Abarth 500 vs Fiat 500 – which is best?

It’s more powerful and more fun, and has an unignorably loud speaker underneath that makes everyone turn and look at you. You may like it or you may find it over the top, in which case the standard 500 could be a better bet.

Abarth 500 vs Fiat 500 compared

Styling

The Fiat 500 is a cleanly designed small car that successfully riffs off the previous 500 and the iconic '50s version. The clamshell bonnet now splits the headlights in two, and the chrome wings coming out from the 500 badge give a boutique feel. A small grille hints at the electric motor underneath, which doesn’t need as much cooling as a petrol engine.

Abarth adds some attitude courtesy of a wider front bumper and a silver bit of trim that recalls a racing car’s splitter. Around the back, there’s a similar panel that looks like a diffuser – both of these parts improve the aerodynamics on a proper performance car. The glossy chrome trim has been replaced with moody black, and there aren’t any Fiat badges on show.

Fiat’s version comes with a wider choice of colours, including a rich turquoise, a calm light blue and a trendy rose gold. You can also pick the same Acid Green shade that’s the signature colour of the Abarth 500. On the Abarth, the other colours are red, white or black, with no metallic options. The gorgeous blue colour in our pictures is no longer available. Whichever colour you pick for the Abarth, the wheel centre caps remain green.

Interior

Fiat has managed to keep the 500’s interior stylish, while making it much more modern than the older 500. Central to its appeal is a full-width dashboard panel that’s painted in the same colour as the exterior of the car. There’s a lot of chrome trim, piano key buttons and interesting Fiat-lettered upholstery, so it’s a really stylish place to be.

Abarth continues with the tweaks inside, where there’s a leather steering wheel with a blue centre marker, sports seats and contrast stitching. Higher-spec Turismo models add a suede dashboard and seat trim. All Abarth 500s come with exclusive screen menus to show you performance information.

Dimensions and practicality

The Abarth 500 is marginally longer than its Fiat sibling, but the difference is only in the front and rear bumpers.

Neither version of the 500 is a practical car – the rear seats are hard to access and very small, and the boot is able to fit barely more than a couple of packets of Wotsits. If you want to take people along for the ride, you might be better off with the Fiat 600 or Abarth 600 models.

Range and performance

The standard 500 is offered with either a 24kWh or 42kWh battery. We’d sidestep the 24kWh battery unless you’re a single person who doesn’t travel far – the quoted range is less than 120 miles in perfect conditions and it’s no good for getting young kids in and out. The 42kWh battery boasts a range of 199 miles, making it much more usable for the odd longer journey.

With 0-62mph taking nine seconds and all 118hp available instantly, the Fiat version doesn’t feel slow at all. Unless, that is, you put it in the range-conserving Sherpa mode that throttles the throttle.

The Abarth comes with a 152hp electric motor and a 0-62mph time of seven seconds. Which aren’t exactly hot-hatch bothering stats. The range stands at around 160 miles, but you’ll get nowhere near that if you drive the car like Abarth thinks you will.

Given the lukewarm stats of the Abarth 500, its booming speaker is even more egregious. It announces your presence to everyone within a half-mile radius, who’ll turn to look at you. But instead of the supercar they’re expecting, they’ll see a cute little Fiat trying to mouth off.

The speaker is divisive. You’ll either love how comical the 500 is, or you’ll think it makes the driver look like they’re desperate for attention. You can turn it off in the driver’s menu screen, but it’s quite hard to do so.

Value

Electric motors and batteries aren’t cheap, and the Fiat 500 suffers from being far too expensive as a new car. Gone are the days when a new Fiat 500 could cost you £159 a month and £159 upfront – now the cheapest 500, with the compromisingly small battery, is £259 a month with £3,000 upfront.

Used Fiat 500s are thankfully much better value. You can pick up a three-year-old example for under £10,000, although you might want to spend a little more to get the bigger battery and a trim level that includes an infotainment system rather than just a phone holder.

A used Abarth 500e will be roughly double the price of a Fiat 500 with a similar age and mileage. Is it double the car? Absolutely not.

Which is best?

Unless you know you won’t get tired of the Abarth’s boisterous nature and limited range, there’s only one winner here. The standard Fiat 500 is fun to drive, stylish and efficient, it can be enjoyed for much less money than the Abarth and, frankly, it’s much less embarrassing to be seen in.

Shop used Fiat 500e cars for sale at Motorpoint