Strikes me as odd that they don’t have the noise louder during acceleration and then drop it down when you are maintaining speed. It would then better reflect you changing gear once up to speed and would address the issue at speed.
I bought a normal 500 e two weeks ago and its truly a brilliant little car, night and day compared to the old petrol 500. I would love one of these when they have decent colours
The noise generator wouldn’t be for me and maybe they’re not quite there yet but I do think hot hatches are uniquely positioned to become pretty cool EVs.
Good review. Yes, for me the price of these is a big problem. Coming from a combustion engined 500 I bought new for £10k then a used Abarth for £14k, these ev versions are missing the important affordable people’s car option that they should be.
Excellent content as usual. Was great to catch up with you again at YTG in Melbourne yesterday. Cheers to Tony and you. Maybe a longer stay next time. Enjoy your time here and keep Tony away from the murderous wildlife mate. Safe travels, and maybe I'll come to the U.K. for the next live events. Cheers 🍻
The old 500 had a sport button, which was nice because it would be pretty tame and drivable for normal running and then you'd pop it into sport mode on a back road and it would come to life. They should bring that back and tie the noise generator to it.
So the question is, what the point of the electric abarth? Cos without the sound you wouldn’t want to rag it around so you’d just pootle around in it so wouldn’t a regular 500 electric be better?
For the use you want it for and considering other cars you have it’s ideal….loads of new cars pump fake sound in. An exhaust is just a tube projecting sound I sure this can be reproduced to great effect…A simple knob like Porsche on steering wheel should offer varied sounds eco / sport / plus
someone might have made a comment about this already. I think the primary reason for noise is the growing accidents with EV cars and the silence of them coming up to bikes and pedestrians. it helps them identify a vehicle approaching. at least they made the noise pleasurable and fun. they could have done whistles or other strange annoying noises
As a cyclist, this is nonsense at anything above 10 mph. Tire and wind noise are 99% of the noise generated by a car. EVs are just as loud if not louder than most cars at speed because they are so heavy and make more tire noise.
I test drove one of these. And....I felt in love with the car the same way as with my first Abarth. However...as an ev, I think the fake sound is a miss. If you buy ev, you don't want it. I like how it sounds without it. Why they just didn't make ev sound bit louder? There are only 2 minuses. Price and nothing extra on top. Everyone was hoping for a good range, maybe 4wd, maybe bit more powerrrr. For the price however car didn't deliver.
The noise generator is a good idea around town as it will help pedestrians hear it approaching but otherwise switch it off. I like the colours and the quality and interior but not the price
*NOT IF THEY ARE DEAF OR HAVE A HEARING IMPAIRMENT* why do people think everyone else can see and hear perfectly ! It shows how much you discriminate against others through lack of awareness of the modern World.
I know it divides opinion but if walkable or 15 minute cities become thing, EVs like this will sell really well. At the end of the day, not everyone can ride a bike and public transport would be really busy without them
We used to have 15minute cities - they were called VILLAGES in the UK. Every area had a church, a few pubs, social club, cinema etc and a load of local shops. That was all phased out as retail parks and supermarkets put them out of business. So the idea is NOT new, just a student looking for something to dredge up again and rename it thinking no one is old enough to remember! One university student stole the logo and wording of the anti-drink drive "Arrive Alive" campaign the police run in the 1980s and tried passing it off as their own in Liverpool a few years ago. Once presented with the evidence, pictures of cars with the stickers and the press releases, they were red faced. This sort of thing happens all the time. 15min cities are VILLAGES, but will never happen the way UK Gov wants because retailers will not be interested, they can not make enough money. We just have them filled with shops open all hours, charity shops and coffee shops. The main reason for introducing villages again was to control people more and restrict free movement, that's why we had a planned attack of road restrictions to impede traffic and delay it to cause congestion and pollution - the first experiment was the PsyOp of the flu pandemic in 2020. The one MPs knew was no danger so never followed the fake guidelines set out to control us all. People were so easily controlled if fear was introduced, without scientific proof, it would be easy for UK Gov to see how far they could control people in the future. We now have the huge problem of cultural change, my local area is unrecognisable from 10 years ago. From people to shops, I would think I was somewhere else.
@@Bond2025well said regarding the scamdemic. The face of this country is changing to something that is unrecognisable, similar to a lot of places in Europe.
I definitely don't like the start-up/Stop jingle, but the sound generator, I find to be fine, not amazing, not horrible, it's just fine :) Maybe you could emulate sounds, revs and gear changes like it is done in Gran Turismo or Forza to improve these "EVs with engine sound" 🤔. (or just have an ICE car, obviously 😂)
I'd rather have a GWM Ora cat.....if character is the deciding purchase...factor. And having not driven the Fiat 500e as you mentioned. I can only take what you say about the Abarth 500e with a grain if salt Sam. Entertaining and well edited city driving video nonetheless top job!!
Thank you for speaking to the finance/depreciation piece. Manufacturers listen to the “influencers” all the time… When they see influencers and critics breaking down the full experience, including finance, coming to the conclusion of “this doesn’t really make sense,” then they’ll realize they have to change. Even if that means putting pressure back on governments to say, “this mandate of EVs is hurting our business… the tech is ready, the tech isn’t affordable, and the market isn’t there…” EV fanboys underestimate the power manufacturers have on governments - cars are so important to the economy that they have to listen. And I’m sorry, but we aren’t really ready for the “EV revolution.” The economy of it all still just doesn’t make enough sense and they are still a niche for specific commuters or people who want to feel like they’re saving the planet (even if they’re technically not).
You can’t rely on the GOM, our mini electric never gives a range of more than 100 miles, we easily get 130-140 in summer, you’re best to use the trip to get a more accurate idea on real world range.
As much as I love Abarth (had 3 personally) I don’t think it’s there yet to give you the sensation and sense of occasion we are looking for. I would go for a bmw i3s as the sportiest small EV currently
Very cool same . Abarth drop their line in the usa 🇺🇸. Still get the fiats. Think money 💰 lot other options. Im seeing used ford mach E sub 30K here know for a base rwd . Gt still 50k used. You can get route 1 for under 50. Iv seen hyundai got a sport ev on the way here soon.
Love the Abarth! Rented one in Berlin for 10 days a couple of years ago . Just another question…when will the UK switch to metric for mileage, distance etc? 80% of the planet is metric. The hold outs are UK and USA. I’m based in Australia and we have been 100% metric for 50 years! On British videos I’m still hearing about mph? Can we get your mph converted on screen to kmh please?
This is the FIRST ever review I have seen on an EV Sam, saw this car in Monza in september, & the added sound gives it caracther as you say, & having owned an Abarth 500 Esssesse it for sure needs it, because they are brilliant! The looks is brilliant, but at the end of the day they are EV"s. Imagine it being a Petrol 🎉 Because the looks are soo cool :)
Not sure you're going to see it, but I think a major element of EVs that makes buying them new so much better than used (and why depreciation is so brutal) is that they're like Bugatti Veyrons*, every mile down/hour recharged is another step closer to needing a battery replacement, a 3-year-old EV with 50,000km on the odometer might be 1/2th the price of a brand-new one, but what you save in depreciation hits you when it comes time to replace the battery/other parts that wear out rapidly (seriously, most Teslas require a full battery replacement like every 100,000km) *Bugatti Veyron being fairly famous for people driving them, and then putting them up for sale right as they need their infamously expensive in-factory service that cost like a half-million dollars
There are top spec ones on Autotrader brand new with no miles or owners for 34k, no point doing a factory order because there are no optional extras other than colour
I think my biggest issue with the “sound generator” is that it’s not electrical “futuristic” noises. The fact that it’s pretending to be a an exhaust is odd to me. I think they should’ve gone more electrical noises. A good idea but not executed right. Not that it matters to me since I’m not buying one regardless 😂🤷🏼♂️
Electric Cars - a plan that doesn't work to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Here in North America support for EV’s is dwindling, the prices are out of reach for most people and the infrastructure required to support a significant amount of EV’s are decades off….
Its a shame they dont have a button to turn the sound on/off so you can switch it on when you're coming up to a B road and off when you're on the motorway/in town. Seems odd that you have to pull over to change it when most modern sporty cars have switchable exhausts anyway
Sam, I'm surprised you didn't make much mention of the charachterful headlamp 'face' of the Abarth, Surely the best face of any city EV ?? PS Would be fun if the sound generator noise could be changed to that of other car engines - say a 360 Challenge Stradale ??
I love the idea, but not quite the execution. If it had fake gears or had a cleaner way to tone up and down the noise on the fly or drop in and out of a sport mode it would solve a lot of the problems. The cost and anticipated crash in value that comes with an EV makes it such a hard sell as a new car though. If you want a new/nearly new EV you a 500e gets you 99% of the way there and will likely cost less than half as much to own for a few years.
To all the folk scared of EV's: Imagine a city traffic jam without noise. Wouldnt that be great? Ill take the noise from my S2000 to the country roads or race tracks.
If a driver wants an obnoxious noise in the cabin... fine. That Abarth decided to make the sound not only audible from the outside, but louder is ridiculous.
I’ve watched Honda E’s shed £10k in the past 9 months or so. I’ve been looking at a small EV that won’t leave the boundaries of Bristol and isn’t bland. For me, at £15k, they’re a bargain! It’s what I’d go with.
The depreciation on EV’s is terrifying - and realistically, who with an ounce of sense buys a new car anymore? Just wait 12 months and let somebody else take the hit, especially if it’s just going to be a daily. 15k for a Honda E with very low running costs- that’s a purchase which makes sense. 👍
I'm a true petrolhead and I drive a Tesla Model S as my daily. It is a LOT cheaper to run as a daily. No road tax. No Congestion charge. No ULEZ. No servicing costs. No need for brake discs or pads due to regenerative braking. Fast off the lights. It has saved me over £7500 a year running costs compared with my Maseratis. No brainer. And for all the ignorant commenters, I am not gay
if i want sound i would buy one of the petrol engine abarths. point of the ev is also to have that smooth quiet ride. plus as a petrol head getting fake petrol engine sounds is the worst i can imagine. I'd have simply a silent ev supercar 1000x more than one with a speaker underneath.
I can only imagine how good a new gen abarth would have been had they given it a proper engine… the design is beautiful just given the wrong power source…
Great review. With a better range, and more hp, I might buy an Abarth 500e in the future. It's such a great looking small car. Abarth is about emotion and character. Price is not so important, as it's a different car.
I really wish the abarth team would have focused less on the "character" of the car, and more on making it quicker and more fun to actually drive. Imagine if this thing was silent but brutally fast, instead of loud and slow.
The price is insane. Most EVs have crazy prices, but a regular car is so much better. If the price was half it makes more sense, but who wants to pay big money for a car that makes your entire life a pain in the ass?
problem i have is that i can only have 1 car and i have a kid. I cant fit my kids bike in the back so small ev are a no go with me . Only point of having a car in London is so i can go out a bit on my day off.
We don’t get those in the US. It’s hard to see the scale of that vehicle. I bet on US roads it would look like an RC car, just bc everything’s gotten so astronomically large! lol
Nice try but, a 500 for £40k you’re ‘avin’ a larf ! 💷💷💷💷💷💷 Just to check, does that fact that it’s pustule yellow allow you to park on double yellow lines legally?
I think as a purely city car or if you live in somewhere like jersey, it would be ideal, as it range limitations would not be an issue. Credit to abarth for trying their very best
