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New car review – Abarth 500e Scorpionissima

The Abarth name refers to performance versions of Fiat products. And so it is with the sportier version of Fiat’s electric 500e.

The Abarth 500e boasts a beefier looking body kit with deep front spoiler, larger wheels wearing low profile tyres, adjusted suspension, body hugging front seats and lots of Abarth badges.

It also has a handy lift in performance over the standard 500e – not hard to achieve in an electric car, but oddly, while it’s quick-ish, the Abarth isn’t quite as fast as the old petrol Abarth version of the 500. The performance helps make it a nimble car around town, with the sporty handling emphasizing the nature of the car. It’s certainly got plenty of fun factor built in.

Front seat ergonomics are a big improvement over the slightly smaller old petrol 500, though back seat space hasn’t improved – particularly the shortage of rear legroom. There are some small ‘surprise and delight’ features inside. Like the electric button internal door releases… The row of ‘gear’ selection buttons on the dashboard is simple and nice – better than the gimmicky controls many other makers have for gear selectors.

One big gripe I have with all the electric 500s is that they’re specified for the Australian market with a glass roof panel. It’s a car clearly designed and tested in a European winter. There’s a retractable internal roof blind, which has more perforation than material. The glass gets hot even on a moderately warm day and the heat radiates in. I found I was getting sunburnt, even though the glass is (lightly) tinted. I ended up putting a cut-to-fit foam board in as a roof lining. Presumably installing a strong reflective window tint would help a lot…

For the launch, the importers have brought some excellent colours – like the tennis ball flouro green of the car I tested. There’s also a very attractive bright blue.

There’s an optional fitment of a sound generator, which the test car didn’t have – basically a speaker under the back bumper simulating exhaust sounds. Nowhere near as sophisticated as Hyundai Ioniq 5N’s in-car sounds and from all reports, the Abarth system is more gimmick than fun.

When I’ve been in Europe recently, it’s been clear that the take-up of the 500e as a city car has been pretty good. The claimed range for the Abarth is 253km, so it doesn’t stack up as a long-distance cruiser (all electric cars really don’t), but that’s not what the 500e is intended for. Around town, it can be a ball of fun.

Two versions, just below and just above $60,000 were offered initially – and now the importers and dealers have been slashing the price to clear stock, as market resistance has been too strong to sustain such a high price.

New Car Review – Mazda MX5

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This week I’ve been driving a new Mazda MX5. What a revelation!

After too many recent drives of SUVs with minimal driving pleasure possible, the MX5 shows there are some car designers and manufacturers out there who understand the simple joys of driving – and of producing a driver’s car without a crazy price tag. The MX5 range starts at $46,400.

The latest MX5 retains the simplicity of analogue driving pleasure, but has adopted all the necessary electronic gimmickry needed to still score enough ANCAP testing points. Yes, there’s a rear view camera, cross traffic alert, (switchable) lane assist, blindspot warning etc, etc, but the joy of perfectly weighted steering which gives such accurate response, a beautiful to use gearchange, the sweetest handling add up to an most unusual pleasure.

Like all MX5s, the engine power isn’t crazy, but is just right for getting the balance of handling spot-on. It’s smooth and torquey for a pretty normal kind of engine – and the 6 gears have beautifully selected ratios. There’s no scuttle-shake and the ride is impressively supple whilst remaining resolutely sporty. It handles speed bumps better than all the recent SUVs I’ve tested.

The inside fits like a comfy glove – the heated seats and powerful heater let you enjoy a cold winter’s day with the roof down. The splash of body colour on the door tops is very nice – even in a car with a colour best described as Metallic Dirt.

The styling isn’t their best effort, the design of the wheels fitted to the review car do it no favours, but these are easy to overlook when the package is so compellingly good.

The manual roof mechanism is the easiest I’ve ever used. The MX5 is completely easy to drive and as economical as a small hatchback.

Congratulations and Thank You to the folks at Mazda for producing such a car.

Hyundai Ioniq 5N

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New car review by Paul Blank

What a blast! Hyundai’s N division has created something very special from their large Ionic 5 electric car. The normal Ioniq 5 is modern, capable and well-sorted. The N technicians have made something overtly sporty with it.

The 5 N is good for 0-100 in 3.4 seconds (from 478kW and 770Nm in boost mode), which for a hefty car, is impressive. That’s double the power of the regular Ioniq 5. With the right combination of buttons pressed, the sheer acceleration pushes your organs backwards and even your facial muscles get a workout. Not just from the G-forces, but your huge grin.

The grip and roadholding are tremendous and confidence inspiring.

The sportiness extends to racing style seats, giant 21-inch wheels with low-profile tyres and paddles for gearshifts. Gearshifts? It’s an electric car with no gears…

Well, the N division obviously has some serious car nuts on the payroll. The 5 N has a few tricks up its sleeve. Push one of the steering wheel mounted buttons and the cars ‘engine’ bursts into life. Using carefully placed under-seat speakers, the car emits engine noise exactly commensurate with how you’re driving the car. It burbles away when plodding around, does gearchange sounds and the revs sound just like they are real.

Add in the paddle shifters and sporty driving and it all changes. The revs scream, gear changes include the feel of a gearchange (thumping on full acceleration), brief cut in acceleration, clever, realistic torque changes in the ‘gears’ and when you back off there’s a wicked exhaust burble. These noises are incredibly accurate and realistic. They add an amazing amount of engagement to the driving experience. Except from outside – anyone else just hears a whoosh.

Somehow, the ultimate gimmick is much more than a gimmick, adding tremendously to the driving experience. And at the touch of a button it all goes silent again – but the car’s still just as fast.

Some of the external styling tweaks are a bit tacky, but the overall shape remains dynamic. The extent of engineering upgrades for the N extends to 42 extra body welds, 2.1 metres of additional structural adhesive and different steering, brakes and suspension. There’s even a drift mode, which I didn’t try…

There are other fast electric cars, but none anywhere near this price point capture overall sportiness so well.

The cabin is well laid out, comfortable, it’s very spacious in the back and pitched at $111,000 the equipment level is appropriately high. This is a very sophisticated car with a lot of technology built-in. And for all its performance, it’s a completely easy car to use around town in everyday traffic.

Often I’m happy to change to the next press car after a week, but the Ioniq 5 N is one I really wanted to hold onto for longer… This car gets a double thumbs-up.