MODEL ON TEST: SCORPIONISSIMA – MILEAGE – 7,356

Cars have faces, you know this.The Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite is ludicrously happy, the Ferrari Daytona looks kinda depressed when it has its pop-ups raised, the new-for-2026 Renault Clio Mk6 looks alarmingly like a naked mole-rat (google it, but carefully). And the Abarth 600e? According to my kids – one of whom is a sarcastic teenager – it looks like a sarcastic teenager. It’s the eyelids, you see. It appears to be disdainfully narrowing its gaze at you. Which is highly appropriate, as I’ve recently come to realise that if ever there was a car which evoked the spirit of a sarky teen, it’s the 600e Scorpionissima.

For one thing, there’s the look. If you go into your local branch of Sports Direct and peruse the endless wall displays of trainers, you’ll spot all manner of designs that come from the same sketchpad as this car; the aggressively bright colour, the bold accents, caricaturised details and the overtly athletic vibe. You’re essentially driving around in Air Max.

Bravado is a core teen character trait, the need to project an image of confidence and power while at
the same time really being soft and marshmallowy under the surface.A feeling this car knows all too well. It talks a good game, makes a big show of sticking its elbows out and being mischievous, but it’s actually a thoroughly lovely thing to live with.

There’s the way teenagers belligerently refuse to listen to or acknowledge your music, despite the fact that you know they really want to. The rebellion is a crucial character trait. And with the manner in which the Abarth’s Apple CarPlay likes to randomly ignore what you’re trying to play via your phone, you’re forced back to the airwaves and their relentless Olivia Rodrigo. In a classic switcheroo, as a parent (and an old-school punk), I’m obliged to reject Olivia Rodrigo and dismiss her as pop fluff, while actually secretly thinking that she’s a generational talent with an admirable moral compass. These things go round in circles.

Speaking of things that go around in circles, teen fashion these days is keenly informed by the nineties, which is handy for those of us who chose their look back in the nineties and stuck with it, as we’ve accidentally become fashionable again. In the same vein, the 600e is mining a retro seam, its uber-modern styling neatly infused with nods to the past, not least for the way it cleverly hides being an on-trend crossover SUV by looking like a traditional hatchback. I like that.

And, of course, there’s the most unavoidable and all-pervading character trait of the teenager: that they’re always costing you loads of money. Now, when this parallel is applied to the Abarth, it really isn’t the car’s fault. It’s my fault, for not being able to charge it at home.So instead of staying in and enjoying the cheap and frugal electricity we already have, the sarky 600e drags me out to the local charging station to load up on the expensive full-fat takeaway volts. Honestly, kids eh?

DANIEL BEVIS

WHAT’S HOT: Reliving your youth.

WHAT’S NOT: Paying for it by charging away from home.

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF OUR LONG-TERM REPORTS ON THE ABARTH 600E

FACTS & FIGURES

ARRIVED: 11th December 2025

PRICE WHEN NEW: £39,885

PRICE AS TESTED: £39,885

ECONOMY: 3.4 miles/per kWh (official WLTP) 3.2 miles/per kWh (on test)

COSTS: £451 (2 new tyres due to puncture)

FAULTS: None