinned to a more aggressive, powerful version of the incredibly popular Fiat 500e . But is it worth the extra cash? We’ll see over the next six months.
Skip to: Month 1 – Any sting in the tail? Month 2 – The potholes strike again

Erin says: “It’s like a slice of sunshine on the grey February roads; everyone smiles at you, people let you out of junctions. She’s my dinky wedge of la dolce vita, my daily happiness pill. Ciao, bella!”

Trips taken

All local journeys this month, which is unsurprising given the maximum range of the Abarth 500e Turismo is 150 miles, and 136 miles has been the maximum I’ve squeezed out of this baby so far. But that’s to be expected for the size of this pocket rocket and a small battery means low range but also a quick charge. Seeing as the majority of my trips in the week consist of the five-mile school drop off, the two-miler to Sainsburys, and the three-miler to the station to commute into London range simply hasn’t been an issue so far. Like lots of electric car owners, I use a petrol car for longer motorway journeys at the moment, which is cheating. But a reality for a lot of people who don’t have time to build charging stops into their working week. We did take the Abarth 500e to the garden centre on a sunny day, and put the roof down to get two plants on the back seat. I think we’ll find the distance we travel in this car is constrained more by its size than its range.

We’re loving

The bright Poison Blue paintwork with the contrasting Acid Green scorpion badge and white painted front aero lip combine to create the most joyful car I’ve seen on the UK’s roads so far in 2024. It just lifts the spirits every time I walk out of the front door to drive somewhere. Given it’s February as I write this we’ve only had the roof down once, but I can see that having the Convertible version is going to be an absolute hoot as spring beds in. I’m also enjoying having such a small battery to charge. As long as I don’t let the battery fall below 20 per cent, I can get a full charge overnight on my five-hour off-peak tariff. That’s fantastic for peace of mind, to know you can set off every morning with a 100 per cent battery that cost you less than a fiver. I’m very lucky to have off-street parking and a home charger, but for those who will be charging this car on the public infrastructure at least it won’t take as long as bigger cars to get a decent whack of power on board.

We’re not so keen on

Well, there truly isn’t much so far, but it does feel like the 90s are calling and want their icky fake suede steering wheel back. Alcantara feels like it belongs to a previous decade now when there are so many cool textiles, fabrics and weaves available. The Alcantara is also along the dash, and I think it ages quickly. Also, unless the front passenger seat is quite far forwards, I can’t see out of the rear quarter light to pull out of my road each morning. Not a lot to be done as my road is at a funny angle with the main drag, but it’s annoying - I have to ask my son to pull his seat forwards so his knees touch the glove box briefly every morning so I can check for traffic.

Niggles

The starter button is annoying the hell out of me – can’t work out if I’m not pressing it down for long enough when I start the car, or whether I’m meant to press it twice. Either way at least once a day I think I’ve turned the car on, only to find I’ve merely woken it up, and pressing it again either starts it properly or turns it off completely. I’m never sure which it’s going to do. I’m sure we’ll start to understand each other soon, but I’ve spent most of this month in a blinding rush and it’s getting on my nerves.

Surprise and delight

I was going to put “sound generator” under niggles but, actually, I’m putting it here, because it is so ridiculous, it makes me laugh out loud. When activated (via steering wheel buttons and the driver display), the car emits a surprisingly loud ‘engine noise’. It also imitates both an idling and revving engine sound. The result is vaguely recognisable but also weirdly different. It works at a safety level because everyone stops to stare. Inside the car, it’s a bit much for long journeys as it’s quite loud, but boy, does it make you giggle. Back to top

Erin says: “Fair to say, the two major issues we've had with the Abarth 500e this month haven't been the fault of the car”

Trips taken

One - into a pothole! See below…

We like

>Everyone loves this car. I do, the kids do, pedestrians do, other motorists do, my neighbour does. We took a lime-green version to an electric-car event to show it to a group of female journalists and they loved it, too. You cannot fault the bright paint colours and chunky, bold styling.

We're not so keen on

Fair to say, the two major issues we've had with the Abarth 500e this month haven't been the fault of the car. These include our second pothole-induced puncture in as many months, having already suffered one in our previous Renault Austral long-termer. The roads where we live on the Kent-Sussex border are a nightmare, and it's almost impossible to avoid every one of them, especially when they're filled with puddles or you can't swerve due to oncoming traffic. Car manufacturers are going to have to consider bringing back spare tyres if our roads remain in such a poor condition, on the basis all the trauma and hassle we've suffered in both instances has been down to the fact we can't carry out a roadside tyre swap. Then there’s the fact no one stocks the tyres we need because they are considered "specialist" due to being for electric cars. It's a nightmare. Thankfully, this time we hit upon local Fiat dealer Thames Motor Group and the helpful service manager James Bailey, who sorted our tyre, had the car cleaned and returned it to my house. Which was a huge relief.

Niggles

> The second issue is that the car isn't charging overnight at home, but it's telling me it's an external problem with my PodPoint charger, which was recently upgraded. It starts charging at midnight, in accordance with the car's timing schedule, but then it drops out. I have left a message for PodPoint's customer service so we'll see. But this is an issue I hear about a lot with electric cars and being unsure whether the charging fault is on the car, the charger itself, the timer or the connecting lead. It's really stressful, especially if you need to wait up until midnight to see what's going on. I'll report back.

Surprise and delight

>The amount you can fit on the boot! We’ve had one son’s hockey bag, other son’s cricket bag, a pressure washer and even a guitar in there. Everything but the metaphorical kitchen sink. That’s because it’s wider beyond the opening, so you can slot stuff in and watch it disappear. No room for the dog though, obvs. Back to top