Fiat’s zippy 500 is a well-known quantity Down Under, loved by many for its city-friendly size and chic Italian design. However, Fiat’s performance arm has just announced its latest expression in the 2023 Abarth 500e, debuting an electric powertrain and offering in an eye-catching acid green paint job.
The new 2023 Abarth 500e is the high-spec version of the Fiat 500e and is expected to begin arriving at Australian dealerships by the end of next year, with the standard Fiat 500e due toward the middle of next year. The 2023 Abarth 500e will take the place of the current combustion engine Abarth 595 and 695 models, which will be phased out over the next couple of years as the automaker continues to electrify its range.
Featuring a front-wheel drive 114kW/235Nm electric motor that draws from a 42kWh battery pack, the 2023 Abarth 500e is capable of a 7-second 0-100kph time that’s a full two seconds quicker than the regular Fiat 500e. As you might expect, however, it doesn’t quite line up with the petrol-powered equivalents, with the Abarth 695 flagship covering the same test in a modestly quicker 6.7 seconds thanks to its 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
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The range is always front of mind when talking about electric cars and the 42kWh lithium-ion battery pack of the 2023 Abarth 500e can charge up to 85 kW, with 40kms of range charged after just 5 minutes and 35 minutes of charge getting you to 80% of fully charged. What might be a point of contention is its new sound generator system, which you can elect to turn on or off and allows the car to make the same throaty roar as its combustion engine siblings.
Inside, the trimmings are exactly what you’d expect from an Abarth, including scorpion-embossed Alcantara racing bucket seats, a 10.25-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a JBL sound system and more. With a number of different driving modes, the 2023 Abarth 500e offers a “One Pedal Driving” function in either Turismo or Scorpion Street Mode, where the car decelerates and recovers kinetic energy (redirected to charging the battery) when you lift your foot from the accelerator.
With the car set to arrive in Australia a year from now, if you’re thinking of upgrading to an electric car now could be the time to add the 2023 Abarth 500e to your list of possible options. It’s designed for city driving, it’s quick, and the colour scheme is one that’s sure to turn heads.
